Blast from the Past- Our Dublin Vacation 2016

22 min readMar 13, 2023

Links to many items of interest in this blog post are at the end.

Thursday March 31–2016

Joni and I went to Dublin for vacation from March 19 through March 25th. The impetus for the travel was that when I was living in China last year for a different job, we had purchased a ticket for her to Beijing with the intent to spend a week there in October 2015 under the assumption I was going to be living there longer. However, jobs changed and I was not going back to China in the fall and with employment options unsure at the time, we cancelled the trip. American Airlines told us we had until May 4th to use the expensive ticket or lose the money completely. Given the upcoming activities of running for Congress as well as bike and running events, March was the time to go! It was more of a coincidence we opted to go just after St Patrick’s Day. But it was also fortuitous that Ireland is celebrating a centenary. On Easter 1916, the Irish Volunteers led a six day uprising against British rule. Consequently Ireland and Dublin in particular have lots of historical activities going on from Easter this year (which is in March) through April 16th (the actual calendar date of the 1916 rising).

More photos can be seen here -> and here -> (coming soon)

The weather was cool all week and I actually got cold and had to buy an Aran sweater, which will do me in good stead at home regardless. We had only one partial day of clear blue sky and on one occasion a bit of misty rain for just a few minutes but otherwise had NO rain the entire week until Saturday March 26th- the day of our departure as we drove to the airport.

One interesting and notably inconvenient feature of visiting Dublin is the fact that there are really no public restrooms. All businesses have signs “Toilets for customers only.” So if you visit Dublin, be sure to carry a few Euro cash to perhaps pop in a cafe for a coffee or tea or such which will entitle you to use the facilities. While we mostly avoided global chain outlets while there, at one stop at a Starbucks convenient to a bus stop to buy a coffee and use the toilet I found that the receipt had a 4-digit code for entry to the toilets but I had thrown it away and had to ask the clerk for the number.

Our hotel was the Eliza Lodge right downtown on the river on Wellington Quay. One note about Dublin as with many old European cities- the street names can change from block to block. We were on Wellington Quay so named because back in sailing days that was where the Wellington Quay was located (not sure if it was just a name or the dock there was owned by a guy named Wellington). The next block would be a different name. In sailing days boats came up the River Liffy from the ocean and docked at a respective Quay to offload goods and take on new goods. Similarly away from the river, one street could have the name “Baker’s St.” because that was where all the bakers were located in the middle-ages whereas the same thoroughfare a block down would be Butchers St., perhaps, due to that was where the butchers operated in the olden days.

But all in all Dublin was very walkable for nearly everything we wanted to see. We did buy an “HOP ON HOP OFF” bus pass at 33EU each which was good for a 72 hour period. But other than riding it out to Phoenix Park, Guinness and some of the things farther away from the city center, we could have opted for a 24 or 48 hour pass for just those more distant activities had we planned more rigorously. But the 72 hour pass gave us flexibility for sure.

Another quirk I noticed after we got home and checked our hotel bill was that we were billed for 14 breakfasts (seven each). I had misunderstood and thought that breakfast was included in the hotel fee. It was not. Rather, the restaurant (called the Italian Corner) merely has arrangements to charge to the room. The breakfast in the hotel was good, but had we known that clearly in advance we’d have eaten elsewhere more often. Our favorite for coffee and hot chocolate (for Joni) was around the corner and a block away called Brickroad Cafe in the Temple Bar district. Best coffee and hot chocolate all week there!

We are not your normal vacationers or tourists. While there we attended a political meeting, visited a cemetery, and had discussion with our breakfast server over water rights controversy in Ireland.

I kept brief notes of our activities all week in order to expand on the narrative for this blog. I was totally immersed in the history the entire week!

SATURDAY MARCH 19

We flew from Grand Rapids Friday March 18th and landed in Dublin the morning of March 19th Saturday. We rented a car due to a planned event on Sunday and drove into Dublin. The hotel had emailed me directions to the Jervis Carpark. We parked there and walked from the north side of the river over a walking bridge to our hotel. (The river is a great guideline for directions- you cannot go wrong or get too lost if using the river as a guide). The hotel room was small. It had a king size bed and only enough room one any of three sides to walk around it. But it suited us as we do not spend much time there.

