Ever since hearing Roma Downey’s Irish accent on Touched By An Angel and seeing Riverdance for the first time nearly 10 years ago, I became obsessed with all things Ireland. Irish dance, Irish music, Irish accents, Irish castles...if it had anything to do with the Emerald Isle, I wanted to know about it. My first screenplay I even set in a small castle in Ireland. The day I found out that I had the teensiest trace of Irish blood in me, I was ecstatic! Basically I need to find out if there’s an Ireland Anonymous group because I am in love with all things Irish. So to finally get to set foot on Irish soil was huge for me!
I had built up this trip in my mind so much I was praying not to be disappointed. And quite to the contrary, my day in Dublin far surpassed what I could have even hoped for and only multiplied my love of the country. Upon touching down in Dublin, I was determined to see as much of the city as I could in one day. I had brought my guide book with me and circled all the high-lights I wanted to see on a map so I knew exactly where everything was…in theory. It would have helped had I been pointing the map in the right direction. But after wondering around for half an hour trying to figure out which way was north and asking a few locals for help, I was set to go
and explore.
Dublin is such a great city because it has all the city conveniences, amenities, shops, museums, and attractions of a huge metropolis like London, but is much slower paced. In Dublin, there wasn’t the crazy rush, hustle-bustle of people always trying to run from one place to another. It was much more peaceful and I felt free to meander around the streets…well at least I would have had I not been so excited to explore as much as possible during my one day in Ireland.
The first thing on my to-see list was the Dublin Writer Museum—an entire museum devoted to Ireland’s famous authors, poets, and playwrights. As if that’s not cool enough, it had a bookstore attached that had a great collection of books by these authors in addition to books by new, up-and-coming authors. I ended up spending quite a few Euro in that shop, but it was so worth it.
Then I hit the Custom House on the north bank of the Liffey River that runs through the center of Dublin. Right in front of the custom house was, I kid you not, Butt Bridge. When I first saw Butt Bridge on my map, I thought I was in desperate need of a new glasses prescription, but after having several friends confirm the name of the bridge, it literally made my day to know that such a hilarious thing existed in Ireland of all places.
Continuing on, the next place I went was Trinity College in hopes of seeing the famous Book of Kells which is a hand-illustrated copy of the four Gospels of the Bible that dates back to 800AD. Unfortunately, I would have had to pay €10 to see the book, and that was money that would be better spent in the souvenir shops. But I was more than content to explore the Trinity College campus which was GORGEOUS! The architecture was so incredible, I couldn’t take enough pictures. Everywhere I looked there were intricately carved statues and monuments. The buildings themselves had such beautiful stone work. It was the most breathtaking college campus I’ve ever seen. I only wonder what tuition is to go to a college like that. I’m guessing that it’s a whole other type of breathtaking. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it might actually be heart-stopping.
After Trinity College, I ventured on to Dublin Castle. Words can’t even describe how amazing it was to see a real Irish castle. This castle-turned-museum looked like something straight out of a movie. I couldn’t believe that here, in the middle of modern Dublin, was this stone castle almost 800 years old!
From Dublin Castle, I next hit Christ Church Cathedral. I actually thought I was looking at the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral until my friend pointed out my mistake. It was still a gorgeous church nonetheless, but I had my heart set on seeing St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Thankfully, it was just down the road. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was much much larger and more impressive than Christ Church Cathedral. The gothic architecture was so intricate. It’s amazing to think how people could have built these impressive buildings hundreds and hundreds of years ago before any kind of modern technology, and yet they have survived all these centuries.
Even though I covered quite a bit of ground in Ireland and saw so many famous spots, some of my favorite things about Ireland, however were the little cottages with their rainbow colored doors, the cafes that sold amazing fresh baked goods, the Irish gift shops where I spent way too much money adding to my Irish T-shirt collection, and most of all the Irish people.
The people in Ireland are so much friendlier than the people in London. It could really be likened to the difference between New Orleanians and New Yorkers. The Irish people have that ‘southern hospitality’ that Londoners sorely lack. Whenever someone would see me fumbling around with my guide book trying to figure out how to get to some monument, they would come up and give me directions to where I was going then tell me several other spots I should check out. I wish I could have had time to check them all out.
Being in Ireland felt like I had discovered my home. I only wished I could have spent more time exploring further into the countryside. Needless to say, I will be planning many return trips there in the future. Who knows, maybe one day I will be able to live there. It could happen.
Til next time,
Cheers Y’all
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