Touristing in Dublin

Saturday 1/15/11:

Today was tourist day. Elizabeth and I got on a bus that went around to all the major sites in Dublin. We visited quite a few of them. The Book of Kells was our first stop. The Book of Kells is housed in Trinity College. The Book of Kells is the four gospels in Illuminated Text. The monks that wrote this book paid great attention to detail and were given free reign for their artistic expressions. It was started by the monks of Iona who had moved to Kells after a Viking attack in 806. This amazing book came to Dublin in 1653.

After viewing the Book of Kells, we moved on to the Long Hall, which had an exhibition about the 1641 Depositions. The Long Room is the main part of the Library and contains over 200,000 of its oldest books in dark oak bookcases. This dark wood is punctuated by the white busts of various authors. Photography was forbidden in the Long Hall, though I tried, words cannot express the magnificence of this place. Among the works under glass was a book by John Temple called The Irish Rebellion, written in 1646 in reference to the 1641 uprising. It was signed by the author.

Among the collection is the oldest surviving harp. It is made of oak and willow and attributed to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland who died in 1014. This is the harp that appears on Irish coins.

We then went to the National Photographic Archive were they were showing photographs from The Big House in Ireland. The name of the exhibit was called Power and Privilege. The photographs date from 1858-1922, and show various aspects of high society, from otter hunting to horseback riding.

From there our travels took us to the Guinness Storehouse where we learned about Arthur Guinness. I did not know that he took a 9000 year lease on the land where the brewery currently sits. There is a man who believed in his product.

The last stop before walking back to the Hostel was the Old Jameson Distillery. I wanted to register my bottle of Midleton but unfortunately the year 2008 book is in Midleton, Ireland and was unavailable.

Tomorrow, more touristry!