Monday, November 5, 2012

Final Day in Dublin

Thursday, November 1, was our final day in Dublin.  As part of the conference, we were offered a free bus tour of Dublin, and we were excited about seeing still more new things.  We both agreed that bus tours are great because they give such a good, overall view of a city.  Usually, I do one as I arrive in a city, but this one was great, because we revisited a few places we had gone before, but saw many new ones that we had been unable to get to.  So, we want to share a few of our final sights with you.






We had a super bus driver who knew lots of history, and good stories as well.  He must do this drive many times a week, but he was enthusiastic and proud to share parts of Dublin with us. He stopped as we went along, which was very nice because we could get out and take pictures.

Northside and Southside Dublin:  Dublin is divided by the Liffey River and a series of bridges join the two parts of the city together. Some are bridges which can be used by buses, automobiles, etc. and others, such as the Ha' Penny Bridge are only pedestrian bridges. The name refers to the half pence toll that people used to pay to cross it.





Find out why there are locks on the Ha'penny Bridge
http://www.thejournal.ie/wheres-the-love-council-removes-love-
padlocks-from-dublins-hapenny-bridge-327300-Jan2012/
Phoenix Park http://www.phoenixpark.ie/ :  Phoenix Park is Europe's largest public park.  It is over 1700 acres. Within the park are sports fields, flower gardens, the Dublin Zoo and many other things. There are over 1000 Irish deer in the park that just wander around. We saw a field with dozens of them grazing-pretty amazing site! They have very large antlers.  This is also the location of the homes of the President of Ireland and of the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. We were able to see the President's home, but only saw the gates for the U.S. Ambassador's home. Both were very impressive.  Also within the park, is a 116  foot cross that was built for the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II, the first pope to visit Ireland. Over 1 million people turned out to see and hear him. There are several monuments and other areas within the gardens. It was very cold the day we visited, but it was also a week of school holidays, so there were lots of people enjoying the park.






The Guinness Brewery and Storehouse http://www.guinness-storehouse.com: The Guinness Brewery was founded in 1759 and is still producing Ireland's national drink (or at least one of them)! Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease for an annual rent of 45 pounds (Obviously a great business man! I have never heard of such a long lease and 45 pounds is nothing today-probably less than $100!) Guinness is a stout-a dark brew made with roasted malt. Ten million pints a day are brewed world-wide. Their largest brewery is in Nigeria! The brewery and storehouse take up many blocks in Dublin and around the site, you can still see the housing that was built for workers in earlier times.


It seemed that every time I looked up
there was a truck of Guinness in front of us! ~PV


 If you are not familiar with the drink, you are probably familiar with the Guinness Book of Records, which was founded in 1955. Rick Steve's guidebook tells the story of thie Records book.  In 1951, while hunting, the managing director at Guinness got into a debate with his companions over what was the fastest bird in Europe. They were disappointed when they couldn't find an answer.  He hired a company who ran a fact finding agency in London to compile a book of answers to various questions.  In the beginning, the entries mostly focused on facts about nature and animals, but few to include a wide variety of human achievements.  Over 3.5 million copies are sold annually. The Guinness family has greatly benefitted the city of Dublin-not only through its employment, but also through the donation of park land, funds for restoration of important sites, such as St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Dublin Doors:  Throughout Dublin, you see beautiful Georgian doors and doorways dating from the late 1700s. The doors are painted different colors, have beautiful fanlights, and are a Dublin trademark.  You see them on posters, calendars, etc.  Our guide told us that there were several stories about the different colors. One was that when Queen Victoria died, the Irish were told to paint their doorways black as a symbol of mourning, but they were glad that she had died, so used other colors instead. He also said that it helped a person find the right door after a night at the pubs. I don't believe we'll know the whole story!



More St. Patrick's Cathedral:  When we first visited St. Patrick's, it was a cold, dreary day. Today, it was beautiful and our bus stopped so that we could take outside pictures.  The cemetery is located behind St. Patrick's and included some beautiful Celtic crosses.  Interestingly enough, St. Patrick is actually buried hundreds of miles away, in Northern Ireland.



Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Guinness
Monuments and Buildings related to Irish Independence: I have greatly neglected the part of Ireland's history dealing with Irish independence.  This is partly because it is such a long and complicated history that I can't do it justice in a blog post since volumes have been written on the subject. In looking for something which wouldn't be too unweildly, I found a children's history of Ireland, which offers a simplistic, but clear overview of Irish history: http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_irish_history.pdf. (You do not have to take the quiz at the end!) The monuments and areas we drove through are mainly associated with the 1916 Uprising and beyond. Just imagine having a war for independence and a civil war right after that.  The Uprising of 1916 was centered in Dublin. On Easter Monday, 1916, about 2000 Irish republicaion forces stormed the building. Patrick Pearse read the Proclamation for Irish Independence http://www.failteromhat.com/declare.htm. The British shelled the building for a week and most of the leaders of the revolt were executed. The facade still exists, with battle scars on the pillars. There is also a  Garden of Remembrance which commemorates those who died fighting for independence and the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) in which the leaders were kept, has been preserved and houses exhibits relating to Irish independence.

After the bus tour, we visited the National Museum of Archaeology and History http://www.museum.ie/en/intro/archaeology-and-ethnography-museum.aspx which has a fabulous collection of artifacts dating from 7000 B.C. The building itself is beautiful and everything is displayed and labelled so well. There are actually four national museums, but this is the only one that we had time to visit and it was a real priority for me because of what it contains.





 The exhibit called the Treasury contains items from 15 centuries of Ireland. Several hordes of golden items have been found throughout Ireland which date from the Iron Age and many of the items are exhibited here.  It is amazing that these have survived, since gold is such a soft metal, but many are in wonderful condition and the intricacy of the work on the jewelry and other items is really amazing. There are several large brooches, from the 800s, which would have been used to hold cloaks closed. Several are made of gold and silver, and again, the work on them is tiny and intricate.  Ireland did not go through the Dark Ages with the rest of Europe (c. 500-1000). Because of this, literacy was preserved in Ireland and items such as the jewelry and church relics were being created during this time.There are several items which would have been displayed and used in medieval churches. Much of this was destroyed during the Reformation and when you see what remains, it makes you grieve for what is lost. An exceptional item on display is the Faddan Psalter which was found in a peat bog. Rather than trying to describe the significance of this discovery myself, I'm going to take an excerpt from the website.  I would also like to recommend a video which shows the discovery and initial preservation of the psalter.

"The Faddan More Psalter was discovered during peat cutting in a Tipperary bog in 2006. The book fell open upon discovery, and the visible Latin words in ualle lacrimarum (in the valley of tears) identified it as a psalter. The Psalter or Book of Psalms is a section of the Old Testament Bible. Biblical texts were first brought to Ireland during the 5th century by Christian missionaries. As Christianity spread, these texts were copied by Irish scribes. The Psalter came to hold a central place in the Irish monastic system, and children learned to read and write from the Psalter before being handed over to the monks for further instruction. Monks were expected to know the psalms from memory. The Faddan More Psalter was probably written around AD 800, in a nearby monastery, copied from an existing psalter. ..Excavation of the find place showed that the Psalter had been deposited along with a pigskin bag and an animal pelt. Radiocarbon dates from the other material found on the excavation indicate that the artefacts were deposited within a few hundred years of the Psalter being written, before AD 1000. The reasons for the deposition are not known. Earlier peat cutting in the bog uncovered an ancient wooden vessel and a fine leather satchel that dates to between the 7th and 9th centuries AD."  The following video and others can be viewed from the website:
http://www.museum.ie/en/exhibition/list/focus-on-the-faddan-more-psalter.aspx?article=f86b1b62-fa5c-491b-aeb2-759ef81a587f. Thank goodness for those peat bogs! They have preserved many items so that we can study and enjoy them!

Additionally. the museum's collection of Bronze Age goldwork is one of the largest and most important in western Europe. "The earliest objects were produced between 2200 - 1800 BC from gold that was probably acquired from river gravels and worked into thin sheets by hammering." The metal working is very beautiful and the number of items is just overwhelming--a whole room just filled with one case after the other of gold necklaces, bracelets, earrings and other items.