After a brief nap to get acclimated we went across the river to The Woolen Mill for a hot beverage and the largest scones we’d ever seen. We just walked around the area just to get a feel for the sights. Joni found a gelato shop though it was closed. I then had inspiration to find the Abbey Theater since we’d booked tickets for a 1926 play “The Plough and the Stars” by Sean O’Casey (controversial in its day). As we checked out the lobby about 3pm or so, I decided to get our Will-Call tickets….and was informed they did not have us for the Monday showing. WHAT? I inadvertently booked SATURDAY tickets- in four hours! So we got our tickets, went back to the hotel and changed in to our theater-wear and went to dinner then to the theater. It was a great play though we did miss some of the dialogue. (I have since ordered a book of the play text to read at home). It ended up working well that we did the play Saturday as it freed us up the rest of the week from a specifically scheduled event.

Also, we had parked in the Jervis car-park but after talking to the hotel staff who informed us that that car-park was NOT open early enough for our Sunday activity, we moved the car to a car-park in the Temple Bar district which had 24 hour access (and was closer to the hotel).

SUNDAY MARCH 20

When planning the trip I found a 5K running race outside of Dublin at Clongowes Woods College by a promoter called Popupraces.ie and we registered for the event in the USA. The race started at 11am. I figured it was a 45 minute drive but for buffer we planned to get up at 8am, eat and then have plenty of time to drive… except I messed up the alarm clock and we woke up at 930am! Dang it! Rush to get dressed, grabbed a bite at the Brickroad Cafe and rushed to the car. We had a map of the area and I had a general idea in my head of the route so it wasn’t a big deal with directions, but it was a little nerve wracking though ultimately if we didn’t make the race it would not be a vacation killer. But we DID make it to Clongowes Woods College at 1030am with plenty of time to get our BIB and warm up a bit. The course was mostly flat or had a very slight grade up on the first mile. It was fun! I finished with a time of 22:25 (and was 34th of 160 men all ages- the promoter does not break down age groups as we do here in the US). Joni was satisfied with her 35:18 minute run (229th of all 272 women). We chatted very briefly with some locals and then took photos of the college buildings before we made the drive back to Dublin.

We parked the car, cleaned up at the hotel then drove back to the airport to drop off the rental. We then too the Airlink747 bus back into town, getting off the bus on O’Connell St. (We bought the Hop On-Hop off bus passes for 33EU at the same time- I got us 33EU 72 hour passes which go into effect the first time you use it). We went into the Temple Bar district (which had car-restricted roads for the weekend due to the St Patrick’s Day celebrations) and had dinner at an American style restaurant called Thunder Road- not overly impressive for food. We then walked across the river where Joni had her gelato fix at the spot we’d seen Saturday.

FYI- Brickroad Cafe had THE best coffee I had all week, food there was good (we did eat breakfast there before we started dining at the hotel restaurant), and Joni said the hot chocolate was almost as if they melted a chocolate bar in it! Thick and tasty.

So our first two days had hiccups in our only scheduled activities but we adapted and adjusted and now had the rest of the week to do what we wanted without specific schedule to meet. We had Guinness, Jameson’s, Glasnevin Cemetery, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublinia, Kilmainham Gaol, and a few other locations on our agenda.

MONDAY

Monday we slept in a bit and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant (The Italian Corner). We then decided to use the Hop-on bus, activating the 72 hour use period, and rode the bus to the Kilmainham Gaol. But when we got there we found it was a 3–1/2 hour wait so we skipped the gaol. The bus then took us into Phoenix Park where we could get a distant photograph of the home of the Irish President as well as a photo of the Wellington monument (an obelisk). The bus route then went to Jameson’s Distillery which we opted to do a tour and tasting.

After touring the Jameson’s Distillery (which was very interesting), we stopped nearby at St Michen’s Church where they have crypts underneath the church you can tour, though no photographs are allowed in some due to the fact that they are still in use. These crypts were, allegedly, the inspiration for Stoker’s Dracula story. (There is a Stoker Castle northeast of Dublin but we did not tour that). The guide was an interesting character and his narration alone was humorous enough to warrant the stop.

