 |
Downtown
Dublin is divided by the Liffey river. On
the north, side of the river is O'Connell
Street and the Custom House. The south
side contains many of Dublin's tourist
sites. |
| When
I asked my 16-year-old son to give me his
impressions of Dublin, he replied "Crowded
and Clean". Actually,
Dublin’s streets are about as
crowded as most large European cities.
But, Dublin has experienced rapid growth
and when you add the massive visitors
Dublin receives each year, the sidewalks
can feel a little crowed at times,
particularly in the shopping districts. |
| At lot of people visit
Dublin for its active night life. Some
come for its clubs and others for the Pub
entertainment. Many a tourist has stopped
in to a Dublin Pub in the evening to
discover a big name musician playing with
the band. For reviews on Dublin Pubs, try
Dublin’s
Pub Scenes. For stogy, old me, the
highlight of my visit to Dublin was the
National Museum. All the important
historic finds of the Republic of Ireland
end up at this museum. Here you can see a
fantastic display of ancient gold
jewelry, some going back 4000 years. |
Photo
Above - Saint Patrick's Cathedral. |
A Little History - Dublin was
founded by the Vikings some 1000 years ago.
Converting to Christianity, the Vikings are
credited with building the first Christian church
in Dublin, which was also the first Christian
church in Ireland.
Photo
Above - The just completed Monument of
Light Spire on O'Connell Street. I was
told half of Dublin despises the Spire
and the other half loves it. However, you
feel about the Spire, you cannot miss
seeing it. |
In the 12th
century, the city failed to the forces of
King
Henry II. The local Irish, including
the O’Tooles and the O’Byrnes
made repeated attacks on the city,
forcing the English to build Dublin
Castle. In the 16 and 1700’s
AD Dublin was a
growing city and many of its landmarks
date back to this period. The cities
population swelled during the Great
famine as country families in
desperation, tried to find relief in the
city. In the last 10 years the Republic
of Ireland has experience rapid economic
growth, most of it has been centered in
and around Dublin. |
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