The Bells are Ringing

Sunday in Dublin is filled with the music of the bells.  Not only the ding-dong kind but those that sing songs of praise.  It was wonderful to hear and harkened back to a different age.  And how appropriate that we should also visit a chapel this day.

The place of worship was at Dublin Castle, and was once called the Chapel Royal, now the Church of the Most Holy Trinity.  It is a timber building created to look like stone and was decorated by some of the leading architects of the day.  Begun in 1807, the building wasn't complete until 1814.  The ornate organ was a gift from Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria.

The Castle itself stands on the site of a Norman Castle (1169) but only a curtain wall and two towers remain (built between 1208 and 1220).  Since Glen and I arrived early to the grounds, we didn't see the interior of the buildings built to house the British Viceroys (only open afternoons on weekends).  The castle has been featured in many movies and played the role of the Vatican in the TV series, The Tudors.

We passed the old city hall on the way back to the Book of Kells gift shop then walked to Merrion Square where we saw the sculpture of Oscar Wilde and found his house across the street from the park.  It was now time to check out of our hotel room then spend some time in the lobby reading until we left for the train station.  Our taxi driver was glad he didn't have to battle the traffic near the football stadium as Dublin was playing Kerry in a match.  This is an intense rivalry and some of the Kerry fans were staying at our hotel.

We ate lunch at the station in a cafe called the Galway Hooker.  We didn't think it meant the same in Ireland as it does in North America and we were right.  A Galway Hooker is a sailing boat with an unique arrangement of sails.

We had window seats on the train from Dublin to Galway and the scenery passed through sunshine and rain.  We saw mostly sheep, some cows, and lots of green.  There was a table of lads next to us who had been to a stag in Dublin and were on their way home but listened to the football match on their phones.  They were as surprised as we were there were only 2 cans of Guinness to be had on the train.

The walk from the station to the hotel took 10 minutes.  While I ate supper in the lobby's lounge, Glen drank a couple of Guinness before he had to meet the organizers of the lab review.  They had dinner in the hotel restaurant while I read in our room.

We were in bed early and for the first time since arriving here, I had a decent night's sleep.  I think it was the cold, salty, North Atlantic air flowing through our window.