The past is ever-present in Dublin

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Mark Bergin

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EMC Lifestyle - The past, present and future intertwine in Dublin, more so than anywhere else in Ireland, possibly anywhere in Europe. Archaeological digs reveal evidence of civilization from as early as 7500 BC. Dublin celebrated its 1000th birthday in 1988 and was named European City of Culture in 1991.

On one trip, the winds across the Atlantic favoured us and our A330 jet arrived in Ireland ahead of schedule. The early arrival meant we circled in a holding pattern to Dublin International Airport. Above this land of mists and ancient Celtic mysteries, we flew 5,000 feet above Newgrange, the ancient megalithic burial tomb north of Dublin.

What better way to enter this Celtic land than symbolically through the spirit of this ancient site? Each year at sunrise on the winter solstice in December, the sun lights a Newgrange burial chamber far underground for a few brief minutes, symbolically entwining light and darkness, life and death, birth and rebirth.

Your arrival in Dublin brings you to Ireland's capital city, where one cannot escape the haunting beauty of Ireland's near and ancient past.

Dublin conjures images of William Butler Yeats reading a poem in the Abbey Theatre, George Bernard Shaw carousing the theatres, Michael Collins fomenting the masses toward an independent Ireland, and revolution roaring in the streets.

The General Post Office building in the heart of Dublin still holds reminders of the bitter struggles of the past. Bullet holes remain as historic reminders of the 1916 uprising in the streets, the beginning of what would turn into a bloody civil war and ongoing guerrilla warfare.

Many famed literary figures like Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde were born in Dublin. William Butler Yeats, born in Sligo in the northwest of Ireland, contributed immensely to the cultural heritage of Dublin and all of Ireland. With his partner, Lady Gregory, he founded Ireland's national Abbey Theatre.

James Joyce, perhaps Ireland's greatest author, wrote passionately about Dublin, his home.

The famed streets of the song about Molly Malone and her "cockles and mussels" bustle with activity day and night.

In the centre of Dublin, across from Grafton Street from statue honouring Molly Malone, sits the quasi-gothic Trinity College, founded in 1592.

Trinity is an ideal place for accommodations. During the academic off-season of mid-May through the end of September, you can rent housekeeping rooms or family apartments by the day or week at some of the most reasonable rates in town.

Rooms start at 58 Euros per night for rooms that include breakfast. Self contained apartments with kitchens are available beginning at 71 Euros for single accommodation, including breakfast in the university cafeteria. Considering the location, the quality and price, there is probably no better place to stay. But accessibility can be an issue in some of the older cobblestone transit ways.

There is a grocery shop moments away along Grafton Street where you can stock up your refrigerator if you're staying at Trinity.

In the heart of downtown, one is within walking distance of hundreds of historic sites.

To book your room at Trinity, you will have to deal directly with the college.

Walking through the high stone walled entrances to Trinity College is like stepping through a veil of time.

Within those walls lies ancient wisdom in the "Old Library," as it is called. Built in 1732, it features the "Long Room" upstairs, 64 metres in length, housing 200,000 antiquarian texts and the oldest surviving harp in Ireland.

Forget the pubs and "tourist-Irishness" rampant in many areas of Dublin, you feel the true spirit of Ireland in the Old Library. The narrow hall along the middle of the room, the lifelike busts at the entrance to the aisles, the almost unbelievably high shelvesall create a sense of wonder. Many a story that my Irish grandparents told began with, "This is a place that is not a place, in a time that is not a time, in a world between the worlds." The Trinity Old Library is in its own world between the worlds.

On a floor below the "Long Room," encased in glass and gently cradled in near darkness, sits The Book of Kells, an elaborately illuminated version of the New Testament painstakingly transcribed by monks in the 9th century. The Book of Kells has a lengthy history of intrigue and now rests safely in its cosy Irish home.

In addition to the Old Library, another "must see" at Trinity is the Examination Hall where you'll see an organ that was saved from a ship in the 1700s.

During a guided walking tour of the campus you'll hear the guide speak of the "new" section of the college, built in the last 200 years.

Such is Ireland.

Things that are brand new have happened in the recent two or three centuries.

Yet, juxtaposed on its ancient persona, an ultra modern sense permeates Dublin. It is one of the world's leading IT centres, more cyber and technologically advanced than even most areas of North America.

Grafton Street for pedestrians only runs from Trinity College to the beautiful city park, St. Stephen's Green, four blocks away. You can relax and have lunch there and listen to an outdoor concert in the summer months. You'll find an almost endless number of unique shops and buskers along your route. Its most famous stop is probably Bewley's Café at No. 78 where you can people watch to your heart's content. At the end of Grafton Street is the modern Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, a modern architectural beauty.

You could spend an entire week exploring the area around Trinity College. A brief walk brings you to the trendy Temple Bar district, the National Museum of Ireland, the National Gallery of Ireland and pubs too numerous to begin to count.

It is best to check on operating hours of such sites as the National Museum prior to a visit. Some sites have odd and unpredictable opening hours that seem to have no rhyme nor reason whatsoever.

This is not unusual in Ireland.

The only thing predictable here is the non-predictability. A frustrated linguist once wrote: "There are certain sets of predictable rules formed that all languages on the face of the earth followexcept Irish."

There are some "must-see" establishments (i.e., pubs): McDaid's, dating from 1779, was a favourite of playwright Brendan Behan, Slattery's, just across the Liffey River, offers some of the best live music in the city, O'Neill's, off Grafton Street, a favourite of Trinity College students, has a lively Bohemian atmosphere. You can dance for hours at Club M or Switch in Temple Bar.

If you have a paparazzi tendency, Renards (and sometimes POD, Place of Dance) is one of the best sightseeing locations as it attracts actors and musicians taking a break from many film shoots and concerts in the city. It's a favourite of Colin Farrell, Bono, Gabriel Byrne, the Coors, and Mick Jagger. The Kitchen, owned by U-2, is located downstairs in the Clarence Hotel and offers the widest range of music and a hip atmosphere.

To really experience the variety of Dublin, take in one of the many crawls, walking tours or bus tours.

The Walk Macabre explores modern intrigue, ancient mysteries, IRA escapes and the like. The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl is a two-and-a-half-hour guided walking tour, with hosts in costume. You'll visit pubs favoured by Ireland's famed literati. The Dublin Bus Ghost Tour exposes you to everything from the sites of IRA assassinations to the story behind Bram Stoker's Dracula.

If you'd rather do it all on your own without any guide leading the way, you can find many independent walking tours such as the Rock Trail which follows the history of such Irish artists as Thin Lizzy, Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, U-2, The Boomtown Rats, and Sinead O'Connor.

More information: www.dublintourist.com, www.tourismireland.com.

To book Trinity College accommodations: www.tcd.ie/accommodation/Visitors/




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