After leaving St Michen’s, we used the Hop-On bus and went to Dublinia. Dublinia is in an old church and is a chronological museum with displays of the evolution of Dublin from original Viking days through the middle-ages and was really interesting as well.

Dinner was at the Parliament Hotel restaurant and was one of the best meals we had that week. The hotel bar/restaurant had great classic wood-trimmed decor. We then walked back up to Dublin Castle and took night photographs of it and the garden-memorial behind it before heading back to the Eliza for the night.

TUESDAY

We decided to go to the jail first thing after breakfast at the hotel and went to the Hop-on Bus stop. But as we considered it, we decided to use a taxi and get right to the hotel. The Hop-on bus route are nearly two hours for the entire loop, so if we did catch the bus it would be at least 45 minutes before we even got to the gaol. So we opted for a taxi and for 10EU we got to the gaol in about 10 minutes. Perfect timing- the line was not too long. They only let groups a dozen or so in to the jail with a guide about every 15 minutes. We had a 45 minute wait and as we stood in line busses rolled in and the line got really long, so we had done it right by taking the taxi.

The jail is where the leaders of the 1916 rebellion were executed. Later, during the civil war, opponents of the Irish Free State were interned here by the government. Additionally, the gaol (now a museum) has served as a movie set for a few movies- notably the Daniel Day Lewis film “In the Name of the Father.”

We took the Hop-On bus back into downtown Dublin and walked around. I wanted to check out the Sinn Fein bookstore. We found it an looked around but did not buy anything though I came back the next day and bought a Sinn Fein pin for 4EU.

We had dinner this evening at The Norseman, in the Temple Bar district near our hotel. It really was deceiving. We walked into the pub, figuring we’d have dinner there (the menu was posted on the door as it is with most establishments in Dublin). But we were asked if we wanted to eat in the pub or the restaurant. The (much quieter) restaurant was upstairs! Dinner there was delicious as well. I had roast vegetables with cream sauce in a pastry. Joni had chicken pie with mash potatoes in a Jameson gravy.

We then walked around the Temple Bar district a while before stopping in at Gogarty where a two man band was playing traditional Irish music. After a bit, the second man left and the guitar player stayed on to play more. His set was a bit slow. Joni wanted to hear “Galway Girl” and when the musician asked for requests I couldn’t get her to shout it out so I told him what she wanted to hear. (We were sitting fairly close to him). He said he didn’t know it (joking of course) and proceeded to play it and it got the entire pub hopping and clapping. The rest of his set was on fire! Later a fiddle player was about to join him but we could not stay longer as it was getting late.

As an aside, communicating with the waiter was difficult. Dublin has a lot of foreign workers in the hospitality field, mostly from Eastern Europe, but when I asked out waiter where he was from he said Brazil (Portuguese speaker). So when I ordered a second Guinness and also ordered a pint for the musician, the waiter delivered it, but was not functionally able to tell the guitar player who sent the drink. I ended up telling him as we left.

WEDNESDAY

We started Wednesday off with breakfast again in the hotel. (The scrambled eggs were excellent, by the way). We got our delicious coffee and hot chocolate from The Brickyard Cafe and then walked to Dublin Castle for a daytime tour. The Castle was the seat of British power in Ireland until handed over to the Irish Free State in 1922.

Famously, in the movie “Michael Collins,” the British commander chides Collins, played by Liam Neeson, that he was six minutes late. Collins responds that the British have kept the Irish waiting 700 years and he could have his six minutes. The scene was filmed in the same courtyard. The castle was built on the site of an original Viking redoubt, later expanded in the middle ages to the classic castle style of four walls with rounded turret towers. Only one tower still stands and on our tour we got to go underneath a portion of another corner where the base of the second tour still exists. The castle now serves as the seat of Irish power where they entertain foreign heads of state.

