1916 and 1759

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Today is a bit interesting. For starters we get to explore Dublin for an hour or so, which was very uneventful and mostly consisted of getting pre-packaged sandwiches (the Brits LOVE these things) and wandering around before being carted off for a tour of Kilmainham prison. For those unfamiliar, this is the oldest prison in Dublin and is creepy as hell.

We got a quick background on the place, outside of town (originally), lots of disease, lots of kids, one of the first prisons with individual cells, that sort of thing. Then it got more specific as we were led to the main cell block. This is the room where all the prison scenes from “In the Name of the Father” were filmed. It is also where Emon DeVelera was held during some of his many incarcerations. I love that I recognized it immediately. The sense of confinement was undeniable there, even as just a tourist.

From that cell block we were led past the hanging room, one of the most unsettling rooms I have ever set foot in, and into the cell blocks for the men martyred after the Easter rising. Not only did I see their cell’s and cell block, I also got to see the yard where they were all shot. I stood on the exact spot where they were killed and saw the last thing each of them saw. There was, however, one difference that made it seem, somehow worthwhile. I stood on the spot where these 14 men were killed and stared at the stone wall that would have only been obscured by the men lining up to kill them. Only now there is a bit of color that wasn’t there before. Flying atop the flagpole near the middle of the yard was the flag of the Republic of Ireland. This didn’t take away from the tragedy or the weight of the place at all, but it was a rather amazing cite to behold.

Now that we had sufficiently been bummed out we made our way to one of the holiest cites in the world. It is a storied, ancient building, more a city within a city; a place that attracts the faithful devoted from all corners of the globe. Housed in St. James Gate, I set foot in the Guinness Storehouse. It is the greatest place in the world. Not only is the story of the place amazing (leased in 1759 on a 5,000 year lease for $45 per year) it is assembles as the greatest museum I have ever visited. It flows nicely, it has all the information you need presented in a very pleasant multimedia format, but you also get a free Guinness at the end. Well, you get one free, unless you’re me and know how to work it, in which case you get five. The entire thing is topped off with the “gravity bar” which offers a 360 degree view of Dublin. Really an amazing place, perhaps the highlight of, not only my trip, but dare I say, of my life?

We sadly had to leave this wonderful place and transport ourselves across the entire island (only 4 hours on really crappy roads) to Galway, a beautiful city where you can’t drink the water, a fact which didn’t seem to slow any of us down at all.

We spent most of the evening at a bar called “The King’s Head” which had great atmosphere, a great band, good beer, and a GORGEOUS Polish woman hitting on me(she looked like Vesper from “Casino Royale”) yet, for some reason the group decided to leave, and I, for reasons unknown, decided to go with them. This involved sprinting across Galway in the pouring rain and ending up in a really shit bar for a few beers before chucking it in and heading home. I like Galway, quite a bit.

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