Dublin, Ireland - Trinity College, National Library,

July 5, 2026

As our companions on the Gate 1 Tour returned home, we were on our own for a day in Dublin. We had booked a tour of The Book of Kells at Trinity College, so we purchased a Big Bus pass to make our way there and see more of Dublin.

We began with a morning trip around the Big Bus Route. It was a live narration by the bus driver instead of the recorded track that we often hear on Hop On Hop Off Buses.

Rosie Hackett Bridge

The Kennedy's Bar, once Conway's, was a popular hangout for many famous Irish writers including James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett. James Joyce even mentions it (as Conway's) in his novel, Ulysses.

A statue of Oscar Wilde(author of "The Selfish GIant") sits outside the bar where he worked his first job - stocking shelves.

Many historic houses in Dublin were built in Victorian times with the Georgian Style.

Beneath the lid on this "coal hole" is a chute that led down to the basement of the home. This allowed for easy and clean delivery of the coal needed to heat homes back in Victorian times.

The Dawson Lounge is the smallest pub in Dublin.

Dublinia is a museum dedicated to Viking and Medieval history of Dublin.

Christ's Church Cathedral was originally founded by the Viking king of Dublin, Sitric Silkienbeard, in 1030 AD. Although originally a Catholic Cathedral, it is now the Anglican Church of Ireland.

Christ Church has been renovated a few times since it was first built almost a thousand years ago. It's current blend of Romanesque and Gothic architecture comes from Victorian renovations in the 1870s.

John's Lane Church

Dr. Steeven's Hospital, now the headquarters for Health Services.

Miami Showband Memorial ("Let's Dance") remembers the members of the popular Irish band who were murdered during the Troubles.

After doing a full circuit, we hopped on a new bus and made our way to Trinity College to meet with our guide. The meeting spot was under the statue of Henry Grattan, an 18th century politician whose persuasive speeches resulted in freeing the Irish parliament from the control of the British privy council.

The striking base of this Victorian lamp post nearby the Grattan statue show the hippocampus, a mythological sea horse.

After a bit of a mix up where we joined the wrong walking tour, we met up with our guide, Michael Kenny. He was an extraordinary guide and we were lucky to have him all to ourselves. (We booked him through Viator.) He was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Ireland and told many interesting stories.

We walked through Trinity College on the way to the Old Library to see the Book of Kells. Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland. Queen Elizabeth the 1st founded the university in 1592.

Front Gate and Regent House

Campanile Bell Tower - Urban legend claims that students who pass under its arches while the bell tolls will fail their exams. Even on rainy days, many students walk around it instead of seeking shelter from the rain lest they fall victim to the Exam Curse.

Examination Hall

Once we entered the Old Library, we headed for the Kell's Experience. There were Ogham stones on display from ancient Ireland. The lines were a "tree alphabet" used to write the ancient Irish language.

We then entered the Kells exhibit. There were many images of its more famous pages on display.

The Book of Kells is Ireland's greatest culturual treasure. It was created by Irish monks in the 9th century on the small island of Iona. St. Columba is believed to have begun the project with his monks in 800 AD. It survived Viking raids and the perilous sea journey back to the mainland when the Viking threat continued to grow. It contains the Four Gospels lovingly copied in intricate Celtic design.

To preserve the actual Book of Kells, it is only opened to one page view to preserve the ancient book. The page is only turned once every 6 to 8 weeks. The exhibit allows visitors to see replicas of many pages.

The Chi Rho page combines these two Greek letter to form the symbol of Christ. If you look closely you can see many small creatures the scribes hid within the intricate Celtic knot design. You'll all notice that the Christ figure's golden hair has a distinctly Irish look. (It is the head within the loop of the Rho.)

Although we were not allowed to take pictures of the actual Book of Kells, there was a replica book opened to the same 2-page spread that we saw in the original.

Madonna and Child - This is the oldest surviving illustration of Mary and Jesus in a western manusript.

Breves Causae of Matthew - The beginning of summary of the book of Matthew with the chapter heading and important events in the first chapter.

After viewing the original Book of Kells, we entered the famous Long Room of the library. Although it usually displays 200,000 of the university's oldest books, the shelves were barer than usual as many have been removed for repair and preservation. They will eventually be returned.

Each towering row of bookshelves has a marble bust of a famous figure from history from all the way back to the ancient Greeks, Homer, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

to the more modern chemist Rosalind Franklin, one of the four women added in 2003 to mix up the all-male busts.

The historic Proclamation of the Irish Republic declaring Ireland's freedom from Great Britain on Easter Rising in 1916 is also on display.

We saw various publications of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels

and the Brian Boru Harp, one of only 3 surviving Medieval Irish harps.

As we left Trinity College, we passed by the "Apples and Atoms" sculpture celebrating the work of the Irish physicist, Ernest Walton, who together with John Cockcroft won the 1951 Nobel Prize for splitting the atom.

