Free Walking Tour -Exploring Dublin

Wednesday October 2 was chilly, but there was sun for part of the day and no rain! High of about 12C.

We walked across one of the many bridges over the River Liffey to meet up with our Sandeman's Free Tour of Dublin. The meeting place was just beside City Hall.

Crossing the River Liffey

Looking the other way

Custom House- originally built in 1791, burnt down in 1921 during the Irish War of Independence- restoration work completed by 1928 and additional work completed by 1991. Presently houses the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

Guinness everywhere in Dublin

We walked by The Temple Bar (the pub) on the way to our tour. Later our guide noted that locals usually don't go there as the beer is more expensive. There are two parts of the Temple Bar area- one is the more touristy pub part and the other part is the Arts section with a number of interesting shops, bakeries and cafês.

The Temple Bar pub

There were about 16 people on our tour. Our Guide was Ciarán, a Dublin native. He had a degree in Political Science and Philosophy from Trinity College.

Our tour photo (we're in the front row)

The first place we stopped was Dublin Castle, the seat of British rule in Ireland from 1204-1922. During that time it served principally as a residence for the British monarch's Irish representative and as a ceremonial and administrative centre. It was originally developed as a medieval fortress. It remained largely intact until April 1684 when a major fire caused severe damage to much of the building. Parts of the original castle remain. The rebuilding in the late 17th and 18th century transformed it from a medieval bastion to a Georgian palace. On January 16, 1922, the last Viceroy turned the Castle over to Michael Collins and the newly independent Irish state. The end of British rule had come about in the wake of the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. Many dignataries over the years have been entertained at Dublin Castle, including John F. Kennedy (1963), Barack Obama (2011) and Queen Elisabeth II (2011).

Gate of Fortitude and Justice

Ciarán, our guide

View of part of Dublin Castle

Georgian splendor

Old Medieval Tower

Wonderful gargoyles

Another gargoyle

Ciarán pointed out the green area, which is a helicopter pad, where the dignitaries land.

The Old and the New

Christchurch Cathedral - Church of England, used to be Roman Catholic

Cairán gave us a great summary of the history of Ireland, detailing the over 700 years of British rule and the many times that the Irish had rebelled. Unfortunately, the Irish often backed the losing cause (ie Charles I over Cromwell. In 1649, Cromwell launched a brutal nine month campaign against the Irish, confiscating more land); James II v William of Orange- William then passed the Penal Laws of 1695, which prohibited Catholics from owning land or entering higher professions. Irish culture, music and education were banned in the hope that Catholicism would be eradicated.

In the late 18th century the opposition to Irish inequities from the Penal Laws came from Liberal Protestants. They tried to enlist French help in an uprising, but due to bad weather, the French failed to land an army in 1796 and the rebellion was brutally quashed. In 1801, the British enacted the Act of Union which united Ireland politically with Britain. The Irish Parliament voted itself out of existence following a campaign of bribery. Around 100 Members of Parliament moved to the House of Commons in London.

In 1845, a mould ravaged the potato harvest. Cairán explained how the Irish call the period from 1845-1851 "The Great Hunger" while others called in "The Great Famine." He explained that famines usually refer to natural disasters. In Ireland, while the potato harvest was affected by the mould, there was still abundant cattle and other crops such as wheat in Ireland. However, these products were all destined for the foreign landowners in England. The Irish had depended on potatoes and now had limited access to the other food sources. The British government had a laissez-faire attitude to the plight of the Irish-- some saying that the potato blight was an "Act of God". Approximately 500,000-1 million Irish died of starvation during this period and up to two million others emigrated.

The rebellions continued. Ultimately Home Rule was passed in 1914 but was not enacted as WWI broke out. The Irish accepted the suspension and many fought on the British side during the war. However, a small group launched a surprise rebellion on Easter Monday in 1916. The rebellion was put down in a week by the British. The rebels had not been very popular- but the British made a fatal error by executing 15 of the leaders, included James Connolly, who even though severely injured and near death was strapped to a chair before he was shot. The public attitude changed and support for the Republicans rose dramatically.

