Issue #5
The Dublin Issue…
I’m trying a new format with this newsletter. Some of the folks have had a wee bit of trouble downloading the rascals, so I’ll see if this less-complicated formatting helps.
When I die I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin. ---J. P. Donleavy
Ireland is where strange tales begin and happy endings are possible.
Charles Haughey in the Daily Telegraph, London,
The Irish are artists…poets, novelists, playwrights, musicians, painters… In fact, unless the law’s been changed in the last two years, writers, artists and composers have been exempt from paying income tax! I’m not kidding! Some say it’s their guilt complex from banning or banishing their great writers like Joyce, Becket, Wilde, and Shaw. In 2005 there was a parliamentary move to remove the 35-year law since a few American pop stars were claiming Irish citizenship to avoid taxes. BUT..it speaks volumes as to the importance the Irish put on the arts.
During our stay in Ireland, we’ll hear much about their literary heroes. I don’t
that book, even though it usually tops the list of best novels in the world, but at least a
nodding acquaintance with some of these literary great would be…well….great.
A Wee Bit More….
When I die Dublin will be written in my heart. ---James Joyce
A weary soldier fighting against Napoleon at Waterloo wrote in his diary: "When I [could] take some nourishment, I felt the most extraordinary desire for a glass of Guinness." Doctors wrote in to say that they found Guinness good for everything from "insomnia, neurasthenia, debility and constipation" to an "effective aid for nursing mothers."
Guinness tried to get stout admitted into the U.S. during Prohibition as a medicine, but the Treasury Department coldly said no.
Marriage: When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. ---George Bernard Shaw
The English language brings out the best in the Irish. They court it like a beautiful woman. They make it bray with donkey laughter. They hurl it at the sky like a paint pot full of rainbows, and then make it chant a dirge for man's fate and man's follies that is as mournful as misty spring rain crying over the fallow earth.
T. E. Kalem on Brendan Behan's 1958 play Borstal Boy.
The short of things…
We land on the west coast of Ireland and make our way to the east coast. Shannon Airport is always the first-fall for Irish flights, and on the day we land we make our way down to Kilarney. On day three we view the Ring of Kerry, landing that night in Cork. Day four takes us all the way to Dublin with stops at the Blarney Stone and the Waterford Crystal Factory. Our final day in Ireland is day five with the entire day given over to Dublin.
Dublin…A Wee Bit O’ History…..
The history of Dublin goes back a thousand years, and that’s just the RECORDED history and some references claim to trace its origin back 2000 years. We know that in the 9th century the Vikings had two cities here and some think that an even earlier Christian settlement was here known as Duiblinn. The Viking word meant “black pool,” referring to the convergence of the rivers here. When the Normans took over in the 12th century, Dublin became the English seat of power in the country.
I won’t begin to summarize the history of Ireland since it goes back 8000 years, but a very short version of a country that was probably settled by what was a land bridge with Great Britain, and thus the first human settlement. Then missionaries including St. Patrick (yes, he was real), then the Vikings gave the Christians the boot, and late in Ireland’s history, England laid claim. We have just recently seen the latest chapter in Ireland’s history take root as the country’s two halves have begun to come together. The half we’ll be visiting the southern half or “The Republic of Ireland” which seceded from Great Britain in 1922. Northern Ireland remained a part of the U.K. The country’s history will be told to us much more clearly and with a definite Gaelic lilt once we get there.
When I came back to Dublin I was court-martialed in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.
Brendan Behan
For our American visitors:
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!
Author unknown
Ah, Ireland...That damnable, delightful country, where everything that is right is the opposite of what it ought to be Benjamin Disraeli
More About Us…
Bob and Janet Chipman are two of the reasons why we’re getting a free day in London on this tour. They were a part of our Alaskan crew who opened their seaside window to find a lifeboat hanging there, and thus Passports compensated us on this trip with an extra day in England’s crown city. Bob is a Realtor with Chipman Realty (isn’t it cool he found a business with his name on it?) and Janet teaches at J. Turner Jr. High in Jacksonville. They have two sons.. Andrew teaching in the Chicago area and recently married, and Tim on leave from J. Turner, teaching for a year in the Fullbright program in Latvia. The Chipmans will be flying to visit their Latvian son over Christmas.
Trip Tip[ On the day before Thanksgiving, National Public Radio interviewed airport officials in O’Hare about the hold-ups at security check points. The fellow said that the number one reason for slow downs were non-frequent travelers who were confused. (Well..duh..I can see their point!) He said that little things like having your belongs in clear-plastic see-through bags or containers speed things up greatly.
Pod-ing It….
Check out this website… Three Americans were asked to go to various parts of Ireland and submit pod-casts of what they found. Here’s the web address:
www.shamrock.org/podcast/player/
The two ladies listed went to places where we’ll be visiting, although the fellow’s podcast of Northern Ireland is pretty good.
I think that in order to put Ireland in the best possible light, they put the pod-ers up in nicer hotels than we’ll be seeing, but the sights are the same.
A good site for direct Pod casts from Ireland, including their music:
"I think people should be allowed to do what they want, as long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."
Attributed to Oscar Wilde's Cleaning lady when she testified at his trial. (I’ve always loved this quote.)
And in case there are Shoppers Among Ye…
Shopping in Dublin focuses on the two main pedestrianised shopping streets of Grafton Street/Stephen's Green on the southside centre and Henry Street on the northside and their surrounding streets. The two streets are just either side of the river, a few minutes walk apart, but are somewhat different.
