Today's included shore excursion was at an awkward time, 10:00-14:00. The Viking Venus had to anchor at Dún Laoghaire, which meant we had to take tenders to the dock. And then motorcoaches into Dublin.
 |
| The tenders were actually the lifeboats from the Viking Venus |
 |
| Tamiko inside the tender (KSS) |
 |
Along the way to Dublin, one of the many Martello towers,
small defensive forts erected by the British in response to
a threatened invasion by Napoléon Bonaparte |
 |
Sandymount Strand at high tide; the lower the tide in
Dublin Bay, the larger is the beach; BTW the large gray
facility in the background is the high-heat waste
incinerator that creates energy, called "dirty energy" |
 |
Convention Centre of Dublin (1998-2010,
by Kevin Roche) is nicknamed
"The Tube in the Cube" |
 |
Part of the Famine Memorial (1997, by Rowan Gillespie)
that commemorates the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849),
depicts starving Irish carrying meager belongings as
one million people sought to emigrate to other countries,
and with two million people dying |
Nearby is moored the Jeanie Johnston (1847), a sailing ship that transported 2,500 Irish emigrants on 16 transatlantic voyages to North America.
 |
Custom House (1781-1791, by James Gandon) was
burned in 1921 by the Irish Republican Army/IRA to disrupt
the British government by destroying tax records, then
reconstructed using Irish resourced materials |
 |
A poor photo of the ubiquitous tanker trucks
carrying Irish black gold (i.e., Guinness beer) |
 |
Old Irish Parliament (1729, by Edward Lovett Pearce, with
additions by James Gandon and Robert Parke) was the world's
first purpose-built bicameral parliament building, used until
1801 when the Kingdom of Ireland was abolished and
became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland; it is now used by the Bank of Ireland |
 |
Drive-by photo of the entrance to Trinity College
(founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I); alumni
include Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels),
Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker (author of Dracula),
and playwright Samuel Beckett. |
It seems a tour of Dublin should stop at Trinity College to give us a look at the Book of Kells, a 9C manuscript with ornate Latin text and intricate illuminations; priceless.
 |
We did stop at Merrion Square with its
ornate street lights, and a local double-decker bus |
 |
Merrion Square (1752) is the Georgian garden square
initially belonging to the residents of the Georgian houses
surrounding the square; it was opened to the public in 1974 |
 |
| Fatsia japonica/Paperplant with round fruiting bodies |
 |
| Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora'/Double yellow Japanese "rose" |
 |
| We aren't missing spring, after all |
 |
| Sign at the playground in Gaeilge/Irish and English |
 |
#1 Merrion Square was the childhood home of
Oscar Wilde, the Irish poet and playwright |
 |
Part of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture
(1997, by Danny Osborne) is made with
various colored stones from three continents |
 |
On one side Oscar Wilde has a somber
expression, and ... |
 |
| ...on the other he appears to be smirking |
 |
Also part of the memorial is a statue representing the wife
of Oscar Wilde, Constance, when she was pregnant;
it was during her second pregnancy that Oscar's
first homosexual encounter occurred |
 |
The third sculpture is a bronze copy of a plaster cast
of Dionysus that Oscar Wilde kept in his study;
Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and drama/theatre |
 |
The smaller statues stand on pillars covered
with Oscar Wilde quotations (KSS) |
 |
Merrion Square War Memorial (2008, by
Brian King) honors members of the Defence
Forces who died serving the State |
 |
Depicted are members of the Army, Navy,
Air Corps and Reserve cast in bronze
standing guard over an eternal flame that
emanates from the Defence Forces Badge
at the centre of the structure (KSS) |
 |
The Victims (1918-1931, by Andrew O'Connor)
were created for an unexecuted war
memorial in Washington, DC |
 |
National Gallery of Ireland (1864, by Francis Fowke,
with additions) contains the "lost Caravaggio,"
The Taking of Christ, that was discovered in 1990
in the residence of the Society of Jesus in Dublin |
 |
Georgian houses are distinguished by the taller windows
at the piano nobile or main living floor above the entrance
level, then progressively smaller windows above them |
 |
The doors of Dublin houses are what
distinguishes one property from the next,
and are painted a variety of colors |
 |
Although some of England's post boxes
remain in Ireland, they are all painted green |
 |
Government Buildings (1904-1911, by Sir Aston Webb)
includes the offices of the Prime Minister |
 |
Supposedly the fanciest Dublin Door, at
46 Fitzwilliam Square W, the Embassy of Peru |
 |
Drive-by photo of St Stephen's Green, which was the
scene of bitter combat during the 1916 Easter Rising;
however, it was agreed by both sides that hostilities
should ease while the park-keeper fed the ducks |
Next: Dublin, Ireland II.
No comments:
Post a Comment