21 June 2024 Our
Dublin Arrival and the Book of Kells
As we begin our exploration of Ireland, one of the things I
am excited about is Irish cuisine. I
love Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips.
Beer is not to my liking, but a good Jameson Whiskey goes great in Irish
coffee! Did you ever wonder how the
lowly potato (or pratai as they are called in Ireland) became so synonymous
with Ireland, especially since potatoes are not native to Ireland. They were first brought to Ireland around
1590 by Spanish explorers from South America.
But the potatoes took to Ireland’s cool, damp soil and were
quickly accepted by the many low-income, subsistence farmers. Over the years, these farmers could produce
up to 12 tons of potatoes per acre. As
the years progressed, and the English rulers began to take away the land of
those “pesky” Irish Catholics and selling it to wealthy English Protestants,
potatoes became a means for the Irish to feed their families. With little land to work with, potatoes were
a very prolific vegetable. By the early
1800s, nearly have of Irelands population was eating nothing but potatoes.
Then came the potato famine of 1845-1849. With no means to provide for their families,
many Irishmen had either died or emigrated away from Ireland. It took Ireland until the 1980s to get back
on their feet economically. To its
credit, it has one of the lowest poverty rates in Europe. And despite their economic growth, the Irish
have never lost their love for and taste of the lowly potato that sustained
them through generations of hardships.
So just about every restaurant you go to will have several dishes that
feature potatoes. I cannot wait to try
some great Irish cuisine.
Now to begin our exploration of Dublin. We arrived in Dublin about 7:30 in the
morning after bouncing our way across the Atlantic. Although the plane was flying through some turbulent
weather, I was able to get about 5 hours of sleep (thanks to my Lunesta
sleeping pill) and even slept through the breakfast the flight attendants
provided. After clearing customs we
found our taxi driver who took us to our hotel in Dublin – The Temple Bar
Inn. The weather was overcast, but not
raining and the temperature was in the mid 60’s. As our room was not yet ready, we took a
little nap on the sofas in the reception area.
By 10 am they had our rooms, so we just continued our nap up on our beds
– after being careful to set my phone alarm for 12:30 as we did not want to
miss our reservation for the Book of Kells.
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| Old Parliament Building |
A short distance later and we arrived at the Statue of Molly
Malone, erected in 1988 as part of Dublin’s millennium celebration and one of
the most familiar and popular symbols of Dublin. There was a huge crowd around here listening
as their tour guides told them her story.
Molly Malone became popular among the citizens of Dublin from the song
“Cockles and Mussels.” According to the song, the fictional character Molly
Malone was a fishmonger who died young of cholera. However, as her legend grew, some stories
added that she was also a prostitute in Dublin, while others claimed she was one
of the few chaste street sellers of the 17th century. Whatever the story, and to be clear Molly
Malone is a fictional character, controversy arose after her statue was
unveiled. The sculptor had portrayed her
as a young girl with large breasts wearing a low-cut dress. To those who believed the story that she was
a chaste young woman, this was an affront to women. Others just nicknamed the statue “The Tart with
the Cart” or ” “The Dish with the Fish.”
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| Molly Malone Statue |
Even the origin of the song is unknown. Many feel it was a Scottish ballad while others think it was a 19th century Victorian music hall ballad. It is not believed to have originated in Ireland as it has none of the characteristics of a traditional Irish ballad. It has only been associated with Dublin because of its first line – “In Dublin’s fair city.” Whatever its origin was, it become somewhat of a second national anthem to the Dubliners. During the unveiling of the statue, the Dublin mayor proclaimed 13 June as “Molly Malone Day,” as researchers going through old records found that a Mary Malone (Molly would have been a nickname for Mary) had died on 13 June 1699.
Cockles and Mussels
In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
'Twas there that I first met
Sweet Molly Malone
She wheeled her wheelbarrow,
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels,
Alive, alive-oh!"
Chorus:
Alive, alive-oh
Alive, alive-oh
Crying, "Cockles and mussels,
Alive, alive-oh!"
