When Irish Eyes are Smiling

I am a quarter Irish and have had been curious about Ireland since I was a little girl and my grandma visited and brought me back a little doll. The dress was white with 3 leaf clovers on it and I loved it to shreds (literally.) Another event that peaked my curiosity about Ireland was reading the book Trinity by Leon Uris in high school. It is a powerful book that chronicles the early days of the Irish rebellion against the English colonial occupation from the Irish perspective.


I also have very fond memories of listening to a record of the "The Irish Rovers" called The Unicorn. This record is a great mixture of fun light songs like the title song, The Unicorn, sad ballads like The Wind that Shakes the Corn, and historically intriguing ones like The Orange and the Green, which talks about the challenges of the Catholic-Protestant conflict from the perspective of the son of a Catholic mother and Protestant father. I recommend the album. Anyway, I wanted to start our visit off on the right foot, so I had brought my iPod along so that I could listen to the Irish Rovers and D decided that he wanted to capture me singing along with them. Thankfully, no video:-)


Onto the beauty that was our weekend. DISCLAIMER: We had no rain, hardly even clouds our entire trip, so if you are encouraged to go Ireland because of what you see here, please do, but don't expect the blue sky - we were told that we were there on the one weekend of summer that they get a year. Lucky us.


We started our touring at Trinity College. The students run a tour that takes you around campus and points out interesting buildings, sculpture and historical facts and then finishes up at the Long Library, which contains the Book of Kells.


We weren't allowed to take pics in the Long Library, but the internet is full of free images, so thankfully the next couple will give you a feel for this gorgeous library and its contents. It really is remarkable. The main chamber of the Old Library, the Long Room, is nearly 65 meters in length, and houses around 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. When built, it had a flat plaster ceiling, with shelves for books on the lower level only, and an open gallery. By the 1850s these shelves had become completely full. In 1860 the roof was raised according to plans by the architects Deane and Woodward, to allow the construction of the present barrel-vaulted ceiling and gallery bookcases.

Marble busts are placed down either side of the room. The books that are in the Long Room are organized by size - which means that unless you know the exact dimensions of your book, you can't just go up to a shelf and find it. This system has a wonderful ascetic for the viewer, but isn't the most efficient.

The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript (text supplemented with additional decoration) in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was transcribed by Celtic monks ca. 800. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination (post-Roman art from the British isles). It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.


The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospels in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colors, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasize the themes of the major illustrations.

The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum, and the unprecedentedly elaborate ornamentation that covers them includes ten full-page illustrations and text pages that are vibrant with historiated initials and interlinear miniatures and mark the furthest extension of the anti-classical and energetic qualities of Insular art. The Insular majuscule script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron-gall ink, and the colors used were derived from a wide range of substances, many of which were imports from distant lands (the gold is gold, blue is crushed lapis lazuli, and red comes from the blood of a specific beetle from India). The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells that was its home for centuries. It was amazing to see and worth suffering the crowds.


D and I love walking as much as possible in cities we visit; you are able to get the feel and character of the place, and you never know what you might come across that you wouldn't have seen otherwise. This church is one of those. It is Christ's Church and spans almost 2 city blocks. I couldn't capture it all but I particularly liked the archway bridge leading from one building to the other.


My cousin Veronica studied abroad in Ireland and thankfully gave me a great itinerary of things to do (Thanks V!). She recommended St. Patrick's Cathedral, which we enjoyed visiting. D enjoyed the park just outside it for a few minutes rest before venturing on with our tour. (Poor D, I am seeing a pattern of walking him into the ground...)


St. Patrick is said to have baptized Christian converts at a well that once existed in the park alongside the cathedral. Because of this association, the church has stood here since the 5th century. The Normans built a church in stone on this site in 1191. This was rebuilt in the early 13th century into the building that stands today.


This stone was discovered in 1901 on the traditional site of St. Patrick's Well, it was about 6 feet underground.


The Chapter Door commemorates the amicable conclusion to the feud between the Earl of Ormond and Earl of Kildare in 1492. The Earl of Kildare cut a hole in the door and through it stretched out his arm to grasp the hand of the Earl of Ormond, his enemy, who had taken refuge in the Chapter House. By taking the initiative and reaching out in reconciliation peace was restored. (We have a lovely pic of D reaching through the door.)


The altar is beautifully carved. The detail is remarkable and I really liked the scripture chosen for the middle sections.


This is the back of Christ's Church as seen from the north side of the river Liffy.


This is a silly pic because we like to eat at a restaurant called Ireland's Four Courts. So since we were going by, we had to take a pic. It is literally a place where there are 4 courts that abut each other, hence the name. It is also a tram stop, hence the sign.


We liked the contrast of old and new here. The beautiful old stone base and the very modern new apartments on top.

Next up, a tour of fine drinking establishments and the alcohol that makes them famous.