First the outline, then the details:

1. Walked to and toured the Guinness Brewery. Had a Guinness.

2. Walked to and made reservations to tour the Kilmainham Gaol.

3. Taxied to and toured Trinity College, viewed the Book of Kells and the Long Hall.

4. Taxied back to and toured the Kilmainham Gaol.

5. Walked to the Brazen Head Pub, dined and had a Guinness.

6. Walked to the The Church Bar & Restaurant, had a Teelings Single Malt Irish Whiskey.

7. Walked back to hotel. Total walking distance for the day 13.6 km.

The Guinness brewery tour was a technological tour de force. A few images will give some insight into this. Founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759, he had such certainty as to his prospects for success that he signed a 9,000 year lease on 4 acres to establish his brewery. The annual rent was set at 45 Pounds Sterling, a lot of money in the day, but not so much 250 years later! Guinness grew to become the largest brewery in the world. While he was making beer, lots of it, his wife Olivia was making babies, lots of them… 21 in all, though only 10 survived to adulthood which was typical of the era.

Trinity College has an enrollment of 16,000 and ranks ranks among the top 100 universities in the world. It was founded in the 1500’s and has been the keeper of the renowned Book of Kells since the 1600’s. The Book of Kells is a calligraphy transcription of the four gospels, written on calf hide vellum and is believed to date to the early 800’s. It is considered one of Ireland’s most prized treasures. Photos of it are not permitted, but I have included one that is available online.

Trinity College is also known for its Long Room library which is over 200 feet and is roofed by Europe’s largest barrel vault ceiling. This Old Library houses over 200,000 precious books which are arranged by size, largest down low and smallest up high, for reasons associated with the distribution of weight, not knowledge.

Also on display is the Brian Boru Harp, one of the 3 oldest in the world and the only one in Ireland. It dates to the 1300’s and is the symbol of the Irish Republic. However, since Guinness first obtained a copyright on the image before Ireland, The Republic had to reverse the symbol for its own use.

The Kilmainham Gaol is a grim place. It was founded in 1796 and expanded in the 19th Century. It housed offenders convicted of both petty and capital offenses, some offenders as young as 5 years old. It was a place for public executions (hanging) for the five capital offenses of murder, rape, treason, theft, and piracy. Hanging occurred above the entry to the prison. Although public executions ended in 1921, capital punishment was not abolished in Ireland until 1990. The Gaol was retired from use in 1924. Its restoration as a museum is to preserve the memory of the patriots and their cause that ended British rule over most of Ireland.

The Gaol has become the face of Ireland’s struggle for independence from Great Britain. It was here that the architects of the 1916 uprising were housed and then executed by firing squad within days of their surrender. The longest of their trials lasted 19 minutes. The treatment of these rebels brought the people of Ireland together for the cause of independence. However religious divisions and the compromise which allowed Great Britain to retain Northern Ireland continue to simmer as divisive with the people of the Island. The colors of the flag of The Republic reflect an effort to mend the differences, Green for Catholic Ireland, Orange for Protestant Ireland (referring to the conquest by William of Orange) and the White of Peace between them.

A modern controversy is on the minds of the people of Ireland as they prepare to go to the poles on May 25th to decide if the Constitution should be amended to allow abortion. Current poling indicates a very close race, with incredible intensity and emotion invested by those on both sides of the question. Stay tuned.

In the meantime there is nothing quite as nice as a classic Irish Pub!

We leave by train in the morning for Waterford Ireland where we will meet dear friends Huw and Nina Thomas of Wales. We will tour with them for the next 5 days.

Peace Everyone. Pete

The efficiency with which Santiago Spain became part of our past and Dublin Ireland became our present was almost dizzying. Taxi from our hotel to the ultramodern airport, 2 hour Aer Lingus flight to Dublin’s ultramodern airport and taxi to our hotel. The only (brief) glitch was at Ireland’s passport control where it seems there was no record of us having left the States and arrived in Europe. Apparently, since we arrived by boat and did not have a followup itinerary, we fell through the immigration cracks. At least on paper we were like refugee “illegal”… boat people!

It didn’t help when the Immigration Agent asked how long we intended to stay and I said “About 2 weeks”. She REALLY didn’t like the “about” part. It never occurred to me that travel is usually a precise thing with a set beginning and end. Our lack of itinerary is an anomaly, and boarder agents become on guard in the face of anomalies. A little explanation and Christine’s disarming smile resolved matters. A stamp in the passport and we were on our way.

We miss walking! After we put our things into our clean and serviceable, but not very elegant room (Dublin is expensive, especially in the heart of the old town. Our room is a very reasonable 90 euros a night), we went walking. 30 minutes later there loomed at the end of the street the House of Jamison Irish Whiskey!

Providence served us up a real treat. Not 2 hours on the Emerald Isle and I was touring and tasting one of Ireland’s great delights. We learned the Distillery’s history which dates to 1780, and it’s dedication to the employees and community. There were the rough spots of 2 world wars, the Easter Rising Insurrection of 1916 where 1,200 men and women openly revolted against England and the roof of the distillery was used as a sniper’s nest, and of course American Prohibition.

The most amazing “tidbit” of information had to do with the “Angel’s share”, that portion of aging spirits that evaporates through the oak barrels and becomes “lost to the Angels”. 2% of aging spirits are lost this way each year. As tribute to the size of the Jamison operation, that means the “Angels” consume 30,000 bottles EVERY DAY! Of course they must be Irish Angels.

The tour and tasting behind us we continued to saunter. Not long thereafter we encountered Christ Church Cathedral. Christine and I were still carrying our Camino Credentials and we entered to see if we could get them stamped. The clerk was delighted to do so, indicating the request was not a common one even though the Cathedral has a special stamp for that purpose. She then invited us to tour the Cathedral and waved the 15 euro charge! Wow, more Angels! However, Camino Angels tend to be of a different “spirit” than the Jamison variety.

The current Christ Church Cathedral is built upon the site of an 11th Century Cathedral church built by Silkenbeard, the Viking King of Dublin. The “modern” Cathedral dates to the 12th Century and is believed to be the first place that King Henry II took communion after the murder of Bishop Thomas Becket at Canterbury. It is also the final resting place of Strongbow, who was instrumental in the Norman conquest of Ireland. The Cathedral contains a remarkable crypt and relics from its history.

Notability absent from the relics is the iron heart that encased the actual heart of Saint Laurence O’Toole, Archbishop of Dublin. The heart was stolen 6 years ago, recovered 2 weeks ago, but for now only the iron cage that once housed the relic remains on display.

Another notable is the mummified remains of the cat and rat which were found in the pipe organ and memorialized by author James Joyce in Finnegan’s Wake when he described someone as being “…As stuck as that cat to that mouse in that tube of that Christ Church organ…”

Enough for now. Ireland awaits and it is the dawn of a new day!

Peace Everyone. Pete