Newgrange Passage Tomb just north of Dublin –
Anthropological sites draw me in with magnetic force. En route from Derry, Rick and I stop at Drogheda, the city closest to the ancient burial mounds of Brú na Bóinne. The three massive tombs in this Neolithic necropolis date back from about 3,200 BC – making them 1000 years older than Stonehenge and 400 years older that then Egypt’s great pyramids!
We take a shuttle bus from the Visitors Centre to Newgrange, the most visited tomb. Its acre-sized mound is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, many with chiseled markings and weighing between 1 and 10 tons. “Those who are not claustrophobic follow me,” says our guide, Lindsey. Passing the mega entrance stone with its mysterious swirls, I enter the narrow tunnel. Even
with my sideways crab-walk my jacket brushes the stone along its 19m length. I look back to see how Rick is faring; his larger stature acts as a plug to most of the natural light from the tunnel entrance. Reaching the chamber, Lindsey’s voice echoes, “The corbelled roof rising 6m from the floor is as it was 5000 years ago; it has never been restored.” I look in wonder at the huge layered rock slabs with small stones wedged between to absorb the weight stress, which with another 4m of cairn stone above the roof is immense. “This chamber was discovered in 1699 by the farmer who owned the land. It remained in private ownership for 200 years,” says Lindsey, “and during that time it’s not known what was removed.”
Our Bru na Boinne Tombs Photos
It is time to envision what eyes witnessed for thousands of years. Lindsey turns off the lights. We stand in total darkness for a few moments. She then clicks a special switch. A thin shaft of pale light appears through the opening above the entrance door. I watch with bated breath as it slowly moves along the tunnel with increasing brightness. In this replication of the winter solstice, the light crosses the chamber floor and illuminates us in a golden glow. In long-ago times, and still today during the December 21st solstice, the chamber remains lit for 17 minutes. This heralding of lengthening days was no doubt met with jubilation by these ancients for its promise of spring and crops to replenish their dwindling food supply after the long winter.
A thousand years ago the tombs were abandoned for reasons unknown. We leave enthralled and in admiration of the engineering and astrological skills of these past civilizations.
Delightful Dublin
Something’s up! The traffic is thicker than shamrocks in the fields as we enter Dublin.
Thousands of people decked out in red and green flood the sidewalks, hooting and hollering. During lunch at M.J. O’Neill’s Pub we learn the frenzy is for the “Gaelic Football” or just “Gaelic” to locals. The final game is on today – between two Irish counties – Mayo (red & green) and Dublin (light blue and navy). We feast on hearty beef stew and “glasses” of Guinness, having been chided by Rick not knowing to order “pints”. The fans at this pub are cheering for Mayo. Live broadcasting on the pub’s TV reports 82,000 at the game – today Dublin wins.
Our Dublin Photos
From our comfy nest at Kilkronin House, braced by breakfasts fit for a king, site-plans for our three days in Dublin are a church, brewery, church, castle and college – in that order.
St. Patricks’s Cathedral grounds held churches since the 5th century, the present edifice built by the Normans in 1191. Restoration in the 1860’s was greatly due to the generosity of the Guinness brewmaster family. Monuments line the walls, dedicated to prominent deans/earls/archbishops. An old battered door suspended in a frame peaks my curiosity. 
Called the reconciliation door, it involved two feuding families – the “Butlers” and the “Fitzgeralds”. In a particularly hostile fight in 1492 the Butlers took refuge in the church, bolting the wooden door behind them. Gerald Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare decided the vicious feuding had gone on long enough. He came up to the church door and asked to be let in to make peace. On the other side of the door Black James Butler, nephew of the Earl of Ormond, did not trust the motives of his adversary. Fitzgerald cut a rectangular hole in the door with his sword and chanced sticking his hand through for a handshake (knowing full well he might be an appendage short). As it turned out Butler grasped his hand in a reconciliatory shake – “from which the saying ‘to chance your arm’ originated”, says Janet, our guide. Rick jokingly blurts out, “It wasn’t the Butlers who started the fighting.” Luckily a Fitzgerald is not in the crowd.
Guinness Storehouse, here we come, to glean the history of this world famous malty brew! Rick is in his glory. The exhibit building is shaped like a mega pint from the ground floor right up the 7th floor Gravity Bar, which with the light of its full surround of windows signifies white frothy suds atop the pint; also awarding a 360 degree view of the city.
But I’m getting ahead of myself – the original famed 9,000 year lease for the brewery signed
by Arthur Guinness on December 31, 1759 lies under glass on the floor of the ground level. We make our way upward, gleaning the ingredients, the whole of the brewing process from barley to barrel (so to speak), the advertising from early times stating “It’s good for you” to current day promos. Of particular interest is the harp logo on every bottle. Guinness used this logo since 1862, and it was registered as the company trademark in 1876. Although the harp was an Irish symbol for hundreds of years, the Irish government officially adopted it as state symbol in 1922, which no doubt concerned the Guinness family. The resolution was the Guinness Harp always appears with its straight edge (the sound board) to the left, and the government harp is always shown with its straight edge to the right. We end our tour in Arthur’s Bar. An expert pours us a perfect pint to go with a delicious pulled pork sandwich while looking out over the silver metal tops of where the stout is brewed today. Cajoling Rick to leave before he becomes a permanent fixture is not easy.
