Dublin

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August 19, 2019 – Dublin, Ireland – Weather: 62°F/17°C, mix of sun and cloud, chance of rain 60%!,(MISSING) wind 16 mph, humidity 66°



We arrived in Dublin early this morning as the Captain had announced last evening that he wanted to be able to do his maneuvering at the dock while there was a high tide. While this portion of the habour can accept deep draft ships he wanted to ensure that there was enough water under the keel to turn the ship around as he moved into the pier. Due to the fact that the River Liffey is crossed by many low level bridges cruise ships are forced to dock out in the container port area, which is also shared with the ferries that head over to England.

Dublin is both the capital and most populated city of Ireland. This lively port city was originally settled by the Vikings in the 9^thCentury and derives its name from the Irish Dubhlinn, meaning “black pool”.

The ship has an extended stay in port today which allowed us to do multiple shore excursions. This morning we did “Dublin Highlights” which included a casual drive through the city while our guide pointed out historically important sites. The most important portion of the tour was our stop at the Library of Trinity College where we had the opportunity to view the Book of Kells. The hand illuminated manuscript, written in Latin contains the four gospels of the New Testament, together with various introductory texts and tables. It was created by early Christian monks around 800 AD and is a masterpiece of calligraphy.

After having a brief look at the four pages of the book that were exposed for today’s viewing we ascended to the Long Room, which is the main chamber of the Old Library. The room which was built between 1712 and 1732 is over 65 metres in length is filled with over 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books. Those volumes are still used by today’s researchers.

The Long Room also houses a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and a 15^thcentury harp known as the “Brian Boru” harp which is the national symbol of Ireland.

Our second outing for the day was for “An Evening of Irish Song & Dance”. We bussed over to Rathfarnham to Taylor’s Three Rock pub. The pub is located in a rambling farmhouse that reportedly has the largest thatched roof in Ireland. Dinner was a three-course meal followed by a traditional Irish coffee. Throughout the evening we were entertained by singers performing traditional Irish songs, dancers, and a local comedian.

While we were away, the ship invited a local group of musicians and dancers, known as Celtic Storm, from County Down to come on board and entertain those guests who had chosen not to do anything in town during the evening.

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