On our way to the National Museum of Ireland (the next official stop on the tour), we took a detour for a special surprise. I had expressed interest in Yeats in my conversations with Michael so he took us to the National Library where there was a special display of Yeat's work.

In the main entrance hall was a model of the library made from Legos by Breda and David Fennell over a period of 5 years!

On our way to the Yeat's Exhibit, we passed through the former Director's office with a beautiful oak fireplace from the 19th century.

In the Yeat's exhibit, we were able to see many mementos of his life and work.

This display showed many of Yeat's poems read aloud in recordings of Sinead O'Connor, Seamus Heaney, and even William Butler Yeats himself.

This is my favorite Yeats poem, "The Stolen Child" written in his own hand.

Yeats won this Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923.

On the way to the National Library, we stopped for a peek through the fence at the Leinster House, the seat of the Irish Parliament (the Oireachtas).

I was excited to learn about some of the history of Ireland at the National Museum. Time was running short for our tour and we still wanted to see the National Gallery before it closed, so we only hit some of the highlights.

A reconstruction of a Neolithic Passage tomb from 3400 to 2800 B.C> If you look closely you can see the stone carving art from thousands of years ago.

Gallagh Man was found buried in a beat bog in County Galway. He lived during the Iron Age.

This shows one of the three faces of the Corleck Head carved from stone in the Iron Age.

The Broighter Collar is a golden torc from the Iron Age. A torc like this would have been worn by an important person such as a chief, a head druid, or an accomplished warrior as a sign of their status.

This intricate gold boat was found in the Broighter Hoard along with the collar and other treasures.

The Ardagh Chalice from 8th century Ireland was likely used for communion in early Christian masses.

The Faddan Mor Psalter from the early 8th century was found in a peat bog.

Little could be preserved of what was originally recorded on its vellum pages. It is a reminder of how lucky we are to have the Book of Kells so beautifully preserved.

The Cross of Kong from the 12th century is reported to have once held a splinter from the True Cross. Sadly that relic has since been lost. The glass in the middle of the intersection is where the relic was originally placed. The curved glass magnified the splinter so it could be seen more easily by worshippers.

We bid farewell to Michael and walked to the nearby National Gallery of Ireland.

Brent showed me some of his favorites from his 2023 visit to Dublin, and I found some favorites of my own.

The Village School by Jan Steen - Thankfully education has changed a great deal since those days.

The Battle of the Boyne by Jan Wyck - a celebration for the Dutch painter, but less so for many of the Irish.

The Taking of Christ by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. There is a self-portrait of the artist hidden in the painting - the face of the lantern bearer on the far right.

The Denial of Saint Peter by an anonymous painter known only as the "Lodger of Saraceni"

Carlo Maratta's painting of Zeus's abduction of Europe in the form of a white bull.

The Portrait of Captain William Congreve with his Son William by Philip Reinagle depicting a captain in the British army during the American Revolutionary War

When the same artist painted the Portrait of Mrs Congreve with her Children, he included his portrait of her husband and son behind her.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel on the Big Bus.

Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture - the colors come the actual colors of the stone rather than from paint.

 Department of the Taoiseach (the central government of Ireland)

Mansion House - the official home of the Lord Mayor of Dublin

St. Audoen’s Church is the only medieval church remaining in Dublin. (While others were founded earlier, they have been renovated and no longer have the medieval construction.) It has the oldest church bells in Ireland, brass bells from 1493.

The Guinness family made their fortune in Guinness Stout. In 1759, Arthur Guinness brilliantly signed a 9,000 year lease for a run-down brewery and invested his inheritance of 100 pounds to start his business. A century later, it was the largest brewery in the world. The family has put their wealth to good use supporting many charitable causes for the people of Dublin.

Although no longer owned by Guinness, over a million people visit the Guiness Storehouse every year.

Keystone of the Entrance Gates to the Brewery

Famous Black Gate - entrance to St. James Gate Brewery, the birthplace of the Guinness brand.

Sky bridge connecting the buildings of the Guinness Storehouse

The Gravity Bar atop the Guinness Storehouse

The home of Arthur Guinness

St. Patrick's Tower, one of the largest smock windmills in Europe, once powered a nearby whiskey distillery.

Known fondly as the "Floozie in the Jacuzzi", the Anna LIvia monument was based on a character from James Joyce's novel, Finnegan's Wake. The statue personifies the River Liffey

Gateway to the Four Courts

The Ha'penny Bridge was once a toll bridge that cost a half penny to cross. (It is officially named the LIffey Bridge.)

This view of the O'Connell Monument more clearly shows some of the damage from the bullets of the Easter Rising than my 7/4 picture.

These cheerleaders may have been showing support for Brazil in their World Cup match against Norway today. They were to be disappointed as Brazil ending up losing 2 to 1.