It is onto Christ Church Cathedral, the second medieval cathedral in Dublin. The original church was a simple one of wood, the magnificent stone structure of today was constructed in 1169. I am drawn to a black stone form of a man in repose; a monument to the 12th century warrior, Richard De Clare, a.k.a. Strongbow. After circumnavigating the beautiful interior, we descend steps to the crypt. It is eerie to walk through the arched and dimly lit hollow-sounding surrounds to view artifacts which survived the centuries, such as statues, gold challises and plates. A crypt café serves up snacks, but it’s too creepy for “moi”.
We are determined to fit in Dublin Castle the same day. Our tiredness evaporates meeting
Albert, one of those “never a dull moment” guides. The original walls were erected in the 9th century during Viking rule (albeit with Irish slaves). In 1170 the English took to ruling for 7-plus centuries. The décor is richly stunning; a place for the English viceroys to entertain. Before a fireplace in one of the rooms is an odd looking item – a square with padding that can be lowered or raised “according to the height of the lady” says Albert. In the 18th and 19th centuries a thick white make-up was in vogue, but warming oneself by the fireplace caused it to embarrassingly run down the lady’s frock – therefore the face shield, and…..from which the term “saving face” originated, later expanded to mean avoidance of all red-faced predicaments.
My eyes sweep the elegance of the Throne Room – doing a double-take at the red velvet throne… it would fit a giant. It was especially made for King George IV who when he came to the throne in 1820 was 6ft-3in and already over 17-stone (250lbs). “George continued to eat himself to death, weighing upward of 350 pounds upon his demise”, says Albert, “the nursery rhyme ‘Georgie Porgie puddnin pie’ is about this obese king.” His successor William IV was of normal size must have looked like a toddler in this chair. Next came Queen Victoria with her 5-foot frame, making it necessary to cut off the lion’s heads (which were at the bottom of the chair legs) and to place a stepping stool in front of the throne.
From 1172 – 1922 England sent 150 viceroys to oversee Ireland “and to win a favourable place in Irish hearts,” says Albert, “which they failed to do.” In 1916 the revolting Irish won against Britain and claimed Independence, which was short-lived with the English once again overtaking Ireland – until on January 16, 1922 Ireland was given documents of Independence.
Our group moves outside to the courtyard. Albert points and says, “Through that blue door is where Bram Stoker worked for 12 years as a tax collector….hmmm, blood sucking from the public may have been an inspiration for his invention of vampires, and his Count Dracula.”
Down we go through another entrance to the archeological dig beneath a portion of the castle, showing how the medieval castle was built. On a map Albert explains how the city of Dublin (meaning black pool, from the nearby body of water) was surrounded by 5m high walls, and held a population of between 25 and 30 thousand people. The arched entry to the city is visible and is intact after so many centuries. At the bottom of the arch bags of jewelry were found, thought to be a stash of thieves, and 200 human skulls (the result of heads of those who openly opposed Viking rule being impaled on spikes above the gate, eventually rotting and falling into the moat below the entrance arch).
Up into the fresh air again, we walk to The Barge Pub on the Grand Canal for a feed of “bangers and mash” – mouth-watering pork sausages over creamy mashed potatoes flooded with rich dark onion-loaded gravy.
Another day it is off to Trinity College, opened by Elizabeth I in 1952. We find our way to the Book of Kells. As I walk through the maze of elaborate artwork of enlarged book pages which follow the life of Christ, and then see the pages in their original size – I am in awe of the time and patience of skilled artisans who with pen and quill and pots of ink brought the bible passages to life in vividly coloured pictures and precision Latin script. These medieval masterpieces were created by monks on the Scottish Isle of Iona circa AD800, who after being attacked by the Vikings killing 68 of their brethren; the monks were forced to move to Kells to finish the books. For safety during the reformation, they were brought to Dublin in 1653.
Up a series of stairs my jaw drops as I take in the immensity of the ceiling to floor bound
books in one of the oldest surviving buildings of Trinity, dating back to the early 18th century – simply known as the Old Library. Mesmerized, my gaze rises to the high vaulted ceiling then down to the eye-level marble busts of writers and philosophers that seemingly stand guard before the over 200,000 of Trinity’s oldest volumes. I breathe in the scent of old leather, paper and wood. Along the centre isle and the sides are impressive volumes open under glass, including the document proclaiming Ireland’s Independence, and such treasures as a harp claimed to be the oldest in Ireland.
In between these many fine sites we enjoy every minute of meandering down the central streets with buskers drawing crowds and plenty of great restaurants/cafes/ pubs for delectable nosh (and our daily quota of cappuccinos). Dublin is truly a wondrous delight!
“Peacock”, our startling turquoise-blue Peugeot rental car had a good rest in a parking lot while in Dublin, but now is raring to go. She will be our conveyance south to the Ring of Kerry and more!