The capital and largest city of Eire, the Republic of Ireland. Located on the eastern seaboard, separated from the United Kingdom by the Irish Sea. The name comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, “dark pool” referring to a dark tidal pool where the River Poddle (now underground) meets the River Liffey.
Population is about 1.4 million in the urban city area and about 1.9 million in the greater metropolitan area.
Dublin has had human habitation from Prehistoric times but the first settlement is recognized as the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries.
The Normans invaded in 1169 and starting in 1204 built Dublin Castle (the seat of English rule for seven centuries). This remained the small walled town of a narrow strip of English settlement on the east coast until the Tudor invasion of Ireland in the 16th century.
Dublin prospered up until the end of the 18th century and for a while was the second largest city in the British Empire. When the governance of Ireland was moved from Dublin to London in 1800 and with Dublin not having a major role in the industrial revolution (no large source of coal) there was a period of decline.
In the early 20th century there was a significant amount of physical damage during the Easter Rebellion of 1916, The Irish War of Independence and then the Irish Civil War. Following the partition of Ireland in 1922 it became the capital of the Irish Free State (1922-1937) and then the capital of Ireland (1937 – today).
Dublin is at the mouth of the River Liffey which divides the city in two. Traditionally the Northside is working class and the Southside is middle to upper class.
Dublin has a significant literary history and produced many literary figures including William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker (Dracula), Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, etc. We have a week to explore this lively and historic city, four days before we head down south west to Kerry and then three days after we return.
This morning we woke to blue skies, some clouds and a strong cold wind. But no rain – so this can’t be Ireland then ! Yesterday coming in on the airport bus we noticed that there was a “Riverfest” at the port end of the river, so today we walked along the river bank to check it out. Over the holiday weekend there had been Thundercats and sail boat racing, Jet Pack Man, water rescue demos, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, and on land heaps of entertainment with carousels, wire walking, zip lines, a circus, a drive-in cinema, a food village, music and drink etc. All this was now gone but moored along the river walk were 10 magnificent tall ships and this is what we wanted to see. Wonderful examples of original and replica sailing ships: a Russian ‘man-of-war’, square rigged sailing vessels, an arctic trawler, a traditional Baltic Trader, a West country trading ketch, a three masted schooner.
There are many, many statues in Dublin and today we saw three of the most notable. The first was of the acclaimed Irish novelist and poet, James Joyce. He is leaning on a stick looking upward as if in thought. Earlier this year I tried to read his “Ulyssess” but had given up after about 10 pages – just too difficult. I did read “Dubliners” and “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” . This was the extent of my cultural preparation for Dublin (apart from drinking Guinness).
The second was on the river quay where the famine ships used to depart for New York. The Famine Statues, a memorial to the victims of the Great Famine of 1841-1849 in which 1 million died and 1 million more forced to emigrate due to the failure of the potato crop – the staple diet of many poor Irish. This statue was very moving, with gaunt almost stick like figures, and faces full of pain and suffering.
The third was the extremely realistic statue of Oscar Wilde, located in the corner of the park in Merrion Square, just across the road from the witty writer’s former home. Wilde is lounging on a rock with a smile on one side of his face and a frown on the other, representing the different sides to his character. The colours of black, grey, green, pink and fleshtones are achieved by a careful selection of polished granite and coloured semi-precious stones. The statue is flanked by two polished granite plinths engraved with quotes from Wilde’s work.
We also went to the excellent EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum which tells the story of the 10 million people of Ireland who have emigrated to other parts of the world. Why they left, where they went, and how they influenced and changed the places they went to. Apparently 70 million people today claim Irish ancestry. State-of-the-art technology creates a powerful and moving experience. There are 20 themed galleries, each like a tunnel of brick with a vaulted ceiling – very dramatic.
We felt really good this morning, lots of energy and get up and go. But by early afternoon were pretty zonked out. Suffering from jet lag a bit. So we had a quiet time at the hotel resting up.
