Howth, Ireland

This week has passed quickly, the second week of our self-quarantine.  We have done some walking in a couple of parks, staying clear of people.  For most of last year Creve Coeur Lake Park was closed due to flooding.   We decided that now was a good time to check it out.  John wanted to explore the upper level of the park,  and we discovered that there is a nice wooded trail in this area, called the Moonshine Trail.   Following the signs( with a whiskey jug on them) kept us from straying from that path.  Many trees and plants are blooming now and warmer weather did a lot toward lifting our spirits and forgetting the nasty Covid virus!

Back to Ireland and our last day in that country.  As we had expressed a desire to get out of Dublin and see the countryside, Finola suggested that we take the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) to the outer suburbs east of Dublin and visit the fishing village of Howth.  Interestingly, we also encountered a cab driver who urged us to go there because of its wonderful seafood restaurants.

Once we got off the train we started to walk toward the area of the village located on the north side of the rocky peninsula.  It was lunchtime and we wanted to find a restaurant before exploring Howth.  Luck was with us, after checking out several dining places, we came upon Crabby Jo’s – menu and prices looked good to us.  Inside there was a delightful décor with shells covering the walls and a blazing fireplace at the end of the one room.  We had a wonderful lunch of sea food chowder (filled with large pieces of salmon, cod. and mussels) and crab cakes.  After our meal we walked toward the harbor.

The monument above is a memorial to those who have lost their lives at sea.  It was an overcast day, windy and cool at the water’s edge.  That is a sea gull on top of the memorial.

This is the Howth Harbor Lighthouse, built in 1814 and automated in 1996.   There is a cliff walk around Howth, which was impossible for us to do because of the weather and time.  The picture below may give you an idea of how the town sits below those cliffs.  Looking up at one point we noticed the ruins of an old church

It was tempting to at least climb up a hill but then, looking at these stairs and the interesting rock overhang, we decided to pass on that adventure.

.We still enjoyed what we were able to see walking through the town, especially a series of statues located alongside a hillside, one of which is pictured below.

 That was all we saw of Howth.  We boarded the DART again to have supper in the town of Dun Laoghaire before riding back to Dublin and our hotel.  On Sunday we joined long lines at the airport to return home.  What little we saw of Ireland was wonderful and spending time with our son Mike certainly made it worthwhile.

Final Notes on Dublin

[Enter Post Title Here]

On our bus tour Finola had pointed out both Saint Patrick’s church as well as Christ Church Cathedral.   The easiest one of those churches to get to on foot, once we left the bus, was Christ Church.  There was an admission price to tour it on our own, but that price was well worth the experience of seeing the main cathedral as well as exhibits and the crypt in the floor below.  The church is the oldest building in continuous use in Dublin.  Its story begins almost a thousand years ago when a Norse king built the first church on this site in about 1030. The Anglo-Normans rebuilt the church in the 12^th and 13^th centuries, and it was heavily restored in the 1870s.  The stained glass of the church is quite beautiful, they are based on medieval designs.   In the church’s guide of the building there is mention of a medieval grinning 13^th-century carved stone monkey sitting atop a pillar in the cathedral.   John found that quite humorous and once he learned about the monkey’s presence in the church, he was determined to find it. He finally had to ask a church staff member to point it out to us.

Also noted in the church’s brochure was that one of its choir’s most famous performances was in April 1742 when Christ Cathedral choir with Saint Patrick’s choir sang the first performance of Handel’s Messiah, Handel directed the choirs.   The performance was not in either churches, but at a Neal's Music Hall in Dublin, a building which is no longer standing.

The lower part of the church holds a crypt, the largest working one in Dublin.  The area has on display the heart of Saint Laurence O’Toole, patron saint of Dublin. It is encased in a decorative metal heart, in case you are wondering about those details.   Until April 3^rd there is also a special exhibit on the 150th anniversary of the Irish Disassociation Act which took place under order of Parliament in 1869.  It separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England.  The act was a key move to get rid of the Protestant ascendancy which had dominated Ireland for several centuries.  Much more than that I could not tell you, it was a very thorough exhibit with more information than us Americans needed!

Unfortunately, the day we were at the cathedral I did not get any pictures, but I do have one picture of Saint Andrew’ church.

 This church disappeared in the mid 17^th century, and was rebuilt in 1665.

 

 The building above is the Leinster house, Dublin’s largest 18^th century mansion.  After the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 the building was acquired by the newly formed government, and since has been home to the Irish Parliament

While walking around Saint Stephen’s Green I found a mall where I was able to purchase postcards and gifts for family back home.  It has several floors and many shops under its dome. Of note here is the green, orange, and balloons and one flag.  It was explained to us that the color green is for the Catholics of the country, orange for the Protestants and white is for peace.

On Saturday afternoon we took a train to a couple of villages outside of Dublin.  We could not leave until that afternoon for that trip because we first needed to take a cab to the airport to make arrangements for a flight home (there was no way we could get through to the airlines per phone because they were taking in a large number of calls, computers also were failing us).

The story of our trip to Howath will be my last posting for Ireland.

Saint Stephen's Green

As I wrote before, on our third day in Ireland (fittingly March 13) we boarded a bus to Galway only to learn a few minutes later that the whole tour was canceled.  Globus Tours, the company responsible for our tour, assured us that they would begin securing airline tickets for our return home.  John, Michael, and I headed out on foot to further explore Dublin.  Fortunately for us, out of all the days we were there, that was the best day weather-wise for being outside.

Seems the city was a bit ahead of us with spring, and this was a perfect place to be with all the trees and flowers blooming!   Saint Stephens park,Victorian in character, is located in central Dublin.  It has statuary of renown persons of Ireland which provide good lessons in that country's history.  It also has a small lake complete with swans, bandstand and arboretum, as well as numerous flower displays which look like they have been well cared for.  We did not cover the entire park.

Located in this green is also a memorial to William Yates as well as to Oscar Wilde.  The park was a favorite haunt of Yates, unfortunately his memorial was currently removed for refurbishing.  On our way to the Oscar Wilde statue my attention was suddenly drawn to the playground.  Since becoming a grandmother,  I check out every playground I encounter.  This one was interesting to say the least.  Around the play area here were two small whimsical signs, one noting that this is “your garden now” and the other announced “ how happy are we here”.  The signs looked very old and weathered.  I was next taken aback by a strange figure lying in the ground.  Most of him was buried except for his head, hands and feet.  His eyes were winking at me.   I would have loved to have my grandchildren with me at that moment to see their reaction to him!

Just a few feet from the playground we came to the figure of Oscar Wilde reclining on a rock.

Signs near him had some quotes written by him as: “I drink to keep my soul and body apart”

Speaking of drinking, we did just that!  After walking through a portion of the park we were tired and thirsty.  Our guide had pointed out to us earlier that day the Shelbourne Hotel, the “Grand Dame” of Dublin since 1824.  Over the years it has always greeted its guests at the door by a man wearing a black top hat.  We decided that we had to check it out, and walked in as though we had a room there. Then we stopped and our questioning looks to each other gave us away.  Fortunately a kind lady greeted us and escorted us to the watering area, or bar.   We ordered drinks, quite oblivious to their cost.  The amaretto sour drink I had, pictured below, cost fifteen euros.  I am sure it was the most expensive drink I ever sipped!  It was yummy, and I enjoyed every swallow.  And what pleasure we had sitting in such a luxurious place with crystal chandeliers shining above us and lovely paintings on the wall.  It was a good way to end our day which had started on such a sour note!

I have a couple more postings of Ireland yet to share, but I will be taking a break for a few days.