Dublin and more history

First stop, Kilmainham Gaol,  the scene of the executions of some of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rebellion.   

However, to get there we needed to get off the Hop On, Hop Off bus at Heuston Station.

We then followed a lovely path through the Old Royal Hospital, which is now the Irish Museum of Modern Art.  The finding of this beautiful old building and the equally beautiful park was unexpected and became a highlight of our day.

The hospital built in 1684, was for retired soldiers.  There were also two graveyards in the park.  The buildings were restored by the Irish Government in 1984.

The chapel, in the photograph below, is now rented out for private functions.

The very long path on the other side led us towards Kilmainham Gaol.

There was a gatehouse at the end of the path, and once through it, we could see Kilmainham Gaol and Courthouse.

Kilmainham Gaol, beautifully restored, but not accessible to us, as we had not booked in advance.  There were only a few tickets left for late in the afternoon and we had no intention of waiting around that long.

We were able to look inside the courthouse, also beautifully restored.  The courthouse had been used until well into the 1990s.

The glass covering the stairs that led to the lock up for prisoners.  They stopped using this lockup due to prisoners making too much noise, and disturbing the court proceedings.  A new lockup was built beside the courthouse.

A beautiful set of stairs, and plenty of information about the courthouse for Walter to read.

We decided there and then that we would not visit the Guinness Factory, due to the high number of tourists around,  and would instead visit the National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts and History.  Much quieter, we thought.

So we retraced our steps through the old Royal Hospital, and then through the Heuston Railway Station, where we had had coffee earlier in the morning.  While we drank our coffee I chatted to a woman who was travelling to Knock, County Mayo, on the train.  She was such an interesting person.  I loved her story of travelling around the Ring of Kerry in a caravan towed by a horse.  Not a wise decision, she realised afterwards as caring for a horse proved to be quite difficult.

I have always intended to visit Knock, but it was too far north to go there on this visit.  Knock is a holy place, and similar to Lourdes and Fatima.  There is a shrine there.  Apparently the Virgin Mary, together with St Joseph and St John the Evangelist appeared there in August 1879.

We walked past the Croppies Memorial Park, and wondered about the unusual sculpture so looked it up later.  It is of Anna Livia and called 'The Floozie in the Jacuzzi'.   The sculpture, part of a fountain, used to be in O'Connell Street.  It was moved, due to the large amount of trash thrown into it, and the weekly addition of liquid soap added to it by drunken revellers, in order to provide plenty of bubbles.

The park was closed, as was the park up the street, in order to stop people sleeping rough, apparently.   Hopefully just closed on weekends as both parks were lovely.

The National Museum - Decorative Arts & History.  A very imposing building, built in 1702, and called The Royal Barracks.  It had a name change to Collins Barracks in 1922.  Michael Collins, the First Commander in Chief of the Free State, was killed that year.

We ate a delicious lunch in the cafe, mine a bree and chorizo salad, and Walter had a Thai chicken open sandwich, followed by coffee and cake.  Food is so good in Dublin.

After lunch we looked at the exhibition about the 1916 Rising, which gave more information than the exhibition in the GPO.  The detailed description of the last hours of each leader, plus special mementos they left to their families, was especially poignant.

The flag that was hung from the GPO during the rebellion.

We went our separate ways for the last hour.  Walter to the military exhibits and me to the top floor to see the clothes through the ages exhibits and most importantly to view the exhibition about Eileen Gray, 1878-1976.

Eileen Gray, who was born in Wexford, to a very wealthy family.  She went to art colleges in London and Paris and ended up working in Paris, I think.  She became an influential designer and architect.

Her furniture, in the photograph below was very simple and practical.

We finally caught a tram back to the centre of Dublin, and then a bus home.  Two very tired but happy people.

I love the green suit in Carrolls Irish Gift Shop.

Off to Limerick tomorrow.  Ever onwards.