Tuesday, 9th of September, 2025
Road to Dublin
Ah, it is good to be back. Whenever I am in Ireland, it feels like I am putting on a cozy sweater on an autumn day; familiar, comfortable, and enjoyable. Plus, almost around every corner we hear a splash of live music. Compared to the hills we left behind in Edinburgh, Dublin is an easy city to walk around. We are staying on the edge of the city center, but it is only a 20 minute walk to the first landmarks. To explore the city and its history, we will follow a couple of Rick Steve’s audio tours. Yet, before we get ahead of ourselves though, I am in dire need of some breakfast. The breakfast adventure I choose for us this morning is called Goose on the Loose; I love Irish humour. Over a plate of eggs and toast, we laugh once we notice the goose with pilot goggles and extra engines ready to take off from the restaurant.
Once our plates are clean and coffee cups empty, we make our way towards Stephen’s Green. Now, I will not be reciting all of Rick Steve’s tours in this blog post, as I want you to experience his tours on your own. Rather, I will note surprises I learn and interesting encounters along the way. For example, I knew a bit about famous writers who are from Ireland or who have spent time in Dublin, but I did not know the true magnitude of writers connected to Dublin. Throughout the park (and all of Dublin), we see authors such as W.B. Yates, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and George Bernard Shaw to name a few commemorated on statues, plaques, and stones honouring their memory. With each monument we pass by, I feel my reading list growing longer.
Soon, we are walking through bustling streets, and take some pauses in St. Theresa’s Catholic Church and St. Ann’s. These moments in quiet serenity help relax our minds as the streets start to wake up with the morning crowd. Yet, I am delightfully surprised that even in the busiest places we find beautiful stained glass windows, including at restaurants like Bewley’s Café. The stained glass created by Harry Clark is so whimsical yet familiar. Perhaps I could describe the art as if the Book of Kells’ motifs and creatures were poured onto an Irish fairytale framed in glass. Additional places of beauty and history we walk through later in the tour include Trinity College, the Bank of Ireland (formerly the Irish Parliament House), Dublin Castle, and a couple of historic pubs. With how much of the city we have learned about so far, is there any rock or stone that was not important to Ireland’s history?
As we enter the southeast section of Dublin, we take a quick diversion from our audio tour and step into Christ Church Cathedral. While this church was established over a thousand years ago, its original spaces and restored additions create a magnificent space filled with intricate floor decorations, lovely stained glass windows, and complex metal and stone pieces. A service is about to start soon, so we dodge out of the main worship area and head for the crypt of the church. This space contains a treasure trove of precious objects and manuscripts, including the Magna Carta within the Liber Niger. We encounter other objects down here, such as religious objects, tombstones, and a mummified cat and mouse that were preserved in an organ pipe. Curiosity truly killed the cat in that instance.
Back outside, we meander through the streets of Dublin, walk along the River Liffey, and wrap up the tour in the Temple Bar District. Welcomed by a plethora of pubs, music, and the delicious aroma in the air, we have the difficult decision of picking which place to eat at. A bright green pub called Gogarty’s calls our attention, so we find a seat, and sit for some fish and chips and a pint of Guinness. We should go to places like this more often.
A little while later, we are still humming the last song from lunch as we cross O’Connell Bridge to the north side of Dublin. We pull up Rick Steve’s audio tour, and slowly begin tour number two where thankfully it is a tad less crowded. I am astounded to learn how many people fought for Irish Independence over the centuries as we pass by their statues on O’Connell Street. On a similar vein, I am flabbergasted to learn that it was here, at Dublin’s General Postal Office (GPO), that the building was used as a fort on Easter Monday in 1916 (also known as the 1916 Easter Rising), and Irish rebels declared Ireland to be an independent state (see the GPO Museum website for more details). I would have never guessed that a post office could become a fortress, but this neo-classical stone building did the trick. By the front entrance, we can see the bullet holes in some of the columns from that time.
Further up O’Connell street, right after the street becomes Parnell Square East, our tour concludes to our left at the Garden of Remembrance. Almost immediately you can feel the quiet, solemn atmosphere of this memorial garden. This park serves as a space of reflection for the lives lost fighting for Irish Independence. After what we have learned today about Ireland’s history, I hope that this memorial brings peace to its visitors.
After a turn in the garden, we walk south through Dublin, reflecting on how influential and dynamic Dublin has been within Ireland’s history. I can see why historians, writers, and others have been drawn to this epicentre of change. Speaking of being drawn to spaces, I am drawn to food after walking almost all of the city. As we approach our hotel, we sidestep over to a nearby pub called the Bleeding Horse. Thank goodness we made it just in time, as I am starving for the Guinness Stew in front of me. While we enjoy the live music playing upstairs, we have a craic with our dining neighbours as they are trying to understand an American baseball game on the television. Trust me, the game is better to watch in person. Soon after the game commences, we call it a night as our feet are weary and we have to head off for an early day trip tomorrow. I look forward to what we will learn then.
Thank you for reading this blog. In the next one, we will take a day trip to the Giant’s Causeway, Belfast, and a few other stops. I hope you enjoyed, and until next time.
