We set off from Belfast early this morning in light drizzle,
which persisted for most of our journey to Dublin, however it eased off as we
approached the city and, apart from a few brief sprinkles, it has remained fine
for the rest of the day.
After a morning tea stop while we waited for our allotted
tour time, we entered the old Kilmainham Gaol, constructed during the latter
half of the 18th century to hold 1,000 prisoners, with one to each
cell, however at the height of the potato famine, when many people committed
petty crimes just so they could be sent to prison where they would at least be
fed, the numbers swelled to 9,000.
Prisoners were housed five to a cell, measuring just 3 metres by 1.5
metres, with other prisoners sleeping in the corridors.
We toured the dark, dingy wing reserved for women and
children, and the later wing which replaced the original men’s wing. Since the
gaol closed in 1922 and was refurbished, first by volunteers and then by the
Ireland Office of Public Works, scenes from many movies have been filmed in the
huge, three-storey wing, including the 1969 film “The Italian Job”, starring
Michael Caine, Benny Hill and Noel Coward.
Many of the inmates during the second decade of the 1900s
were rebels from the Irish War of Independence; fourteen were executed here by
firing squad, including one, badly injured during the fighting, who was brought
from hospital and propped up in a chair in the yard so he could be shot.
From the gaol we moved on to St Patrick’s Cathedral in the
city, passing a gallery of engravings of literary giants including Oscar Wilde,
W.B. Yeats, Browning and others. The cathedral
dates from 1220 and has survived wars, the reformation and the uprisings. It is
an enormous church, with many monuments and statues. It also contains the tomb of Jonathan Swift
(author of Gulliver’s Travels), who was Dean of the cathedral from 1713 to
1745, and an original wooden pulpit which he donated.
Then on to Dublin Castle, a relatively modern building, where
we wandered through many state rooms.
The castle is still used for the investiture of Irish presidents.
We then strolled down through the old town to the bronze statue
of Molly Malone. Little is known of
Molly, in fact she may never have existed, but the legend that gave rise to the
old Irish song is that she sold fish from her cart and may have sold herself as
well. Elizabeth encouraged John to rub
her ample breasts, which is a tradition said to bring good luck. If nothing else, it invoked a bit of a titter
among the onlookers.
Then out to the airport to return our car, after having
driven 1,850 kilometres around Ireland.
Then a quick bus ride back into town and to our digs, for dinner and an
early night before our four-hour ferry ride across the Irish Sea to Holyhead, North
Wales tomorrow morning.
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