I have dreamed of Ireland: of walking in the footsteps of my ancestors, of listening to the uilleann pipes over a pint of cider, of walking o’er the rocky green hills with the scent of magic tinglin’ on the mornin’ wind. I walked off the plane early Saturday after many torturous hours without sleep and stuck with a bad romance novel (ugg, what could be worse? Rape is NOT an acceptable activity for a hero. Never, never. NEVER!). The customs officer made it all worthwhile when I handed her my passport – “So, KEEH-rah, how long is your stay in Ireland?” To hear my name pronounced correctly on the first try – it’s grand! I’ve dreamed of this moment for 25 long years.

The Black Pool

Ireland’s capital was built at the mouth of the River Liffey where a deep harbor made it attractive to the Vikings to build a world-class trading city out of a tiny settlement. If you are interested in learning more, Edward Rutherfurd’s book The Princes of Ireland covers the first 1000 years of Dublin’s history through the fictional lives of a few generations of Dubliners, covering the pagans, St. Patrick, the Book of Kells, Brian Boru, the Vikings, Christ Church, and King Henry II. The book is a great way to learn the history of this great city for people who don’t like reading history books, though the fictional sketches aren’t very happy. (‘Tisn’t a romance novel, ye ken?) The second book in the Ireland Saga is The Rebels of Ireland, which I haven’t read. If you want a great read about The Troubles check out Leon Uris’ Trinity. Michael Collins, staring Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, and Julia Roberts, and is a must-see movie about the establishment of the Irish free state in the 1920s.

In Dublin’s Fair City

The city lacks the towering office buildings that make up most international metropolises (at least in the historic downtown where we stayed). The short Georgian rowhomes, with the elegant doors that make up tourist posters, create picturesque brick streetscapes. The Temple Bar neighborhood is rife with narrow twisting streets, packed full of bar-hoppers in the evening, even on a Sunday. The large pedestrian mall of Grafton Street, where the movie Once was filmed, is an excellent example of good planning (says the former city planning student). On Saturday we wandered the streets, saw the Molly Malone statue (see photo), visited the lovely Victorian garden of St. Stephen’s Green and enjoyed a pint at The Stags Head in the Temple Bar district where the bartender regaled us with tales of the beauty of Killarney, our next stop and his hometown.

Church and Crumpets

On Sunday we escaped a sudden shower (one of many) inside the medieval Christ Church Cathedral, the oldest church in the city. Though typical of a gothic church, the colorful floor tiles made it unique. Afterwards we walked east through the hodgepodge Dublin Castle and on to Merrion Square where we had Afternoon Tea (and escaped another shower) at the Merrion Hotel. Merrion Street is the place to go if you want to take your own photographs of Georgian doors. In the evening we had planned to take the Musical Pub Crawl to learn all about traditional Irish music (my favorite), but jet lag caused me to miss the start. We wandered the green bridges over the Liffey until we found a little pub with a two man Trad band.

Treats for Next Time (and there will be a next time)

We did not see the Book of Kells at Trinity College because the Lonely Planet Guidebook warned us that it was really only the Page of Kells on display. I own a copy of the illustrations at home anyway. Next time I visit I would like to take the Easter Rising Tour and see the bullet-ridden Post Office.

My complete photos of Dublin are up on Flickr (including some video), but the internet service here in Killarney isn’t fast enough to upload photos, so you’ll have to wait to see the Ring of Kerry and Blarney Castle till I get back to the Westin Dublin on Saturday.

Monday we left for Killarney in County Kerry, driving through County Cork where I kissed the Blarney Stone, thereby securing my future as a writer (or at least a blogger).