Southside
Grafton Street, located between Trinity College and St Stephen's Green is the more smart shopping area with fashionable stores such as Brown Thomas, the department store catering for many designer showcases, both foreign and local. Dublin's leading and most exclusive jewelers, Weirs, is also here, as well as the most popular of the famous Bewley's Cafés. Other principal shopping streets in the area include Wicklow Street, Dawson Street, and South Great Georges Street. The nearby Powerscourt Towncentre is one of the nicer, albeit small, shopping centers in the city. Also close by is The Georges Street Arcade, an indoor market and a bit unusual.
Northside
Henry Street has department stores such as the popular Arnotts, and an assortment of popular clothing and footwear stores. The ILAC shopping center, the newer Jervis Street Shopping Centre are both here. The well-known outdoor food market of Moore Street is always full of bargains. The nearby O'Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, is home to the excellent Clery's Department Store and Eason's Booksellers as well as several other shops but not the main shopping area by any means.
And, as in any European city, the further you are from the main drag, the cheaper the prices.
When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious. Edna O'Brien
Hang the bard, and cut the punster,
Fling all rhyming to the deuce,
Take a business tour through Munster,
Shoot a landlord — be of use.
Richard D'Alton Williams - Advice to a Young Poet
Trip Tip[ Bill Curry, one of our travelers just back from Japan, tells me that the best purchases he made was a simple set of eye shades or “blindfolds” for sleeping on the plane. He said he was able to do something unusual on the trip East…sleep!
In a 2003 European-wide survey by the BBC, questioning 11,200 residents of 112 urban and rural areas, Dublin was the best capital city in Europe to live in, and Ireland the most content country in Europe.
And then there are those things you won’t find in most guidebooks:
öDublin's O'Connell Bridge was originally made of rope and could only carry one man and a donkey at a time. It was replaced with a wooden structure in 1801. The current concrete bridge was built in 1863.
öThe Temple Bar area is so called because it housed the first Jewish temple built in Ireland. The word 'bar' refers to the refusal of Catholics to allow the Jewish to enter any of the adjoining commercial premises.
öIn 1761 a family of itinerants from Navan were refused entry to Dublin. The family settled on the outskirts of the city and created the town of Rush. Almost two hundred and fifty years later the entire population of Rush can still trace their roots back to this one family. 
öDubliners drink a total of 9,800 pints an hour between the hours of 5.30pm on a Friday and 3.00am the following Monday.
öDublin is Europe's most popular destination with travelling stag and hen parties. There is an estimated six hundred 'pre-wedding sessions' every weekend in the capital.
öDubliners have a one in six chance of being targeted by a pickpocket whilst in the City Centre. (More about avoiding this in future issues.)
öA pint of Guinness in Dublin can cost as much as £2.75 or as little as £2.10 depending on where you drink.
öDubliners are the least racist people in Ireland except when it comes to the people of Kerry.
When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.
Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes
Not read Angela’s Ashes? It would be top on my list of recommended reading before visiting the Emerald Isle. I have a very special copy I ordered from Amazon and it came signed by McCourt! I have no idea how that happened, but ‘tis sweet indeed!
Your free-time plans in Dublin will depend a great deal upon the location of our hotel. As I’ve mentioned previously, we’ll know this just before we go. Dublin busses are often an adventure. The drivers are a wee bit lax about putting the correct destination on their destination boards, the time listed at the bus stops indicate what time the bus leaves for that stop, not when it arrives, and even though the bus has two or more doors, the driver may not open the back door unless you ring the buzzer. Add to that the Dublin traffic and you have an experience on your hands. The good news: the drivers are Irish, which usually translates as “friendly,” and I’ve found the folks in Dublin to be extremely gracious in going out of their way to help you.
With over 12,000 licensed taxis working the Dublin area there is generally little problem getting a taxi in Dublin except when traffic is particularly heavy or late at night during the Christmas party season.
All taxis in Ireland a large yellow and blue roof-sign and are metered. Since October 2006 all taxi charges have been the same throughout the country. Taxis have a sticker on the sun visor and fare cards in the seat pockets or window stickers which explain the fares.
Taxis may be hailed on the street, picked up at a taxi rank or ordered by phone The initial fares are:
- €3.80 during the day 8am to 8pm
- €4.10 8pm to 8am and all day Sunday & Public holidays.
Although most drivers are honest, beware the ’extras’ on the meter. The only extras due are
extra passengers: €1.00 each after the 1st passenger - radio call-out charge: €2.00
At about this time in your reading and preparation you’re thinking, “Holy cow! Do I need to remember all this stuff? The answer, quite simply, is “No.” If you need to get somewhere, buy something, arrange something, you can simply go to our tour director and ask him or her how to get it done. But if we can all travel with “general fuzzy idea” of the traveling landscape, it’ll make for a more enjoyable and hassle-less trip.
I just dress up what the Good Lord provides."
Legendary Irish course designer Eddie Hackett who designed the Ring of Kerry golf course
In Ireland, the inevitable never happens and the unexpected constantly occurs. Sir John Pentland Mahaffy
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. C.S. Lewis
This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever. Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)
There are only two dialects of Irish, plain Irish and toothless Irish, and, lacking a proper acquaintance with the latter, I think I missed the cream of the old man's talk.
From 'Leinster, Munster and Connaught' by Frank O'Connor
God gives the gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them."
C.S. Lewis