The exhibit, Kingship and Sacrifice centers around two bodies dating from 400-200 B.C. that were found in peat bogs and were remarkably preserved. DNA testing and all kinds of other testing could be done on the bodies and the information they found about the people was amazing.  Along with the bog bodies, other items associated with the rulers of Ireland are also displayed-eating tools, headdresses, weapons, clothing, etc.

There are many other exhibits in the museum and we spent a great afternoon wandering around in awe.

Reluctantly, we ended our time in Dublin and began to get ready to fly back to the States.  Definitely, Dublin and Ireland have a very special place in our hearts. There's LOTS more we'd like to see!




My reading material for the trip home ~PV

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

The trip sounded so fun and educational! Its amazing how much history stands behind the different parts of Ireland, such as the different color doors standing for different things! I would love to go one day. - Courtney Dumas EDU301

Unknown said...

I hope you do get a chance to visit this beautiful country Courtney. It took me 49 years, but was worth the wait.

Anonymous said...

All of the buildings, museums, and statues are beautiful! There is so much deal put into each thing. I would also love to visit one day. I can't imagine how pretty it all is in person. I would love to see the bridges and water as well.
Jordan Neely- EDU 301

Unknown said...

Hey Mrs.Vitulli! I hope you had a good time on your trip. I loved seeing all these pictures, it makes me want to take a trip. Also I find it so interesting how the love pad locks are being cut off the bridge. That is such a cute idea to me, I read the link that you put up about the councilman cutting the pad locks because they were an eye sore. To me I think the pad lock idea is so romantic and sweet.

Unknown said...

Hey Mrs.Vitulli! I hope you had a good time on your trip. I loved seeing all these pictures, it makes me want to take a trip. Also I find it so interesting how the love pad locks are being cut off the bridge. That is such a cute idea to me, I read the link that you put up about the councilman cutting the pad locks because they were an eye sore. To me I think the pad lock idea is so romantic and sweet.

Vicki Nelson said...

Hey Mrs.Vitulli! I hope you had a good time on your trip. I loved all these pictures you posted, it makes me want to take a trip. Also I loved the picture on the pad locks, I find it so interesting how the love pad locks are being cut off the bridge. That is such a good idea, I saw the link that you put up about the councilman cutting the pad locks because they were an eye sore. To me I think the pad lock idea is romantic. However,your trip sounded so fun and educational! Its amazing how the history stands behind the different parts of Ireland, such as the different color doors standing for different things!I would have never known that if you wouldnt have said something about it.I would love to go one day with my husband.All of the buildings, museums, and statues are beautiful! exspecially the crosses and the one of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness. I loved reading about the history of the Guinness Brewery. There is so much detail put into each thing. I can't imagine how pretty it all is in person. I would love to see the bridges and water as well. To the see difference from here and there. I can tell that you had a blast maybe one day I will get a chance to go as well.

Vicki Nelson

Anonymous said...

Wow the pictures on the Pheonix Park link were amazing! I would love to be able to travel to a different country to see God's beautiful artwork. I am always amazed at natures beauty. My husband works in Kentucky most of the year and I take our boys to visit him to be able to see the deer in nature. They love wildlife. I enjoyed your other pictures as well. I am so happy that you had a great time.
Marie Allgood EDU 301

Unknown said...

Hello Dr. Vitulli!
The pictures of this country are absolutely beautiful! It looks like you had a fabulous time! I actually watched a television show yesterday that dealt with the Guinness brewery. It showed their "sky bar" and it over looked the city! It was beautiful! I found the park pictures neat, because the leaves are changing just like ours are!

Maybe one day I can go visit Ireland!
Cheyanne Wilson

Melissa Mark said...

There is a lot of informative facts on this blog about the trip! I like the fact that Guinness company contributes to the park and that other restorations. I didn't know that the beer company was the same family that created the Guinness World Record books. I actually enjoy art, it's like a hobby for me and I really enjoyed your input on the museum in Ireland with all the different art forms in the museum and all the different mediums. I also like story about the different color doors (even though there are different stories behind it). I really enjoyed reading about your experience in Ireland and I am really glad you took pictures so I could see what you saw.

Keiko Ito said...