Behind the Castle is a “garden of remembrance” of which the large round grassy area is actually the location of the “black pool” (from which Dublin get its name: “dubh linn” means black pool). The ground under the grassy area is too soft to actually build upon so it is left as a large grassy park on which they can also land helicopters as needed. Within the garden area is a memorial to fallen police officers (I saw a wreath brought by Americans with patches from several California departments attached).

There is also a bust of Veronica Guerin in the park. She was a Dublin investigative journalist who was murdered by Irish mobsters several years ago. (Cate Blanchette played her in the movie named after the actual woman).

Bordering the Gardens is the Carriage House. It has an imposing Victorian castle-like facade which housed horses at one time but now is an extension of the museums.

We then walked to the GPO (General Post Office) on O’Connell St. This was the site of the main force of Irish Volunteers who, on Monday after Easter in April 1916, occupied the building at which point Padraig Pearse publically read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Volunteers also occupied several other key locations in the city, all told numbering perhaps 1500 soldiers. All told, the revolt against British rule lasted six days before the last Volunteer location surrendered. The GPO is made famous in the movie “Michael Collins” in the opening scenes. British bombardment of rebel positions took a deadly toll with over 200 civilian casualties. The GPO still has bullet holes in the marble facing in many places. I bought four sets of four commemorative stamps on GPO postcards as mementoes. O’Connell St., in 1916 was named Sackville. The Irish government later named it after the great Irish Patriot Daniel O’Connell. The street is two lanes each direction with a very side median. On either end of the street are large statues of key Irish figures. Right in the middle of the blocks which make up the street is the Spire of Dublin- a 400 foot tall stainless steel looking spire installed in 2003. It replaced what was there originally- a statue of British Admiral Nelson, which was blown up by the IRA in 1966.

There is a theater a block down from the GPO which had been dedicated to re-creations of various elements of the 1916 Proclamation rebellion and an actor came out and did a re-creation of Pearse’s reading of the Proclamation. We opted to not do the tour, however, instead determining which bus was needed and we hopped on to go to Glasnevin Cemetery.

(The bus was 2.70EU each way for an individual. I paid 5.50 and was given a small slip for the ten cents I over-paid since the bus driver does not hand out change. When we got on the bus at the end of our time at the Cemetery, I gave the driver 5.30EU and the slip, figuring it made the total 5.40. He informed us that that was not how it worked, that overpayment slips needed to be redeemed at the bus HQ. LOL- but he let us ride anyway and since we never did redeem the slip the bus company got the right money overall in the end).

Glasnevin Cemetery is really a “monument park” in addition to a cemetery and people come there and just walk and enjoy the outdoors as well as to visit graves. I wanted to see Michael Collins’ grave especially as well as those of other Irish patriots. We also saw Eamon DeValera’s grave as well. [Note: DeValera and Collins, though allies against the British, ended up on opposite sides once the treaty was signed in 1922 and many consider DeValera’s repudiation of the treaty as a key element sparking the civil war]. Curiously to us, though DeValera was in power in Ireland as either prime minister and later president for about 50 years, his grave in the family plot (located in the crowded area of the cemetery) was fairly non-descript and devoid of decoration given the nature of the centenary celebrations. Collins’ grave, in contrast, is right up front by itself with a huge monument and covered with flowers and bunting. It brought to mind the quote of DeValera to a journalist later in life:

“It is my considered opinion that in the fullness of time history will record the greatness of Michael Collins and it will be recorded at my expense.”

That certainly seems to have come true. In fact we were not sure we had the correct DeValera grave and showed a photo to a young woman at the museum desk and she confirmed it was correct. When we remarked on the lack of decoration, she diplomatically stated that he was “not well liked.”

While in the cemetery, we also saw another actor re-create a speech by Pearse which really brought him notice well before the Easter Proclamation. This was a graveside oration of Patrick Pearse at the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, famous Irish patriot, on 1 August 1915, eight months before the Easter Rising.

After walking the cemetery and photographing much of the monuments, we went back to the 40D bus to downtown Dublin to find dinner. We ate at Madigan’s where Joni had bangers&mash and I enjoyed a Pesto Linguine. We split Smithwicks-batter onion rings. Then, off to a rally/meeting.