After 1918, Home Rule was far too little, far too late. The Republicans won a majority of the Irish seats and rather than sitting in London's Parliament they declared Ireland independent and formed the first Irish Assembly which sat in Dublin. The Irish Volunteers became the Irish Republican Army and war against the British broke out. The War of Independence lasted 2 1/2 years. The IRA fought a guerrilla-style war against the British, whose numbers were swelled by returning veterans of WWI known as Black and Tans who were very brutal. A truce was called in 1921 and the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on December 6, 1921 creating the Irish Free State made up of 26 of 32 Irish counties. The remaining six (Northern Ireland) remained part of the UK. After June 1922 elections, civil war broke out between the pro and anti Treaty forces. The most prominent casualty was Michael Collins, who had masterminded the IRA's campaign during the War of Independence and a chief negotiator of the Anglo-Irish Treat. He was shot in an ambush in Cork.

The Civil War ended in 1923. In 1948, Ireland officially left the Commonwealth and became a Republic. It joined the EU in 1972. In 1968 and 1969, Catholic marches in Northern Ireland were attacked by Protestants. In August 1969, British troops went to Derry and Belfast to maintain order. While initially welcomed in some Catholic quarters, the British soon came to be seen as a tool of the Protestants. After the British troops killed 13 civilians in Derry on Bloody Sunday (January 30, 1972), recruitment in the IRA was fueled. The Troubles, as this period became known, lasted until the historic Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Cairán then explained the folly of Brexit. He said that there are many paramilitary groups still in Northern Ireland (there are a number of factions of the IRA and also Protestant paramilitary groups) which are not supported by the majority of the public. However, if a border is imposed as a result of Brexit, there will no doubt be violence again. He also talked about the impossibility of monitoring a physical border. We later talked to someone visiting from New Zealand who had just been to Derry and had seen new IRA slogans all over the walls. The situation is definitely tense, with everyone talking about the fragility of the Good Friday Accord and the danger of not having an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

On our tour break- having a coffee at Indigo and Cloth

We walked by a street with murals of famous Irish woman writers and other Icons.

Our tour ended near the old Irish Parliament building, which became redundant after the Act of Union which created a unified Parliament in London. The Bank of Ireland bought it in 1803, with the one stipulation that it be adapted so that a parliament could never sit there again. The magnificent chamber was broken up into smaller rooms.

Old Irish Parliament building- now a bank

Building still has a British coat of Arms

Cairán also told us about the Irish Flag- The green symbolises Roman Catholics, the orange represents the Protestants and the white in the centre signifies peace and a hoped-for union and inclusion of both religions. The flag was presented as a gift in 1848 from a small group of French women sympathetic to the Irish cause. It became regarded as the national flag during the Easter Rising of 1916 and received constitutional status in 1937.

Cairán also pointed out the Spire of Dublin--- the large, stainless steel, pin like monument on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street, which had been destroyed by a bomb in 1966. It was a millennium project that was completed in 2003. It has many nicknames including "The Stiffy by the Liffey" and the "Erection by the Intersection."

The Spire!

It was an excellent tour- lots of insight and analysis into the history of Ireland, including the impact of the past on the present day situation.

After the tour, we stopped at a wonderful bookstore, Hodges Figgis, founded in 1978. Great display for Margaret Atwood's The Testaments.

We wandered some more and ended up having a lovely lunch at The Pepper Pot Café on the second floor of the Powerscourt Town Centre. We had some wonderful homemade soup and an egg sandwich on soda bread.

Ailín at lunch

There are lots of murals and plaques commemorating Irish history. We saw a display of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Plaque to men killed during the War of Independence 1920

We headed back to the apartment to rest and then went out for dinner at The Celt, a recommended local pub, a few blocks away. We got there about 9:15 p.m. and live music started at about 9:30 p.m. The place was hopping-- I had fish and chips and Ailín had fish pie. Guinness is the drink of choice in Dublin and it tastes even better than the Guinness one can buy in bottles/cans in Canada.