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County Dublin Travel Blogs

Background: Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties.

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By MacCallumWorldTrek
July 31st 2005

Final Installment

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Nineteen Arch Bridge

Visited Countries Map Arrived in the land of Leprechauns on Sunday July 17th. Met up with Grandma Joan who arrived from Montreal an hour or so before, picked up the rental car and drove south down the coast to Arklow. After a few minutes of going around in circles, we found the cottage we had rented on the internet back in December. Turned out to be a fully functional three bedroom bungalow in a little subdivision just 10 minutes walk from the ocean beach. The beach was very nice but the Irish Se [View Full Entry]

By HaleYeah
July 24th 2005

A Few Days in Dublin

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Grafton Street
Busy with people

The trip to Dublin -- our only organized trip as a group -- was arranged so that we could see the High Court of Ireland. Aside from those few set hours, we had the remainder of the weekend to choose our own adventure. The trip started Thursday after class. Nearly everyone (minus Joe) boarded the 2:20 train for Dublin, including professors Lenich and Stacy. We spent most of the two-hour ride playing intense games of Uno.... which I know I played as a kid… but didn’t remember being so fun. After we arrived in Dublin, Sean, Dan and I met up [View Full Entry]

By peruanodan
July 23rd 2005

Walking tour

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Harcourt St.

We decided we'd spend saturday doing a walking tour of a few of the sights in Dublin. But we weren't going to get anything done on an empty stomach, so we stopped off at a little cafe for a cheap, and what turned out to be a delicious breakfast. After that, we began our tour at Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university and home to some interesting history. The college was built by the British as a Protestant monastery in hopes of "civilizing the Irish and curing them of Popery". It's also home to Book of Kells. The campus was really beautiful, [View Full Entry]

By peruanodan
July 22nd 2005

A pub on every corner

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Temple Bar

We were a bit slow getting up this morning, but still managed to make the cross-town hike to meet up with the rest of the group at The Four Courts for our tour. The building has a lot of history, and the interior and architecture are good evidence of it. It seemed to be very busy with barristers, judges, and what I assume to be clients walking all over the place and chatting. The Irish legal system still holds over the tradition of judges wearing white wigs along with their robes. It was interesting, to say the least, to see a [View Full Entry]

By peruanodan
July 21st 2005

Dublin

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

us at the gates of Heaven
(St. Peter not pictured)

Our program in Limerick had made arrangements for us to make a weekend trip to Dublin to visit the Four Courts, Dublin's main courthouse, to learn a bit more about the legal system here in Ireland and get an opportunity see it in action. After a short train ride, our group found ourselves here in the home of great booze and Ireland's largest city. I didn't know quite what was in store when we planned the trip, but the excursion is turning out to exceed any expectations I'd had about Dublin. While the majority of the group is staying at a [View Full Entry]

By haley m86
July 14th 2005

The Jaywalking Capital Of The World

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square.
He said to tell you 'Hey.'

Dublin. Yay Dublin. It's different from everywhere else I've been here. There's a ton of traffic, and yet pedestrians stlil seem to reign supreme. One of the cool little ways to tell the locals apart from the tourists is to watch the people at a crosswalk. Anyone from anywhere else in the world will press the little button and wait patiently for the green signal. The Dubliners will just keep walking. And the traffic is actually okay with this. No one minds, no one honks. They just stop, or swerve, whatever's convenient, and they don't honk or yell. They honk and [View Full Entry]

By Jess
July 11th 2005

Happy Birthday Cathy

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Cathy
Our model Squeezy is looking resplendent as she models the latest fashion hit from Dublin - faux chef. Note the mini disposable barbie. This is the standard for a day in the park. They really just don... [more]

Being the winner I am, I flew to Dublin to surprise the lovely Cathy for her birthday. It worked. There were tears. (Good ones.) It was a fleeting visit that had been carefully coordinated with Cathy's housemate Aideen. As is always the case with young Squeezy it was a mad night and all a bit crazy. (Cath, there's a big building in India a guy built for his wife. Pretty amazing. What's it called? He he he.) [View Full Entry]

By WildcatMike
July 9th 2005

hello humidity

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Just arrived here in dublin after a 5 hour drive from donegal... really a great drive. I had to say goodbye to my friends from colorado because they are leaving tonight... they were great and I had so much fun hanging out with them. Arriving in dublin reminds me of boston, really hot and really muggy. anyway the last 2 nights in donegal were awesome. We would go to a pub and listen to traditional music all night. everyone in the city loved us. Was definitely sad to leave them. The west coast of ireland is so much better then the [View Full Entry]

By JessRK
July 7th 2005

Good News

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Hey all... some good news... I didn't stay on schedule so I am not in London like you all think I am. I have a plane ticket there tonight and, obviously, will not be going (sorry Adam and please email me to let me know you are alright). I was supposed to go to Paris right after that, but will be rethinking my travel plans... maybe I'll just go hibernate on the Aran Islands again... But, I'm in Dublin and not leaving Ireland at the moment, but probably won't stay in Dublin... Thanks for listening... (ma... please call grandmom and tell [View Full Entry]

By Madame Isabel
July 7th 2005

A Sombre Day

Europe » Ireland » County Dublin

Hey hey again: Michael and I spent the day wandering around Dublin this morning (by the way, for those who might not know, Michael is my brother!). We were asking for directions to the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) when a Guiness guard told us about the bombings in London. We were shocked and a bit worried, as we are heading to London on July 12. Also, many of the Aussies on our tour know people living and working there, and of course they could not get through by phone as the lines were jammed. We're praying that their friends and relatives are [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Ireland » County Dublin