Hey Dr. Vitulli!
I am Keiko Ito, a student in your EDU301 at the University of South Alabama. I hope you had a great time on your trip. I really enjoyed reading your trip post. I love all beautiful pictures took in Dublin. I like to watch sceneries in Europe. Thank you for shaping them! your post is educational because you shared many places related to Dublin history and you explained them with full details. I want to go to Phoenix Park because there isa beautiful scenery in which I have never watched.
Thank you for sharing wonderful experiences, beautiful pictures, and educational explanations in Ireland.

Keiko Ito

Keiko Ito said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shelby Owen said...

I am Shelby Owen and I am a student in Dr. Vitulli's class. I really enjoyed reading about your last day in Ireland. Even though it was your last day it sure seemed eventful to me and filled with some great site seeing. Something that I would really like to visit would be The National Museum of Ireland Archaeology and the exhibit that seemed amazing was the Treasury. I would like to visit this exhibit because of all the history that comes with it. If I saw this exhibit I would just to stare at the items and think of all the amazing stories they could tell. Thank you for sharing the details of your last day! Your stories made me daydream and imagine myself there.

Shelby Owen

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!!! I'm sure that it is more divine in person. Being an Irish girl myself, this is one place that I plan to visit in the future. I'll have to share this blog with my husband so he can get the itch to visit:)
I'm glad you had a great tour guide on the bus. I love that he is wearing green (my favorite color) and that the rearview mirror is also green. Did you catch his name?

My Irish family names are McCain and McShea. My son is actually called McCain. It is his middle name. Did you happen to hear either of those names while you were there?

Thanks so much for the wonderful pictures, history and web links. My bags are already packed now.
Shawn Little/Walker EDU 301

Anonymous said...

Lock bridges are becoming a common trend throughout Europe. I have seen bridges in France that are completely covered with lover locks. A good solution, in my opinion, would be to construct a terrace wall near the bridge that will replace it as the place of choice for a public commitment of love. I find the bog bodies and treasures very interesting. I wonder what other treasures are lying in wait within the bogs and earth of Ireland.

Anonymous said...

^says Mary Bishop in EDU 301 :)

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Mrs. Vitulli, I totally agree with Dr. Mannix-McNamara. She in my opinion is right about everything.

Nicole Dowling EDU310

Unknown said...

Mrs. Vitulli and Mrs. Santoli,
I am so glad to hear that you both had a great time! I knew you would! I love all of your pictures. They really show how beautiful a place it is. Ireland has always been at the top of my list of places to visit. It sounds like you both had a very fulfilling last day and got to experience a lot of things. The worst part of any trip is having to come home. I never want to leave anywhere I travel to! I hope to be able to visit Ireland one day. You two have definitely made me want to see it even more with all of your posts and pictures!
Thank you for sharing your experiences, Victoria

Unknown said...

Mrs. Vitulli and Mrs. Santoli,

I am amazed as to how much sight seeing you accomplished in just one day! You both described Dublin to the T. I went to Ireland during my Freshman year of high school, and I fell in love with the country instantly!

My chorus group and I actually had the opportunity to sing in the St. Patrick's Cathedral, and it was like no other experience before. We sang many different old songs such as, "Irish Blessing." When we split into our different pitches, it was amazing to hear the echo through the cathedral of all our voices mixed together.

Also, we took a bus tour just like you all did! I loved the different colored doors. I took it as each family's definition of who they are by the color that was painted on their door.

I am taken back by all of your pictures because it brings back so many wonderful memories for me! When looking at your pictures of the bridges in Dublin it reminded me of our afternoon there, after our bus tour, when we got to walk the streets of Dublin and shop.

Of course, we also took a tour of the Genesis Factory. It is remarkable how they make it! The Irish love it and sell it everywhere.

I am glad that you both had the chance to experience the culture while you were there on business. I know that you will carry your memories with you throughout life because I know I do!

Sincerely,

Amy Archer EDU 301 & EDM 310

Anonymous said...

Thank you both for all the wonderful pictures and excellent descriptions. The Park and the contributions of the guiness company also their buisness plan to rent were all just greatly entertaining. Thanks for the simple and more common notes like the colors on the doors and the stories behind it, it was like I was watching Rick Steves on APT lol. Best - Kenneth C

Kaitlyn Burgess said...

