Dublin

St Patrick's Day weekend, 2007

"Madness and Guinness"

Right then, time to (attempt to) recount tales of Dublin from four years ago...  For the record, we didn't deliberately pick St Patrick's Day weekend to visit Dublin - it was purely a coincidence.  We stayed in the flat being rented by Louise for her overseas work secondment, which was conveniently placed in the centre of Dublin.  We didn't have to walk too far to see the St Pstrick's Day parade.  Here is a building.  (This is symptomatic of my lack of knowledge of Dublin, reporting as I am so much later in time.)

There were A LOT of people here, lining the streets.

All manner of people traipsed past us, as we jostled for a good position.  A big brass band...

...and servicemen with an array of flags.  (Say what you see.  Thanks, Roy.)

"'Ere, Dave, did you hear that Fred got made redundant?"  "Keep it moving, gents!"

Not sure who's in the carriage (obviously) - I can't even get it all in shot.

Oh jesus, what the hell is this?  That is some freskin' scary (and goddamn ugly) monster.  Not what you need on a Saturday morning, er, afternoon.

Oh my lord, what is this beast?

Nope, still no clue.

Horned creatures.

It takes all sorts...

A big eye.

Dunno who she is.

I have absolutely no idea.

We spent the day in public houses, watching various Siz Nations games, before heading to Taste of India for the main reason (apart from me loving curry) that everywhere was really busy due to it being St Patrick's Day and this was pretty much the only place we could get into at this time (something like 9pm).  When we came out (about 11pm), Dublin was going a bit bonkers as the weight of Guinness consumed started to take its toll.

The next morning, we braved an open-topped bus tour.  It were a bit bracing.

A building with a globe in front of it.

Ah, that classic name.  We didn't go here for lunch, in case you were wondering.

'Tis cathedral time.

More later.

Which is now.  Whereupon I will show you the interior of the above building.  They love their religion in Ireland.

Next stop, Kilmainham Gaol, now a museum, which played an important part in Irish history, as many leaders of the Irish rebellion were imprisoned (and some executed).

Here is a shot from within.

It was an impressive building, from this point of view anyway.

Doubtless it was less fun from this perspective.

According to Wikipedia, Joseph Mary (?) Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, an insurrection staged during Easter week by Irish republicans with the aim of ending British rule in Ireland.  Joseph Plunkett was executed for his role in this.

Here is a closer shot of the curved architecture.

Outside, this presumably represents where the executions took place.

Here is a list of those executed.

An Irish flag flutters in the breeze.

I can't even capture how tall this is.

Those crazy leprechauns.   They run around crossroads, holding up traffic...

...and capture middle-aged women, inviting them to get in strange cars.

The river Liffey, running through the heart of Dublin.

The above river does not solely comprise the following, but it ought to.

Yes, it was Monday and time for the obligatory trip to the Guinness brewery.

That's water not Guinness, unfortunately.

Heh, that says "Butt"....

Once we finished the tour, it was time for a couple of pints.  (Not for me, though - I don't like Guinness, although I did try some during the holiday.)

From the top, you got a decent view of Dublin, despite the cloudy weather.

Dunno what this is.

The Irish know how to decorate somewhere for St Patrick's Day.

They do a fine breakfast here.

And, to finish, an amusing riposte to a formal sign.

And that's all of Dublin.  Well, that we saw anyway.

Back to the Secret Portal.