2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 46-48 Dublin, Ireland)

 

Our last few days in Dublin were going to be full so it was a relief to see the sun shining when we woke to begin exploring this old city on the Liffey river. We caught the bus into the center of town, walked past the Dublin castle and down into St Stephen's Green, a nine hectare green space in the middle of Dublin where we found the Memorial Sculpture of James Joyce, one of the most influential and important Irish writers of the 20th century. The downtown was crowded and, being Saturday, full of tourists, so it was nice to stroll among the leafy paths of the park for a while. From there we walked over to Trinity College's Library to see the famous Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created by Early Christian monks around 800AD - one of the great treasures of medieval Europe that you may not have even heard of. It contains the four gospels together with various texts and tables and is a masterwork of Western calligraphy, considered by many as Ireland's finest national treasure. You only get to see one page that is opened as it is protected and sealed within an airtight display case so nobody can touch it. From there we walked into the next part of the Old Library called the Long Room filled with over 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. Breathtaking if you like old books and even if you don't the beautiful barrel-vaulted ceiling is a joy to behold. Lining the central walkway are marble busts of famous philosophers and writers, the first commissioned in 1743, and the 15th century 'Brian Boru' harp, the national symbol of Ireland.

Book of Kells, Trinity College, Dublin

Brian Boru harp, Long Room

It was Saturday in the Capital so we first decided to go check out The Temple Bar area, a busy riverside neighborhood spread over some old and uneven cobbled lanes that you can easily get lost in, These crowded pubs are the center of Dublin's nightlife and it was nuts when we there although it was only early afternoon, impossible to move and everyone singing, drinking and high fiving. We didn't stay long, just enough time to take some photos then opting to walk to the National Museum instead, a treasure house of anything Irish and with a very impressive display of Viking artifacts found locally. A walk along the Ha'penny bridge (built in 1816 and officially called the Liffey Bridge, it was used as a toll bridge for 100 years and you were charged, you guessed it, a half penny) and time to call it another day. Tomorrow was the Cathedral and a bus ride out to the the Royal Hibernian Military School where my Grandfather William Steward and his brother Great Uncle Harry Edward were sent as a young boys.

Temple Bar, Dublin

Viking swords and axes, National Museum of Ireland

Time for a Guiness, The Bull& Castle, Dublin

Ha'penny Bridge, Dublin

The bus ride out to the west end of the city took forever but we arrived mid-morning at beautiful Phoenix Park and St Mary's Hospital where the military school buildings remain but now part of the hospital. The building has been repainted and looks exactly as it did when it was constructed in 1771. The institution originally went by the name Hibernian Society for the Orphans and Children of Soldiers (until 1846).  By the mid 19th century the school acted as a feeder to the British Army when children as young as 12 could enlist, By1922 it had moved to Folkestone. We wandered about the grounds and found the old chapel and another church where possibly my Grandfather attended. In the graveyard we discovered a sad part of the history of the school - the gravestones of dozens of young boys aged eight through thirteen. No records remain of the time he was there but we did get a feeling of how it must have been to be a boy there under the stern gaze of the instructors. What they endured can only be imagined.

Chapel, former Royal Hibernian Military School, Dublin

We took another bus back to center town to see Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, and home to many depictions of Ireland's most famous saint. Nobody knows exactly what he looked like so all the paintings and statues looked different. We spent an hour inside this, our last Cathedral to visit on this trip, and had a chance to see a display case featuring the death mask, one of his sermons and a cast of the skull of the writer Jonathan Swift. He is best known for Gulliver's Travels but it was interesting to learn he was also Dean of the Cathedral from 1713 to 1745. His pulpit is on display as well and I had the chance to feel its well worn surface. He is buried under the floor alongside his best friend Stella. After our visit we walked along the River Liffey to O'Connell Street to gaze up at the Spire of Dublin, a 390 foot stainless steel pin-like monument. It was erected in 2003 on the same spot where Nelson's Pillar stood until it was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1966. Some opposition initially greeted the Spire and it has inspired a number of nicknames, as is common with any public art in Dublin - the nail in the Pale, the stiletto in the ghetto, the erection at the intersection and my favorite, the Stiffy by the Liffy. A nice meal and a toast to Ireland ended our day. Tomorrow we fly home after 48 days; over 4000 miles by car alone, 125 miles walking and memories too numerous to count.   GWS

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Spire of Dublin, O'Connell St

slan atha cliath (goodbye Dublin!)

goodbye to the green field of Ireland

hello to the white landscape of Canada

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 45 Bru na Boinne, County Meath, Ireland)

 

