What better way to kick off our final full day in Dublin than by grabbing a mocha at Butler’s Chocolate Café and then crossing the street to stroll through nearby St. Stephen’s Green. After passing through Fusiliers Arch, we walked down the beautiful paths of the historic old park that is such a vital character in much of Irish literature. Fittingly, we saw a tribute to W.B. Yeats early in our meanderings.
We began to formulate a plan for the day as we continued to make our way all the way around the park. A Joyce statue stood rather nondescriptly and discreetly alongside one of the walkways.
It was time to grab the Hop On/Hop Off bus once again, with an eye toward eventually making our way to Parnell Square. We didn’t mind taking the long route through 1,760-acre Phoenix Park again, where we could see the Irish President’s residence and the front gate to the Dublin Zoo. We also took in Wellington Testimonial (or Wellington Monument), built in memory of the Duke of Wellington, the Dublin native who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Enjoying yet another beautiful morning in Dublin, it seemingly took us no time to get to Parnell Square, home to our next stop: The Dublin Writers Museum.
Our walkthrough tour of the Dublin Writers Museum included a handheld radio that gave you a guided tour when you punched in numbers that correlated to individual exhibits. Among many other highlights, we viewed old copies of “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Dracula,” whose author, Bram Stoker, was actually born in the Clontarf area of Dublin in 1847. In fact (t the risk of sounding like Cliff Clavin from “Cheers”), the Irish words “Droch Ola” translate to “Bad Blood,” leading many to believe that is the basis of the title.
The museum was housed in a beautiful old home that featured intricate art on the ceilings, and upstairs we found one of Joyce’s original pianos. No photography was allowed, but it was amazing to see some of the collected works of groundbreaking Irish authors like Joyce, Shaw, Yeats, Pearse and many others.
The tour was even cooler than we imagined it would be, and took a bit longer than expected. Sticking with the literary theme, we journeyed on to the nearby James Joyce Centre.
There wasn’t a whole heck of a lot to see in this mini-museum (photography was supposedly off-limits, but there weren’t many people and no one seemed to care), but there were some definite highlights. On a smaller outside patio area, we found the original door from 7 Eccles Street—the home of Leopold Bloom in “Ulysses” and reputed to be “one of the more famous addresses in literature.”
Also on exhibit at the James Joyce Centre was some of the original furniture from Paul Leon’s apartment in Paris, where Joyce stayed while he wrote “Finnegan’s Wake.” We stuck around for a documentary on the impact of “Ulysses” on Irish and international literature before departing.
Walking along the north-side quay for a few blocks, we eventually found our way to North Earl Street, where we encountered the Joyce statue that is alternately referred to as “The Prick with the Stick.”
Hungry after a morning of browsing centuries-old manuscripts and pictures, we decided to make our way back across the Liffey to the Brazen Head, which some claim to be the oldest pub in Dublin, having been established in 1198. Among many other things, it is famous for its carvery, which is basically a cafeteria-like line where you choose what you would like to eat. I had a toasted roast beef sandwich with lettuce and peppers, with roasted potatoes. We grabbed a coupla Guinnesses and found a seat in one of the interior rooms, finding the walls completely covered in dollar bills scrawled with names, college and pro teams, etc. This noted landmark was also mentioned in “Ulysses,” and you could feel the sense of history throughout the pub, restaurant and courtyard.
After the lunch and a coupla beers, we decided to walk a coupla blocks up the street to do drive-bys on Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Castle. One of two medieveral cathedrals in Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral is a stunning structure. It’s also believed that Anglo-Norman warrior “Strongbow” is buried somewhere in the grounds of the church.
Dublin Castle was around the next corner, so we quickly made our way through the gates and onto the Upper Yard. Now a major Irish governmental complex, it was originally built as a defensive stronghold in 1204, under orders from King John. The looming Records Tower sticks out amidst some modern architecture; as the sole surviving tower of the castle, it dates back to 1228.
Following these quick visits, we walked along the quay for a while, taking in the understated Liffey. We wanted to check out a shop or two on the other side of the river, which would also give us a chance to cross the famous Ha’Penny Bridge.
Our long wanderings eventually brought us all the way back to Nassau Street and Grafton Street, near our very own Brooks Hotel. After making a few purchases for friends and family, we made our way back to the hotel. We made a quick stop inside to get out of the light rain and change (our door keys didn’t work, leading to having to deal with an unpleasant jackass at the front desk), then headed back out to the shopping district to try to find a couple of other souvenirs we wanted to grab before our early flight the following morning.
Unfortunately, this venture was fruitless, so we returned to our room to avoid the misting rain and catch our breaths before supper. Since it had come pretty highly recommended from a few places, O’Neill’s Bar was our dinner destination. We missed the side street it was on, so made a lap around the Temple Bar area, doubled back and found O’Neill’s on Suffolk Street. Ducking inside, we found it to be an unbelievably crowded and enormous place. Surprisingly, we also discovered that it was another carvery, which was fine with us. We went through the line, placed our orders and finally found a cozy (that’s Irish for “tucked into a tiny corner next to a smelly walkway”) spot. The food took forever and the bar lines were extremely long (complicated by the fact that a proper Guinness can’t be poured correctly in less than three minutes), but no worries -- we were on vacation, after all, and there are few things worth waiting on more than an expertly poured Guinness. The food was very good and we stayed for a coupla extra rounds of Guinness, since we didn’t want our vacation to end and we wanted to savor the last coupla “true” Guinnesses we might ever have. And with that, we bid O’Neill’s adieu …
Though the night had turned pretty cold, I got us back home pretty easily. I watched some Masters at that point (it came on the air at like 10 p.m. in Ireland) while I filled out a comment card on our stay at the Brooks, complete with crude cartoon figures and some angry American insults for the rude front office attendant we had encountered earlier in the day.
We also looked up bus rates and times for our early-morning trip to the airport tomorrow. Could our Irish stay really be coming to an end already? It seemed like only yesterday that we were taking roads on two wheels, dodging horses in the road and stumbling into the staggering Cliffs of Mohr.
Alas and alack, all good things must come to an end …
The final (really) installment of the Irish adventure will be forthcoming in a coupla days, in which I’ll wrap everything up with some final thoughts. P.S. You can click on the pix for bigger versions if you like. All photos taken by the Scoot. Giddyup.
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