Week 4: Dublin

My ISA group took a weekend trip to the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, Dublin. In less than a three-hour bus ride, we had travelled from the west coast to the east. Trips like this remind me that the whole country of Ireland is only half the size of Minnesota! Our main attraction for the first day was visiting Trinity College. The college is known for a beautiful old library that holds the Book of Kells, an illustrated Bible from around 800 AD. I wish one of my latin scholar friends was along so that they could have read it to me, but the plaque next to the book said that it was open to the page of Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Sadly we were not allowed to take pictures of this exhibit so if you are curious about its beauty you will have to google it. The old library made me feel like Belle in Beauty and the Beast with one sad exception, I was not allowed to touch the books. We also went to the science gallery on campus which was full of students’ incredible work.

Then we braced the cold wind for a guided walking tour of Dublin. Our guide brought us to Dublin Castle and told us the true and legendary history of Dublin. The castle was originally a Viking fortress but eventually came to serve as the residence for the British monarchy representative in Dublin. The courtyard of Dublin Castle is the place where Michael Collins famously handed over the treaty of 1922 that made Ireland free and started a civil war. While the castle has been added onto and rebuilt over the course of its existence, it was still amazing to stand in a place brimming full of Irish history.

Our second day in Dublin focused on a different part of Irish history, the Guinness brewery. In 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease (yes, 9000!) on this brewery in Dublin and ‘The Black Stuff’ that Ireland is so famous for, was born. The museum in the storehouse was beautifully done and ended with a free pint of the freshest Guinness possible in a room that had windows for walls. Every day in Ireland is a “Lovely day for a Guinness”, but nothing can top that day in the storehouse.