Ireland 2023 Part 8

May 26 – Day 9 Dublin City

Today is our last full day in Ireland. It seems impossible that the trip is winding down. This morning we sit back and enjoy a panoramic sightseeing tour of Dublin. Dennis points out many sights and explains a great deal of the history of Dublin. We stop in Phoenix Park at the Papal Cross. In 1979 Pope John Paul II delivered an open-air sermon to more than 1.25 million people. The park is is 1750 acres of recreational space. It contains the Dublin Zoo, many gardens, many monuments, the residence of the President of Ireland and the residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland, a castle, a fort, headquarters of the Garda, a seniors home, a cemetery, several ground for hurling, football, soccer, cricket and polo, and Farmleigh – the official Irish State Guesthouse. 

After our tour of Dublin we visit Epic the Irish Emigration Museum. Epic opened in 2016. Here we learn the history of the Irish Diaspora and emigration to other countries. We are provided with an audio guide for our self guided tour. I took my time going through and realized that I needed to step it up if I was to get through the whole museum in our time allotted. There are many interactive areas and one needs to have several hours if you are to partake in all. There are motion sensor quizzes, video galleries, a place to try your skills at step dancing, remastered audios from over 100 years ago, and videos that bring the history to life. Upon entering you get a passport and after each stage you have your passport stamped to show a record of the journey through Epic. There are 20 stages of the journey, some of which are; An Open Island, Leaving the Island, Arriving in a New World, Conflict, Playing the World, Leading Change, Music & Dance: Sharing the Tradition, amongst others. It’s a fascinating experience that I would love to revisit sometime. 

Krista, Bob Cameron and I decided to get off the bus in the city instead of going back to the hotel. We wanted to walk around and were looking for a shop selling bonafide Irish products. We lucked out and did find a wonderful shop. We walked around for a couple/three hours visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral. We did not tour the interior of either, but viewed them from outside. We just enjoyed walking around the city before heading back to the hotel for a light lunch at The Bleeding Horse pub beside our hotel. 

This evening we were off to Taylor’s Three Rock for a farewell dinner and a cabaret. Taylor’s is located in the heart of Rathfarnham and is named for the Taylor family and Three Rock Mountain which rises directly behind the pub. There were several coaches there and the place was likely sold out. I’m not sure how many it would hold but a few hundred for sure. It was a nice evening, but a bit too polished and schmaltzy for my liking. Did I enjoy it? Yes, some aspects. The fiddle player and bodhran player and the dancers were wonderful. The male singer just didn’t fit the role. I’m sure he is very talented but just not what I would expect. I didn’t dislike the event, but perhaps I didn’t quite expect what was presented. I’m glad I experienced it but I’d not go again. It was a fun atmosphere and a wonderful crowd. I’d have preferred a traditional Irish music event, than a stage polished performance. 

It was a lovely drive back to the hotel, with the sun setting for the day. My heart was heavy as I was sad to be heading home the next day. I stayed up way too late and had a 5:30 wake up call. I was surprised that I actually slept a bit. We were late leaving the hotel but we had lots of time once we arrived at the airport. I experienced no delays getting through check in and security. I had the most amazing Air Canada agent who was funny, accommodating and who loved his job. He was from Turkey and only arrived in Ireland 9 months prior to learn English. He said he knew very little English when he arrived. He has picked up the language very quickly and when I commented to him how well he was doing, he was genuinely appreciative of my compliment. 

A 7 hour flight to Toronto, 2 hour layover, 2.5h hour flight to Halifax, pick up luggage, pick up car at Park N Fly and a 3 hour drive to Dundee, arriving home at 8:30pm. It was a long day but the memories of the past 9 days filled my heart so much. 

I cannot really put it into words how hard it is to leave Ireland. I relate it to saying goodbye to a relative or friend, who you may not see again. I really get overcome with sadness. My throat tightens as I walk to the plane, and my eyes well up with tears. I have been lucky to have been to Ireland three times. I can only hope I’ll get back again someday.

In closing, I hope you have enjoyed my blog posts and following along on this amazing trip. Many thanks to Nuala, James and Sinead at Brack Tours, the best tour company ever. And also many thanks to Brian Doherty, Kevin Evans and Tom Sweeney for providing the music and hanging out with our group for 9 days. To the many friends I’ve travelled with, most of whom I didn’t know prior to, but many who I can now call friends, thank you for your company, not only on this trip but those on the 2019 trip as well.

As always, all photos taken by myself unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to leave a comment, or two, or three. There may be one additional post to come answering some questions I’ve been asked and sharing pictures of just cool things that didn’t make it in the blogs.