We’d seen the signs for the event by the Worker’s Party at the Wynn’s Hotel and thought it would be interesting. The notices called for a secular Ireland. Two ministers in the parliament from the Worker’s Party were present. One discussed Ireland’s 8th Amendment to their constitution (mostly an anti-abortion amendment, it also has key language which places women as secondary in the nation- essentially to keep them as housewives in the home). The other was focused on education in the Republic. Irish public schools have, over the decades, been essentially outsourced to other entities to run them- mostly the Catholic Church, which has over the years discriminated against non-Catholic students despite the fact that the schools are actually state-schools.

Back to the hotel, Joni decided to turn in and relax but I went back to Gogarty for a pint and listen to some music. The pub was crammed with Americans this night, all of whom thought they could Riverdance… NOT.

THURSDAY

More walking! Dublin is very walkable and most of what we wanted to see was easy to reach on foot. Thursday we visited Trinity College, St Stephens Green, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Trinity College is, of course, historic institution. It is the location of the famous Book of Kell’s, but we decided to not pay for the Kell’s tour.

St. Stephens Green is a large beautiful park located a short walk from the college in a rather more upscale area of the city. The Green was also a site occupied by rebel forces during the six day revolt in 1916. Most famous from the Volunteers at this location was Countess Markewizc, who was second in command at the Green and later sentenced to death like the rest of the ringleaders but had her death sentence commuted due to her gender, which angered her as sexist.

We then got a coffee (and bathroom code for the keypad access) at a nearby Starbucks and took a walk over to St Patrick’s Cathedral. We also peeked in to Marsh’s Library located next to St. Patrick’s. Marsh’s has been in existence since the1700s and reportedly has the best collection of middle ages and Enlightenment books (about 25,000).

At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, by coincidence, a high school choir from Darby, Ohio who had been on the plane with us coming to Ireland was performing in the Cathedral during our visit!

We got on the next Hop-on bus and when it arrived we found our passed did not work- we had exceeded the 72 hour window from our Monday morning activation. The driver let us ride anyway, but we decided to get off the bus after only a few blocks anyway since the bus was going out on the longer leg of its route to the Gaol and Phoenix Park. We were quicker to simply walk a couple blocks down to our hotel and also the shopping district. So we got off the bus…..and disaster struck!

I had earlier been wearing my Irish walking hat by Hanna Hats due to a slight rain-shower as we exited the Cathedral. When I got on the bus, I put it under my arm instead of in a pocket or such. Rain stopped quickly as we got off the bus and as I got up to leave the hat apparently fell to the floor unnoticed. By the time I realized it, the bus was down the street and could not be caught. After brief discussion, Joni and I went down to the river, crossed a bridge and went to the very nearest Hop-on bus stop.

I decided to wait for two or three buses to see if I could catch the one on which I lost the hat while Joni walked the four blocks to the hotel and dropped off some bags of shopped items in our room.

First bus: I asked about lost and found (next day at bus HQ on O’Connell St),

Second bus: Not our bus L

Third bus: THE BUS! The driver let me run up top (these are double decker buses), and my hat was under a seat across the aisle! Yeah! Hanna hats are hand-made to order and not cheap so I was very happy to retrieve it.

We stopped at the Bakehouse for quick snack and off to do some final souvenir shopping as we would not be spending Friday in Dublin but rather traveling to Northern Ireland Friday. We had dinner at Flannagan’s on O’Connell St (Joni had roast chicken and I ate the vegetarian penne). Then to the hotel for the night.

FRIDAY

Friday was a car day. After breakfast we got the Airlink747 bus (6EU) out to the airport to get the Hertz rental car I’d reserved online. (I wanted to do National/Enterprise as I did on our arrival but they were out of cars). Armed with a road map we headed north to see Giant’s Causeway as our number one attraction of the day. On the way we did get off the highway to see the Bernish Overlook- a high point for seeing the nearby countryside but getting to it was on literally one lane road.

Back on the highway, we left the N1 expressway and drove up the N29. This was mildly painful as it went through numerous small towns in which the traffic crawled. We began to be concerned of eating into all the available time for sightseeing. We stopped in one town (either Dungannon or Cookstown- I don’t remember which) for a coffee and bathroom break and then onward north.

