Intrepid Friends' Ireland Trip

Friends Hugh and Kathy are world travellers, and each year head out to distant locales.
Kathy keeps us all informed with her travelblog, and here it is:

"Monday began in a fog, with some sleep, but still jet lagged. After 2 cups of tea (it will never replace coffee!) we headed out to explore. St. Stephens Green is a gorgeous, peaceful oasis right across the street. No traffic, lovely flower beds, and ducks and swans in the ponds.

We had been told not to miss Grafton Street and the Temple Bar areas of the city, which are only a short walk away. Well, Grafton Street is just a bunch of shopping, boring mall type stores that we have at home, and Temple Bar, although cool with it's cobbled streets is nothing but overpriced pubs and restaurants.

Did get some good pictures of one bar though with it's beautiful hanging baskets. After a wander around there we headed back towards our place and along the way encountered a shop selling Aran sweaters. Some of them were very lovely, but though it says that they are handmade I have trouble believing that. And more disappointing is that they are sewed together with sewing machines! I looked to see if I could buy the yarn and a separate pattern and knit my own, but their pattern selection is very limited. Perhaps I will check again when we get to Galway.

Passed a book store also, that apparently has 3 floors of books! I thought of you, Kerianne, and how much fun we would have in there with unlimited funds and time. And another suitcase to bring it all home in! By this time we were hungry, so a lunch stop was made. Bangers and mash for Hugh, and shephards pie for me. Wow it was good! And filling! Add to that a pint of bitters  and a glass of wine and we needed a nap.

Ashamed to say we spent most of the afternoon dozing, just catching up on sleep. Ventured out for dinner, and found another great place close by and enjoyed a fantastic roasted beet and goat cheese salad and fish and chips, which we  shared. Wanted to go across the street to O'Donoghues pub for a drink as we had been told it was a great place, but it was super loud, very crowded, and full of cigarettes being smoked, so tried a wee spot on the corner instead, that only had the bartender and one other patron in it. Peaceful, quiet, no cigarettes, and nice Irish music playing quietly in the back ground.

Of course struck up a conversation with the 2 fellas, one of whom was already 3 sheets to the wind. Along came the pints of Smithwicks, a red ale that Hugh wanted to try.  Three hours later, when the bartender was closing up, we finally left! Had great conversation with these 2 guys and learned a lot about what the southern Irish think of Brexit (they are afraid that the "troubles" are going to start up again and really don't want that) , the fact that they have to learn Irish in school, even though they never use it (kind of like us and French) and a short lesson in how to say a few Irish words, and pronounce some of the names. It has all left my head already as it is very difficult to spell and pronounce! Stumbled home and slept until 9 this morning! Unheard of for us.

The guys in the bar, Ronan and Liam, had told us that going out to the gaol is a great trip, but when I checked this morning the tickets were all sold out. Plan 2- go visit the Glasnevin Cemetery instead, and see the "grave diggers pub" afterwards. So that's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Today we walked around the Trinity College grounds, and saw some pretty cool old buildings, but it was very busy and crowded with students going back to school. The lineup to see the Book of Kells was 60 minutes long, and since neither of us do lineups, that was a No! Wandered over to Merrion Square to another lovely park and see gorgeous old Victorian homes, which ring the park, and now belong to the rich and important!

Happened to stumble upon the museum of Natural History, and it was free, with no lineups! A fantastic old Victorian building, quite shabby in places, with a plethora of dusty and very dead creatures. And amazingly squeaky wooden floors, too. It was opened by Dr. Livingston of Stanley and Livingston fame, before he went and got lost in the jungles of the Congo! That was cool! I don't think the animals have been dusted since then! Back to the house to change into shorts, as it was very warm. That didn't last long, soon after the rain started.

Went out to find our bus stop to get to the cemetery tomorrow and wound up having dinner at The Duke Pub, named after the 2nd Duke of Grafton, and sitting on the same corner since 1822. Noteworthy attendees over the years have included, among others, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce. Having earlier walked by the house where Oscar Wilde was born, I would say we had a brush with more than one historical figure today!

I love old graveyards. I enjoy wandering around, reading the names of the people and families who are buried there, and thinking about all the folks who have come before us and the stories they would tell if they could. Today, we tried out the Dublin transit system, got on the bus, and headed out to the Glasnevis Cemetery. We had no idea just how many interesting stories were there. We took a tour and the guide, Katie, was very interesting and entertaining. The cemetery itself is a beautiful piece of ground, huge, with lots of trees (Yew, which I had never seen,) and huge big Cedars among others. Some of the headstones were very imposing and also very ornate. Lots of Celtic knots and symbols carved into stone and concrete, and many angels and crosses.

 There are Catholics, Protestants and people of no religion buried there. The very biggest, and most important crypt belongs to Daniel O'Connell, also known to the Irish people as "The Liberator" or "The Emancipator". He was a very important politician and revolutionary in the 1800's. He began the fight to emancipate the Catholics and repeal the Acts of Union which combined the Irish with Great Britain and had taken away their independence. He was not a violent man, and tried to do all of his work in Parliament, getting laws changed rather than waging war. He was a true hero of the Irish people.

Michael Collins, another Irish patriot, revolutionary, soldier and politician is also buried there. He contributed to the Easter uprising of 1916 (part of which was fought on the grounds of the lovely park across the street, St Stephens Green) and the Irish Civil war which followed shortly after. Katie also showed us the graves of several women who aided in these political acts of independence and freedom at a time when it was unusual to do so. These events were the beginnings of the IRA, the "troubles, and other political movements we have heard of but not fully understood. 

The country is still torn apart and not likely to be resting easily with Brexit looming. There were so many other stories she told us too, but these are the ones I particularly remembered.

By the time we were done 2 hours of walking and listening in the cemetery  it was time for lunch, so we headed over to The Gravediggers Pub. Of course! It is a wee place, built into the wall of the cemetery right by the original entrance, and has been there since 1833. It was owned by a  Kavanagh then, and has been passed down and is still owned and operated by a Kavanagh today! The story is that after a long shift, day or night, of digging graves the fellas would come into have a pint or 2 before heading home. It is also reported to be haunted. I guess that depends on how many pints one has at a time!

Tomorrow will be a great adventure- head out to the airport, pick up the car, and drive on the wrong side of the road (thank god there is a ring road!) down to Glendalough, and then to our destination for the night, Kilkenny. Dublin has been grand, but we have had enough of traffic and exhaust fumes and it will be nice to get out into the mountains and countryside."