Monday April 18 Dublin

Arriving at Kilmainham Gaol at the opening hour there is already a line forming for entrance. But our wily trip planner has arranged our tickets on-line and we go to the head of the class. Inside, we arrange to purchase Heritage Passes. One reasonable payment allows entry to numerous historic sites around and about Ireland.

Gaol Cell Prisoner #1

In the Prison Yard

Gaol Cell Prisoner #2

Just Sayin'

We are here at the time of the 100^th anniversary of the Easter Rising, which gives added significance to our visit. The former prison is now a museum and historic site, but it once housed Irish revolutionaries. Fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising were executed here by firing squad in the prison yard. The conditions of their executions sparked the Irish people to continue the revolution and eventually win their independence from England.

Cross marking the place of execution of the leaders of the 1916 Rising.

Before it was re-opened to house revolutionaries the prison held “ordinary” prisoners. They spent their sentences in cold, dark, stone cells, which became over crowded with 5 or more prisoners occupying a small cell meant for one. Women and children arrested for petty theft or begging slept on the floors of the flagstone corridors.

Cell Doors at Kilmainham

The story of Grace Gifford resonates. Her fiancé Joseph Plunkett was arrested for his part in planning the Easter Rising. Grace bought a wedding ring and begged the prison authorities to allow her to marry Joseph. The wedding took place hours before his execution. Grace was later arrested during the Civil War and spent several months in the gaol. The Madonna she painted during her sentence is preserved in her cell as is her wedding ring. 

Grace Gifford's Madonna through the Cell Peephole

The afternoon is spent on a three-hour walking excursion led by Lisa of Sandeman’s Tours. The tour is free but tips are hoped for at the end and hopefully exceed expectations. Lisa, a native Dubliner, is knowledgeable and enthusiastic and opens with a quote that I believe directly relates to the Irishman I live with: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story”

Lisa, Native Dubliner

She leads us from our meeting point at City Hall past remnants of Medieval walls, into the courtyard of Dublin Castle, stopping to admire Christ Church Cathedral where Tom and Jerry reside (a mummified cat and rat found in the organ pipes). 

Christ Church Cathedral

We cross the River Liffey, hear of the Norman invasion and see the Leinster House where the parliament of Ireland governs. 

Courtyard of the Parliament Building

Leftover Pizza Does the Tour

Dublin's Oldest "Chipper"

In the Temple Bar district where U2 got their start, Bono as a young musician upon being denied admission to a particular hotel vowed to come back and buy it some day, and he did along with most of the rest of the buildings on the block. We swing through Trinity College once again and pass the Chester Beatty Library. Our end point is the statue of Molly Malone, a fictional fishmonger where we are invited to sing along:

“In Dublin's fair city,

Where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,

Through streets broad and narrow,

Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

"Alive, alive, oh,

Alive, alive, oh,"

Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".

Molly Malone

Brez Finds Some Friends

Dinner at the Dean Hotel at Sophie’s rooftop restaurant. We enjoy drinks aloft on the outdoor terrace then move inside to the window-encircled restaurant looking out over the twinkling city from our table. Nick and Cynthia join us as we celebrate an early birthday for Sean and a memorable visit to Dublin. Cheers!

Outside the Dean Hotel

Waiting on the Swings at Sophie's Restaurant

Early Birthday Celebration