Some Sights In Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is both the largest city and capital of the Republic of Ireland. It was once a Viking settlement and has been an important city since medieval times.

The Dublin of today is a fast moving, young and thriving modern city with an abundance of arts and entertainment.
This was my second visit to Dublin in the past few years and if you like you can read about my first visit to the city here.

Our vacation was part work related as my husband had to do an audit with the Dublin division of the company he works for, so we stayed during the business days at The Shelbourne Hotel, which was established in 1824, and is a landmark in the city center, located across from St. Stephen's Green. It went through a renovation a few years ago and is now a Marriott Renaissance Hotel. It was truly elegant.


St. Stephen's Green is a beautiful 22-acre park within the city center and I'll do a whole blog post in the future to show you the beautiful views within it.

Walking down St. Stephen's Green North Street you will approach Grafton Street, the premier stylish shopping street in Dublin.



This pedestrianized strip is always full of shoppers. tourists, street musicians, and performers.


Below is a photo of a street performer who stood still as a statue - looking very much like the iconic James Joyce -- until a coin was dropped into his bucket, and then he'd do a little dance and change position and freeze again. It must be a good business for him!


There were a few street musicians serenading strollers with classical music outside of Brewley's Oriental Cafe one day. Brewley's Limited is an old Irish tea house chain, established in 1840. Famous Irish writers use to have their tea there. Unfortunately, many of the cafes were sold or closed, including this one, until it was reopened under new management. You can now have a fast food meal there such as pizza, but this is where I had that delicious enormous scone and cup of tea that you can see here. The decor inside was very nicely restored, and it was the perfect place to rest and enjoy the atmosphere.

One of the many flower stands along Grafton street.

At the end of Grafton Street at the junction of Nassau Street stands sculptor Jean Rynhart's statue of "Molly Malone", the celebrated street vendor from the traditional song " Molly Malone." Some locals jokingly refer to her as "The tart with the cart," but she is obviously a favorite subject for tourists to photograph. The day I saw her this charming man was playing the traditional Irish drum called the "bodhran" by her. He seemed excited that I was taking his photo too!


As you can see in the photo above, and below, the bicycle is one of the favorite means of transportation in Dublin for many residents.




Within the city there is also a good general double-decker bus system, as well as tourist "hop on hop off" buses, a light rail train called the LUAS, that is so successful it is being expanded, taxis, and The Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART) which will take you to the nearby suburbs.


At the very end of Grafton and Nassau Street is Trinity College, one of the great universities of the world with a 400-year-old tradition. It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth and occupies 47 acres.

A view from the main entrance:

Trinity College's beautiful Parliament Square which contains the Campanile bell tower built in 1853.


The major attractions for visitors are the spectacular Old Library and the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells was written around the year 800 AD and is one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. I saw both during my last visit to Dublin, so this time I explored the college grounds a little more.

The red brick buildings of Trinity College on Library Square are known as the Rubrics. They were built around 1700, and are the oldest surviving part of the college.


I could not resist taking a photo of one of the trees in front of these buildings --how magnificent it was!
I also want to show you the cobblestones that fill Parliament Square and all the building walkways of the college:


While my husband was working I spent one day visiting the beautiful National Gallery of Ireland, which has over 600 artworks in its collection from the 14th to the 20th centuries, including works by Picasso, Caravaggio, Rubins, and Vermeer. Irish painting is also charted from its re-emergence in the 17th century to Jack B. Yeats, who is Ireland's most important 20th-century artist.


Another day, while my husband was working, I visited The National Museum of Ireland, --the archaeology and history division of the museum. It houses a world-famous collection of Bronze Age gold ornaments such as the Tara Brooch and unparalleled Irish early Christian treasures such as the Cross of Cong, plus it has the Viking Ireland and Medieval Ireland galleries which contain many artifacts.


I also saw a wonderful multimedia exhibition about William Butler Yeats at The National Library of Ireland. Last time I visited Dublin it housed a James Joyce exhibition, so it appears that every two to three years the library has a new exhibit dedicated to a famous Irish author.
The library also has a Family History Research division and the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland which grants and confirms of coats of arms to individuals and corporate bodies.


In my next blog, I'll show you some of the many pubs in Dublin. It wouldn't be a worthy visit to this fine city without a visit to one of them, as they are a part of Dublin's living history and culture. Dublin is the city where Guinness Stout is produced and has been for over 200 years!