We finally reached the small village outside the Giant’s Causeway and parked the car at an off-site parking lot to Giant’s Causeway. (A sign helpfully said that the lot AT the Causeway was full. A shuttle bus circulated between the Causeway and this lot in the village). What a cool geologic example! The columns are all somewhat six sided and all sticking up vertically. We did a lot of hiking to see as much as we could, going to the terminus of the pathway. Apparently, at some time in the past one could hike farther along the bench cut path but it was closed and looking along the coast one could see the rock slides that had taken out significant portions of the path, hence the closure.

We hiked up to the top of the ridge from the ocean level and back to the visitor center. Then on the bus back to the car.

Next stop Dunluce Castle, west of the Causeway. It was very close to the Causeway and still open until 5pm (we got there at 4pm). Very cool to see it as it was in very good shape considering its age (portions dating back to the 1300s).

Leaving Dunluce Castle, we took the Causeway Coastal Route east again (a route extending from Derry to Belfast), stopping to take a quick photo of Dunseverick Castle (really only two walls standing). A few miles later we followed a small tight road down to the coast to Balintoy Harbor, where Joni was able to put her feet in the water!

Then back on the road to head south and back toward Dublin as the light fell.

The car I rented had terrible front lights! As it got dark and the lights were in use, they barely illuminated several car lengths in front and I had to utilize the high beam setting frequently. But we power drove back to Dublin, parking at the same car park in the Temple Bar section and walked to get a bite to eat. It was after 10pm.

It was Good Friday and Irish law forbids alcohol sales. Consequently, any establishment that had decent food was closed. We ended up ordering really mediocre personal size pizzas and sodas from pizza place to take back to the hotel to eat while we packed. Our trip was coming to an end, but there was one more surprise.

SATURDAY

Saturday was the only day we saw any real rain and it was a steady light drizzle. We checked out of the hotel and I walked to the car park as Joni stayed with our luggage at the hotel. Traffic was light so I was able to park right on the street next to the hotel & restaurant. A helpful hotel staffer had gotten our luggage to the curb with Joni and I loaded it to the car. (For luggage, we each had a carry-on and computer bag and shared one mid-sized suitcase which we checked each way).

Back to the airport and to Hertz. I parked and the attendant was busy with another couple so we put our luggage on the shuttle. Back to the car, it was taking forever with this other customer and they were photographing parts of the car. I followed them inside the building to get out of the rain and I heard them discussing costs and damage and the attendant was citing a book indicating 800EU! WOW! He told me I had to wait with the car. Uh-okay. But he was now done with them and on to my vehicle on which he pointed out a scuff or scrape on the wheel cover. “Did you hit a curb?” he asked. I replied maybe, the roads were tight- I could have easily scraped a wheel.

Back inside, he pulled out “the book” and showed me a figure of 17EU he said my card would be charged to replace the wheel cover. The whole process at Hertz there seemed like a racket to extract added money. He asked if I purchased the insurance and I said I thought it was included when I rented the car online. Apparently not. Though the insurance very likely would have been more than a wheel cover. Oh well, I am not going ruin my holiday over $20.

Shuttle to the airport, in line to get boarding passes and check the larger suitcase, we got “questioned” by an agent- a sort of verbal security screening to ensure we were not terrorists I am sure. Then through airport screening. And then, toward our actual terminal through ANOTHER security checkpoint with agents of the US government (all mostly were Irish citizens hired by the US government). We were essentially going through US Customs, because when we landed in Philadelphia we did not go through customs/immigration at all! Also, our checked luggage went directly to Grand Rapids.

Whew! Took the MetroCar back home, arriving after 11pm Saturday night. What a great trip!

More Photos Here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156765002000500&type=3

LINKS

http://www.bridgesofdublin.ie/bridges/hapenny-bridge/history

https://www.dctrust.ie/location/glasnevin.html

https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/

https://ststephensgreenpark.ie/

http://elizalodge.dublinhotelsweb.com/en/

https://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway

https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-IE/visit-us/jameson-distillery-bow-st

https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en