She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father
And mother before
And they each wheeled their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels,
Alive, alive-o"
(Chorus)
She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of
Sweet Molly Malone
Now her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels,
Alive, alive-o"
Alive, alive-oh
Alive, alive-oh
Crying, "Cockles and mussels,
Alive, alive-oh!"
We then walked back to Trinity College, which is literally
just across the road from our hotel.
Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland, is located in
Parliament Square and whose formal name is the College of the Holy and
Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth. It
was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I and is considered one of the most
prestigious universities in Dublin.
Queen Elizabeth established the Trinity as a protestant school in the
hopes of making Dublin a protestant city.
In 1793, Trinity changed its rules and allowed Catholics to enter, but
it wasn’t until 1970 that the Catholic Church allowed its members to
attend. Women were granted admission in
1904. Notable attendees include Oscar
Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Samuel Beckett, and several former
Presidents of Ireland.
As you enter the college through an arch, you are greeted
with a free-standing bell tower in the middle of an open area. During April and May when the magnolias are
in bloom the grounds of the college are beautiful.
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| Trinity University Bell Tower |
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| Campus Buildings |
As prestigious as its academic record is, it is its library that is the biggest tourist attraction. Inside, the library contains almost 7 million volumes of books, manuscripts, maps, and printed music. The library is a “legal deposit” library and as such it receives all books printed in Great Britain and Ireland (about 100,000/year). It is said that the library contains one of the most beautiful sets of bookshelves in Europe. Found inside the library is a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic and the Brian Boru – a 15th wooden Gaelic harp that is the national symbol of Ireland. But it is one book in particular that garners all this massive interest and that is the Book of Kells contained in the Treasury section of the Library. The Book of Kells is the most important medieval manuscript in Ireland. Located in the Old Library’s Long Room, it takes center stage to the 200,000 other books and 14 marble busts found in this room under its barrel-vaulted ceiling.
The Book of Kells is a vibrantly illuminated manuscript
written in Latin that contains the first four Gospels of the New Testament
along with some related texts and tables.
The exact origin of the Book is not known, but it is believed to have
been written around 800 AD by monks from a Columban monastery in either
Scotland, England or Ireland. What makes
it so important is not so much the text it contains, but the beauty and majesty
of its illustrations. Many of the
pictures contained in this manuscript were framed by intricate Celtic knotwork
motifs. The colorful ink that was used
was made by grinding up insects.
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| Celtic Knotwork (left) Page from Book of Kells (right) |
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| Copies from Book of Kells |
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| Portrait of Christ from Book of Kells |
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| Copy of Book of Armagh-only Irish copy of complete book of New Testament in Latin |
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| Portrait of St. John from Book of Kells |
The Treasury where the one of the four books is displayed is
very dark and plain. The book sits in a
glass enclosed box where sensors track the humidity and temperature. No pictures are allowed and you only see one
page of the book. The book is changed
about every four months. The page we saw
today was rather nondescript with just one row of Celtic art.
From the Treasury, you enter into the Old Library (or Long Ro) which is the
main part of the library. Large floor to
ceiling bookcases line both sides of the room with a marble bust of an
important academic person, such as Socrates and Plato. Normally all the book cases are filled with
books, but the Library is undergoing a large renovation, so only a few of the
cases contained books. These books do
not just collect dust, they are still used and studied by people authorized to
use them. In the center of the room
hangs a huge balloon of the earth. In
one display case was a facsimile of the Book of Kells that you were able to
take a picture of (pictured below) so you can see the beautiful artwork down by
these monks over 1600 years ago.
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| Bust of Socretes |
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| Looking down long row of Bookcases in Old Library |
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| Bust of Plato |
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| Proclamation of 1916 |
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| Facsimile of Page from Book of Kells |
Leaving Trinity College, we decided food was in order. I had not eaten all day and Bill only had a
light breakfast about 6 am this morning.
The receptionist at the hotel recommended a pub just down the street
from our hotel – the Oliver St. John Gogarty Pub. The food was great and it had live Irish
music. And at 3 pm on a Friday
afternoon, it was packed. We finally
managed to grab a small table and Bill enjoyed a light beer (no Guiness for
him) and fish and chips, while a enjoyed a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc with my
Irish Stew. What an enjoyable way to end
our first day in Dublin!
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