A Bit of History and Culture

At one branch of the National Library, there was an excellent exhibit on the Irish participation in WWI and I was taken by this poster of the Lusitania, a passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-boat in 1916 just off the coast of Ireland.  This event pushed the U.S. to enter the war.  It was especially poignant since I had just finished reading Eric Larson's "Dead Wake" about this sinking.

Lusitania

I spent another wonderful day at another National Museum on Arts and Decoration which is housed in the 300-year old Collins Barracks.  The Irish Army moved out in 1997 before the site was renovated and taken over by the National Museum of Ireland.

Entrance to the museum

Irish soldier 15th century

Irish soldier 16th century

Hurdy gurdy 18th century

Nuptial chest 18th century

Plumed military helmet with leopard skin trim of a soldier serving in Africa
19th century

Irish lace dresses--19th century

Ireland has a long history of jails (the Irish spell it "gaol") and I was fascinated to visit Kilmainham Gaol which was opened in 1796 and closed in 1924.  Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916  Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed there by the British.

  The 5 intertwined serpents over the main door add to the gruesome nature of this place

Inscription  above door "Beware of the Risen People"

18th century section of the prison

18th century corridor

In order to see more cells at one time, they built this large central room in the 19th century.  It may look familiar:  the movies "Michael Collins" and "In the Name of the Father" had scenes filmed here.

Nice renovation!

On to something more pleasant!

We were visited by Esther and Klaus Heiduschke of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.  Klaus is a colleague of Miles' from ETH in Zurich.  

We had a fun evening celebrating Culture Night in Dublin.  The entire city was full of music, art and other free activities. 

Holding up a Culture Night balloon with Esther and Klaus

Both Esther and Klaus sing in choirs and we were lucky enough to come upon 2 wonderful groups.  Sorry, no audio!

Choir concert held in City Hall

Another outdoor performance

The next day we went back to Howth and visited the grounds around Howth Castle.  It is a private residence and not open to the public so we were only able to walk around the grounds.

Howth Castle

Especially bright orange poppies in Howth