What comes to mind when you think of Ireland? Jimmy talked of little else but leprechauns in the days leading up to our departure for the Emerald Isle last Friday. St. Patrick’s Day, Maureen O’Hara (with John Wayne, in the movie the Quiet Man), castles, shamrocks, Catholics, protestants, Riverdance and the Blarney Stone (and those blarney accents) were just a few of the bits and pieces that were grist for the thoughts milling around in my head for weeks prior to our trip. Jimmy keeps things simply; I obviously obsess.
I wasn't sure how to sort through all that obsessing. I was still fighting jet lag. The Irish are not fighting anybody anymore, which was a first for this island country for close to a thousand years. I give these lads and lassies credit; they’d put up with more than their fair share from the Vikings and the Normans and the Scots and the Brits.
But that is a post for another day. Today, like my scattered thoughts, I’m all over the board. After all, me thinks there was a wee bit of blarney that went into my first two days in Dublin, Ireland.
I wasn't sure how to sort through all that obsessing. I was still fighting jet lag. The Irish are not fighting anybody anymore, which was a first for this island country for close to a thousand years. I give these lads and lassies credit; they’d put up with more than their fair share from the Vikings and the Normans and the Scots and the Brits.
But that is a post for another day. Today, like my scattered thoughts, I’m all over the board. After all, me thinks there was a wee bit of blarney that went into my first two days in Dublin, Ireland.
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The Irish have long been known for living in the land of saints, scholars and story tellers. When I asked our cabbie (he was as Irish as they come; affable, quick witted and fair skinned) why Dublin’s Georgian doors lining the streets were so colorful, he mentioned the death of the Queen (that would be the Queen of England, although he did not specify which queen) and the edict that came down from high that all doors in England, including the provincial town of Dublin, part of the British Empire, should be painted black while the nation mourned. As Michael, our cabbie put it, “And of course, the Irish being Irish, they proceeded to paint their doors with any color but black!”
All that hops makes my hair curl! BTW, I bet you're green with envy over my colorful nail polish.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Ireland’s best selling beer, a dry stout known by several names; a Guinness, the black stuff, or a pint of plain. In 1759, founder Arthur Guinness leased a 4-acre brewery property at St. James’ Gate Brewery in Dublin for 45 Irish pounds (about $60 in current market prices) per year. He locked in that price for 9000 years! Yep, I didn’t get carried away with the zeroes; his lease is for nine thousand years at 45 Irish pounds a year. I’ll drink to that!
St. Patrick's spire reaches 140 feet into the air.
There are over 500 people buried on the site of Ireland's largest church, St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Among the notable individuals buried beneath the church is writer Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, and Dean of St. Patrick's for thirty-two years prior to his death in 1745. Jonathan Swift was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from the renowned Trinity College of Dublin in 1702. Buried next to Swift is his long-time friend and companion, Esther Johnson, who died in 1728, seventeen years prior to Swift’s passing.
The water table in Dublin meant no basement or crypts at St. Patrick. Bodies are buried beneath the floor.
And speaking of notable individuals, Dublin has a renowned history in the literary and movie world with celebrated native names such George Bernard Shaw (dramatist, critic & Nobel Prize winner), James Joyce (writer and poet and author of Ulysses), Oscar Wilde (playwright, poet, essayist & novelist) and Dracula creator Bram Stoker to name but a few. Prominent Hollywood actors hailing from the city include Maureen O’Hara, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne and Colin Farrell.
For a time, Oscar Wilde lived in this house in Dublin, No. 1 Merrion Square, as a child.
The average temperature in Dublin in January is 41°F. The city reaches an average temperature of 63°F in July. The last time Dublin had snow was approximately thirteen years ago. It is estimated that 50% of the city’s residents are under 25 years of age. Jimmy and I dressed warmly and partied hard while visiting Dublin.
It was dancing in the streets the first day we arrived as thousands joined the Gay Pride Parade.
The three most famous symbols of Ireland are the green Shamrock, the harp and the Celtic cross. The national symbol of Ireland is the Celtic harp,
The oldest harp in Ireland is believed to have been made in 1014.
not the shamrock.
Jimmy and I flew Aer Lingus non-stop from Chicago to Dublin, Ireland last Friday.
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