Ireland

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A nice weekend in Ireland!!

Based the weekend in Dublin and stayed in the Temple Bar area which is the main drinking area of Dublin, which was excellent, although quite loud at night (complete with a horse running past at all hours). Dublin is divided by the River Liffey in to North and South, the north side is less prosperous and the south side is generally viewed as the more affluent side of the river.

We had a quick walk through Trinity College (founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I), which is where the Book of Kells is held, though we didnt see it (the admission fee was a bit nuts and we were short on time).
Christchurch Cathedral was one of our first stops, which apparently was a wooden structure until 1169 - which is when they built the stone cathedral which exists now.

Of course, as is a must for anyone who took Fifth Form History and "Conflict in Ireland" it was essential to cruise past the General Post Office, which is where the Irish Volunteers based themselves for attacks against the British during the Easter Rising (1916).

Our last day we visited the Guinness Storehouse and did the tour, which was quite cool.


In Kilkenny, we saw the castle and the big head. The Castle was the stronghold of the Butler Family and dates back to 1172, when a wooden tower was built on the site. I was keen to head south to Kell's Priory but we didnt have a map and from what I understand it is in somewhat an obscure location (which has its benefits - wont be over-run with tourists).

In Swords we saw a "real" castle, with proper walls, towers (and CCTV camera's) and had the best Bagel ever...we made our way cross country to Lusk, and then up to Skerries, which is apparently where St Patrick first set foot in Ireland. Then it was time to start heading back to Dublin, via Malahide (we couldnt find the castle but apparently there is one and its really cool) and Howth, then back south of Dubin to Dun Laoghaire - where the ferries from Wales arrive.

All in all a very good weekend.

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