The Trip That Keeps Growing: 26 June 2024 OAT Walking Tour

26 June 2024 OAT Walking Tour

After a welcome briefing by our Trip Leader, we boarded a bus for a drive through the main part of Dublin, seeing several of the sights that we had visited on our walking tour – the Post Office and several of the statues. Our bus tour ended at St. Stephen’s Green, perhaps Dublin’s most famous park. At 22 acres, it is also the largest of Dublin’s square Georgian parks. Developed in 1880 by Sir Arthur Guinness, it is a mass of flower beds, shady pathways, lush green grass with a large lake along one side where you can enjoy the surrounding beauty while feeding the ducks that call the lake home. Adding to the beauty of the park are the stately Georgian homes that surround it. If the name Guinness sounds familiar, he was the great grandson of the Guinness beer founder. But as peaceful and serene as the park is today, it was once the site of public hangings.

The park contains many statues and memorials. There are statues honoring (1) Sir Arthur Guinness, who donated the park to the city, (2) Theobald Wolfe Tone, an Irish revolutionist and founding member of the United Irishmen who revolted against British rule during the 1798 Irish Rebellion, (3) the Three Fates, a fountain donated by German refugees after WWII, (4) Robert Emmet, another Irish nationalist who revolted against British rule, (5) James Joyce (he seems to be everywhere), and (6) Constance Markieviez, an Irish politician who became the first female cabinet minister in Europe when she was elected Minister for Labor in the First Dail. There is also a memorial/statue of the Potato Famine and a statue honoring those who rescued children from Germany and brought them to Ireland during WWII in Operation Shamrock. Perhaps the statue of Wolfe Tone is the most unique. It is surrounded by monoliths that the locals call “Tonehenge.” There is also the Yeats Memorial Garden and the Fusiliers Arch, a memorial to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died serving in the Second Boer War. And not to be outdone by the Famine Memorial on the Liffey River, there is also another memorial to the Great Famine. Unfortunately we only did a short 15 minute walk in the Park.

Operation Shamrock Memorial

Famine Memorial

Theobald Wolfe Tone Statue

Oscar Wilde Statue

From here we took a walking tour past toward the Dublin Castle. Along the way we passed the Shelbourne Hotel (now a luxurious Marriot Hotel) where in 1922 Michael Collins wrote the draft that became the Irish Constitution. We also saw the house where Bram Stocker (of Dracula fame) lived.

Shelbourne Hotel

Inside the Shelbourne Hotel

Bram Stoker' Home

At the Dublin Castle our TL showed us the only remaining original part of the 13^th-century Norman castle—the tall tower. He also showed us the courtyard where the British turned over control of Ireland to Michael Collins. The ceremony included the lowering of the English flag and the raising of the Irish flag. Now Collins did not stand on formalities, nor was he concerned about time. When he arrived at the ceremony 10 minutes late, the British soldiers were all lined up in their full dress regalia. The British Commander walked up to Collins and said you know you are 10 minutes late. To which Collins replied “And you are 800 years late!”

Located in the center of Dublin, the Dublin Castle was built between 1208 and 1220 at the direction of King John of England after the Normans invaded Ireland. It consisted of a central courtyard, surrounded by high walls with towers on each of the four corners. Today the remaining tower is one of the oldest surviving architectures in Dublin. In 1673 most of the castle was destroyed by a fire and between the 17^th -20^th centuries, the castle was rebuilt and expanded, including the addition of the State Apartments. Many government offices are housed in this newer section of the castle, Presidents are inaugurated in the courtyard, and state dinners are held in the state apartments.

Dublin Castle Tower

Courtyard Where British Turned
Rule Over to Ireland

We then drove to the Garden of Remembrance where Tom told us the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland – the first British monarch to visit in over 100 years. She was invited by the female president of Ireland who took her to the Garden of Remembrance and asked her to lay a wreath in honor of the Irish who were killed fighting England for their independence. While some monarchs may have decline that invitation as the Irish had been killing their soldiers, Queen Elizabeth agreed and laid a wreath in front of the statue. Then during the state dinner held in her honor, she wore a green dress and spoke a few sentences in the Irish language, much to the dismay of her aides. However, that moment and the televised laying of the wreath, wiped away hundreds of years of hatred toward England and today the two countries get along well. See what two women heads of state can do!!!

Garden of Remembrance with Old
Celtic Weapons in the Water

Memorial Statue at Garden of Remembrance

Vision Plague at Garden of Remembrance

This was the end of our tour, so Bill and I were dropped off at the National Museum of Archaeology to see many of the neolithic artifacts that have been found preserved in peat bogs. Of special interest were the bodies of four men that had been buried in peat bogs over 2,000 years ago. In spite of not being embalmed like the Egyptians did, these bodies were extremely well preserved, although some showed damage down by the machines that were digging up the bogs where they were found. You can still see some of the facial features and fingernails. And one man still had his internal organs.

After viewing more of the Museum we headed back to the Hotel. Bill has been bothered by his allergies here so he needed to take a rest. We had dinner at the Hotel where we met a lovely couple from Washington DC. The poor woman had fallen on this trip and broke her foot so she was in a wheelchair. I guess I should have said, poor husband. He is the one wheeling her around. But she had such a great respomse to the accident and wasn't going to let anything stop her from enjoying her vacation.