Dublin looks so beautiful! I hope I get a chance to travel there someday! I would love to see St. Patrick's Cathedral, Phoenix Park, and The Guinness Brewery. It sounds like y'all had a lot of fun exploring. I bet it was amazing to explore and see a different country's culture.

Jasmine Stevens said...

The history that was provided here was beyond amazing. I learned so much that I never knew in this one post. I found the history about the door very interesting. Even though the true story is not for certain, its neat to hear the stories that people tell. Thanks for sharing this information with us! I really enjoyed reading about it.
Jasmine Stevens

Anonymous said...

Ms. Santoli and Dr. Vitulli, I really enjoyed this post. The descriptions of the weather on each post or picture caption made you feel as if you were right there. The history about the brewery and bridges was very informative, and the story behind the different colored doors on the homes was really neat. I'm sure you had an amazing time here. My favorite pictures are the crosses and the cathedral. ~ Kelly Ficarelli EDU-301

Darrius Mooney said...

Ms. Santoli and Dr. Vitulli, I really enjoyed this post just as much as everyone else has. I hope that you both enjoyed Ireland! The pictures are awesome. Hopefully one day I will be able to visit Ireland as well.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Vitulli,
I really enjoyed your blog. I actually learned a lot and it interested me into finding more history about Ireland. It looks beautiful! Hopefully one day ill be able to visit it!

Farish Beard
In your 301 class:)

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for posting all the beautiful pictures! A visit to Ireland is on my bucket list for sure!

Unknown said...

Dr. Santoli does an excellent job of writing about the history of a region. One of the many reasons she is a fabulous travel partner.

Unknown said...

Amy, I can only imagine how exciting it was to sing in St. Patrick's cathedral as a high school senior!

Anonymous said...

I particularly like the information you have in here about Guiness. Not because of the drink but because I truly believe that having a Guiness book of world records is a great wealth of knowledge. Some od it can be rather useless but some if it is very interesting and can come in handy. I also like the fact that he signed a 9,000 year lease, rather brilliant I think.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr. Vitulli!
I'm taking EDU 301 with you right now and I just want to say that your trip to Ireland seems like it was so much fun. All of the pictures look very interesting with a great amount if detail about each of them. I would like to visit Ireland one day, just from looking at your information you posted!

Dale.DerkeshaEdm310@blogspot.com said...

Hi Dr. Vitulli!
I'm taking EDU 301 with you right now and I just want to say that your trip to Ireland seems like it was so much fun. All of the pictures look very interesting with a great amount if detail about each of them. I would like to visit Ireland one day, just from looking at your information you posted!

Rodney Patrick said...

Dr. Vitulli,
It seems like this trip was a great learning experience. I believe that being able to travel and meet other educators and learn their methods of teaching and styles must be incredible. I hope that I can one day have this experience.

Rebecca Stuart said...

This looked like a great trip! The bus looked like it was great fun! Makes me want to go..My kids and husband would love a trip like this!

Unknown said...

Paige,
I really enjoyed reading you last post on your visit to Dublin. There seemed to be alot of awesome site seeing and adventures. You provided great inoformation on all the places you visited. One place I would like to visit is the St. Patrick Cathedral. Something that I would really like to visit would be The National Museum of Ireland Archaeology and the exhibit that seemed amazing was the Treasury. This place seems pretty historical and I would love to see it. I really enjoyed reading your post and I look forward to reading future posts.
Thanks Jordan

April Crum said...

Wow! I have always wanted to visit Ireland. I used to tell my parents that's where I wanted to get married because of the castles. Now that I’m actually getting married, it doesn’t quite fit in our budget. Dublin is breathtaking. I can’t believe they’re removing the “love locks”! They say it’s damaging the bridge, but if they left them alone, you wouldn’t be able to see the damage  Maybe Robert and I can visit for our 25th anniversary or our honeymoon! It looks like y'all really enjoyed yourselves!

April C.

Candace Buzbee said...

I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures of Ireland. I would love to go and tour Dublin. I loved the picture of the red door, because it reminds me of the movie Taken. Great pictures!

Anonymous said...

seeing the various photos makes me want to see all these sights of Ireland in person

Laura Carpenter