Excursion to Ireland

Part of D's job requires a monthly trip to Dublin. J joined him on this trip. They added a Saturday and Sunday to be tourists before the workweek.

After arriving on a Friday to some of the best weather possible in Ireland, D & J sampled the obligatory Guinness and some "meat and potatoes." On Saturday morning, they took the LUAS train into Dublin, from the outlying hotel. The LUAS was a clean modern train and the stations were clean and safe. Perfect for tourists. Once in Dublin and St. Stephen's green specifically, the cameras were brought out. You can view some of the photos by clicking on over to flickr. Don't forget to come back here.


After strolling down around St. Stephan's Green and Grafton street, they took the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) to Malahide, a quaint seaside town north of Dublin by about 15 kilometers. Malahide is a treasure trove of photo opportunities. There's also a little bookshop: Village Books. Mary, the owner, is a most well-read owner. She has a "Bookshop Ladies Guide to a Good Read" with numerous new and good novels. Some samples are Brick Lane by Monica Ali, Oracle Night by Paul Auster, Lie in the Dark by Dan Ferperman, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni, The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing, Atonement by Ian McEwan, anything by T. Coraghessan Boyle and anything by the Colorado writer Kent Haruf, and A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. Of course, D bought enough reading for a year.


Sunday was used for an all day tour by bus into the Wicklow mountains. This scenic ride was punctuated with a couple of tourist traps. One of the most interesting stops on the tour was Glendalough, the location of an 1200 year old Celtic monastery. The Celtic traditions gradually absorbed Christianity, often blending some old traditions with the new (1200 years ago) Christianity thing....At one time, the monastery was a thriving place for students all over the world to visit.

Summary, Ireland is a great place for anyone to visit. We as former South Carolinians enjoyed it immensely because of the kinship we have with the Irish. The western parts of South Carolina were settled by the Irish and Scots. They're both so green and also have old music traditions: the fondness for bluegrass, which owes it's origins to the Irish folk music. It also explains the fervent adherence to property rights, since the Irish and the Scots have a long history of having their property seized and reallocated. We saw more similarities, but that's another blog!