June 1- Dublin

We arrived in Dublin this morning to gray and drippy skies. The weather is 67 degrees- the warmest we’ve had since Florida. Irish musicians playing traditional music greeted us. The port of Dublin, where we docked, was busy the entire time we were there. Cranes, trucks, and other pieces of equipment worked constantly loading and moving commercial containers. Ferries came and went regularly. Not a beautiful place to be docked but certainly interesting to observe.

Dublin (pronounced /ˈdʌblɨn/, /ˈdʊblɨn/ or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/) is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath [bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh] or Áth Cliath [aːh cliə(ɸ)]; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the

midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. Originally founded as a Viking settlement, it evolved into the Kingdom of

Dublin and became the island's primary city following the Norman invasion. Today, it is ranked 23rd in the Global Financial Centers Index and has one of the fastest growing populations of any European capital city. Dublin is a historical and contemporary cultural centre for the island of Ireland as well as a modern center of education, the arts, administrative function, economy and industry.

We went to breakfast and were the first people in the Dining Room at about 8:15AM.

Many people were getting off for tours but we were touring in the afternoon. We had such a good visit to Dublin in 1994 with Bill and Katherine so we chose to travel on the Liffey River before doing a driving tour of the city highlights.

Our guide was Valerie and she was about the best we ever had. She began with a Gaelic welcome and then thankfully switched to English. She used the expression “give you a thump” which our guide had used the day be

fore. We decided it meant the same as a slap only it sounded much nicer.

We heard much about the Irish Potato Famine where millions died or escaped to America. Valerie said fish was not something they ever thought about eating so a natural food source wasn't used to keep this tragedy from happening. There was a poignant cluster of 6 statues by the river back depicting people trying to leave during the famine. The one of the person carrying a small child was especially sad to me.

This area has had life for 6000 years as witnessed by the preserved bodies found in the bogs and now displayed in the Natural History Museum in the city. The Vikings settled this area in 832 AD. Any town with a “W” in its name was a Viking settlement because there is no letter “W” in Gaelic.

Strongbow came from Scotland to help reclaim the throne for Diarmant. He was a fierce fighter; fought hard beside the chieftains, fell in love with the chieftain’s daughter and the they married. This was partially to assure that this band of strong fighters would stay around in case the enemies tried to take over the throne again. Ireland became a republic in 1948, joined the European Union and has now adopted the Euro as its currency.

We saw Christ’s Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral, The Customs House and many other impressive buildings. I remembered our hop on hop off bus trip in 1994 around the city. We got off the bus at Christ’s Cathedral and were met by a Dubliner who was really drunk.

He talked with us and followed us into the church. Had completely forgotten

that incident until we drove up to the

church. We also saw the long lines to get into Trinity College to see The Book of Kells and remembered that special viewing of the illuminated version of the Gospels.

Jonathan Swift was the dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. His writings were often allegorical in nature

and also controversial. A Modest Proposal proposed that families who were struggling with finances should fatten their children and sell them for food. His sermons were 1- 1 ½ hours long. He often pounded on the pulpit to wake people up. If that didn’t work he’d throw the Bible at sleeping parishners saying, “If you can’t hear the Word of God, you can at least feel it.”

The claim is that in order to get early pagans who worshiped the sun to become Christians St. Patrick added the circle to the Celtic Cross to remind them of the sun. Never heard that before.

Valerie said rules were not so defined or strict in Ireland.

There are three kinds of rules….#1 “That’s Grand” #2 “Taking Liberties” and #3 That’s Illegal. Valerie is from the mountains outside of town and she said, “If you can see the mountains it is going to rain and if you can’t see the mountains it is raining.”

We drove past the statue of Molly Malone which has 4 names….the tart with the cart, the dolly with the trolley, the trollop with the scallops, and the dish with the fish. You can understand the origin of the many names.

We saw 2 beautiful bridges designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago

Calatrava. The James Joyce Bridge and the Samuel Beckett Bridge were both unusual designs. The Beckett Bridge is in the shape of an Irish Harp, the national symbol. The city crest depicts the motto, “Citizen’s obedience is the city's happiness."

Valerie said the three castle keeps were to remind the citizens that if there was a fire all were to stay and protect the city but she doubted if people felt that way anymore.

We drove by the huge Guinness brewery and remembered out 9:00AM tasting some years ago. Guinness lived a long life and he and his ONLY wife had 21 children. Valerie told us Guinness is in the Bible in the Sermon on the Mount, “Those who aren’t with us are a Guinness.” She also frequently sang Irish ballads as we drove along. Great experience in Dublin.