Our last major attraction in Ireland before going to Dublin was Bru na Boinne, a place 'within the  bend' of the River Boyne that contains one of the world's most important prehistoric sites. The archaeological landscape within the area of Bru na Boinne is dominated by three large passage tombs - Knoth, Newgrange and Dowth built some 5000 years ago in the Neolithic or Late Stone Age. An additional 90 monuments have been recorded in the area  and these tombs contain the largest assemblage of megalithic art in Western Europe. We visited Knoth and Newgrange, amazed by the vastness of this Neolithic necropolis that is a 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The River Boyne flows through here where the Battle of the Boyne, a major battle in Irish history, took place near Drogheda in 1690. Bru na Boinne is a real testament to the achievements of prehistoric man and again shows how little acknowledgment we have given him. This complex was built to to house the remains of those who were at the top of the social heap and it's tombs were the largest in Ireland until the construction of the Anglo-Norman castles 4000 years later! We learned through two efficient and friendly tour guides how that over the centuries  the tombs decayed, were covered by grass and trees, and plundered by everybody from Vikings to Victorian treasure hunters. We could see initials and names from the 1800s inscribed on the walls of the main burial chamber at Newgrange. Here within the centre of the tomb the guide turned off the lights and showed us it's precise alignment with the sun at the time of the winter solstice using a beam of light place to mimic the sun. It is then the sun's rays shine through the roof-top above the entrance, creep slowly down the long passage and illuminate the chamber for 17 minutes. Quite a humbling and personal experience to be there and relive, trying to put our selves in the place of those humans 500 centuries ago. The rain came down steadily while we were there, the first time on our trip, but cleared up as we left for our Airbnb in Dublin, our last stop before flying home.

timeline comparing Newgrange and Stonehenge

the River Boyne at Newgrange

Knoth, Bru na Boinne

a spiral engraved curb stone, Newgrange, Bru na Boinne

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 44 Kilmacduagh/Athlone, Ireland)

 

On our way to Athlone we drove through the green Irish countryside along the narrow Irish roads (R460), coming suddenly to the ruins of Kilmacduagh Abbey. We stopped as it looked interesting, a tall tower overlooking the roofless Abbey and the churchyard, still in use. Founded in the 7th century by Saint Colman MacDuagh (hence the name) it was plundered in the 13th century but was in use probably for another 300 years. The round tower was a place of refuge for the monks in case of attack, dated to be from the 12th century. Legend has it that the Saint trained a rooster to crow to remind him when to pray, a mouse to stop him from sleeping more than 5 hours in 24 by scratching him behind his ears, and a fly to walk along the lines of his book to direct him where to read again by standing on the first letter of the next sentence. Really. Our reason though for visiting Athlone was to find my great-grandfather Isaac Steward's gravestone in Cornamagh Cemetery. He and three of his mates accidently drowned on the 2nd of July, 1881while sailing in nearby Lough (lake) Ree, the second largest of the major lakes on the River Shannon. An unexpected storm came up and overturned their boat. Great-Grandpa Steward was 31, a Sergeant in the 15th Battalion of the 60th Royal Rifles. His mates were Sgt. John Crowley, Color Sgt. James Thompson and Sgt. Major James Mitchell. We searched high and low for their gravestones but time and the effects of weather had obliterated most of the markings from this period and we couldn't find anything. The records though from the cemetery do indicate he is buried there somewhere. Our search will continue and hopefully one day these four graves can be identified. We did go to the Lough just to see the waters that had claimed my Great-Grandfather's life and I had a few moments to reflect on the fragility of man. At one point on our way there we took a shortcut along a farm road where it was necessary for Marie to get out of the car, open two gates across a 'live railway crossing' to let me cross with the car. Only in Ireland!

Kilmacduagh Abbey, County Galway

Cornamagh Cemetery, Athlone

opening first gate across the train tracks

I'm through! Close the gates Marie!

Lough Ree, near Athlone, County Westmeath

We also stopped of to visit to Athlone Castle while we there and walked over to the nearby Custume barracks where my great-grandfather was billeted during his time here. It is so named after Sgt Custume, a hero of the siege of Athlone by the British Williamite army in 1691.  It is still a military establishment where the 6th Infantry Battalion of the Irish Army are garrisoned. We talked to one of the soldiers there who suggested we check out the Collins Museum in Dublin for more information about the late 1800s time period we were interested in. Isaac Steward must have visited the castle while he was stationed here as it is only five minutes from the barracks but he probably didn't have to pay to get in as we did. The Castle, from the 12th century, details the heroics of Sgt Custume and others as well as the history of Athlone in eight exhibition spaces. Just a few minutes walk from the castle was Sean's Bar, the oldest pub in Ireland and another place where Isaac may have stepped in for a Guinness when off duty. Before leaving for our next Airbnb we picked up a few souvenirs of the town and turned our thoughts to our last stop tomorrow - Dublin.  GWS

Sgt Custume

Sean's Bar, oldest pub in Ireland