Category Archives: Ireland

“Pic of the Week”, January 19, 2018: Grafton Street, Dublin

Grafton Street is a popular pedestrian walkway in downtown Dublin, with many historic buildings and a variety of shops, restaurants, hotels and bars. It is the main shopping street in Dublin. The street is lovely and the ambience conducive to window-shopping and a leisurely stroll.

Grafton Street begins at St Stephens Green and runs north towards Trinity College. It’s at the northern end that you find the statue of Molly Malone. The area is popular with street performers and has become renowned as a launch pad for musical acts, such as U2 front man Bono.

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Karl on Jan 18, 2018 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, November 3, 2017: Famine Memorial, Dublin

A friend once told me that good public art should capture your attention and “get you in the gut”. That’s certainly true of the Famine statues on Custom House Quay in Dublin’s modernized Docklands. These gaunt figures commemorate the Great Potato Famine of the mid-19th century (1845 – 1847), referred to as An Gorta Mór –“the great hunger”. The location is historic as it was the site of the first voyage of the famine exodus on the ship Perseverance. The work is entitled “Famine” and was presented to the People of Ireland by Norma Smurfit in 1997.

During the great famine approximately 1 million Irish people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, reducing the island’s population by about 25%. …

Karl on Nov 2, 2017 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, October 6, 2017: Traditional Irish Musical Pub Crawl, Dublin

A fun and recommended activity for those visiting Dublin is to do the Irish Musical Pub Crawl. Unlike the name implies, the consumption of alcohol is optional and everyone actually walked between the venues — no crawling observed! But it is an opportunity to try a pint of Guinness (not a brew I’m very fond of, but better here than when I’ve tried it elsewhere probably due to the freshness of the product). You do get to visit a total of 3 pubs, two in the Temple Bar area, with about a 30-40 minute set at each of the three places.

The tour features two professional Irish musicians, generally playing traditional songs on a guitar and violin. In …

Karl on Oct 5, 2017 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, September 15, 2017: Merrion Square, Dublin

Merrion Square is a beautiful garden square in south central Dublin. It was laid out after 1762 and was largely completed by the 19th century. It’s a wonderful place to visit when in Dublin, for a casual stroll or picnic or to relax in a bench and do some people-watching.

People like to linger here, but the most popular resident of the park is a colorful statue of Oscar Wilde. Commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, it was sculpted by Danny Osborne and was unveiled about 20 years ago.

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 – 1900) was an Irish writer and poet who resided across the street from the park. Today he is best remembered for his novel The Picture of …

Karl on Sep 14, 2017 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”: August 18, 2017. Temple Bar District, Dublin

Ireland is well known for its music, food, Guinness, whiskey, and friendly engaging people, all of which (and more) can be found and enjoyed in Temple Bar District.

Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. Many of the pubs in the area are hundreds of years old.

Temple Bar is promoted as Dublin’s cultural quarter, being the location of many Irish cultural institutions, including the Irish Photography Centre, the Ark Children’s Cultural Centre, the Irish Film Institute, the Temple Bar Music Centre, the Gaiety School of Acting, as well as the Irish Stock Exchange …

Karl on Aug 17, 2017 | Comments Off

“Pic of the Week”, July 21, 2017: Ha’Penny Bridge, Dublin

A landmark worth looking for while exploring Dublin is the charming Ha’Penny Bridge. The bridge was built in 1816 and was the first to span the River Liffey. Before this bridge was built, the only public option Dubliners had for crossing the …

Karl on Jul 20, 2017 | Comments Off

Trim Castle, Boyne Valley, Ireland

Karl on Apr 11, 2017 with Comments Off

The pretty town of Trim, a heritage town in County Meath, is home to Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman castle; the castle and its grounds dominate the town. The castle rests on the south bank of the River Boyne. It was constructed over a thirty year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter; they were granted this right by King Henry II in 1172 in an attempt to stop the expansionist policies of Richard de Clare (Strongbow).

Construction of the impressive three storied keep at the center of the castle was begun about 1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. The keep is unique in that it has 20 sides and is cruciform in shape; its walls are 3m …

Tagged Boyne, Braveheart, Castle, keep, Trim, Trim Castle

.All Trips / Europe / Ireland

St Stephen’s Green, Dublin

Karl on Dec 6, 2015 with Comments Off

09 Dublin, St. Stephen’s Green 10 -2013 (15d)

Some have described St. Stephen’s Green as the heart of Dublin. I guess that’s true of most good city parks, and it’s certainly true of St. Stephen’s.

We stayed at a small hotel just a block from St. Stephen’s when we visited Dublin and walked through the park several times a day as we went to and from our varying destinations in the city. It was fall, cool but not cold (although crisp at night), and the leaves were starting to change color and fall to the ground. As with everything else in Ireland, it was a lush green place.

The park goes back to the 17th century, but its current Victorian creation opened in 1880 for all people in Dublin. Rectangular …

Tagged City park, Dublin, Park, St Stephen's Green