Dublin, Ireland (Part 3)
On our last day in Dublin, we took the DART train 9 miles outside of the city to the village of Howth. Howth remains a very active sailing and fishing village as seen by the many ships and yachts coming and going throughout the day. The docks are lined with fishmongers and seafood restaurants, and is a great escape for the Dublin city dwellers. Howth is also home to the Howth Yacht Club established in 1895 which is home to many Olympic sailors, including Robert Dickson, who recently competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. As this is a sailing blog, we always love finding great sailing spots and being around boats while we are landlocked!
We spent the morning hiking the along the rugged cliff side which provided stunning views of the Irish Sea. Steep cliff ledges, wildflowers, and sea birds were plentiful and the weather could not have been nicer. The trail ended at the Baily Lighthouse which helps ships enter the Dublin port. Along the way, we passed the Balscadden House overlooking the sea which was the home of Irish writer W.B. Yeats from 1880-1883. We can only imagine how these picturesque surroundings influenced his writings and future work.
On our way back we saw one of the stranger things we saw on our trip. There were a set of footprints at the end of the West Pier in Howth Harbour. King George IV was said to have visited Howth in 1821 where he was described at the time as being in “high spirits,” in other words, very drunk. His first footsteps on Irish soil were supposedly captured on the pier and remain there today. We aren’t quite sure if this was more fact or fiction, but it was a good story nonetheless.
Last but not least, we stopped by Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room on our way back from Howth. Between being the last tour of the day and social distancing requirements, we practically had the entire museum to ourselves which was quite an experience in itself!
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book believed to have been created around 800 AD and contains the four Gospels of the New Testament and various prefatory texts and tables. The illustrations are stunning and the time it took to create the entire book (by hand!) is simply mind boggling. The Long Room was equally as impressive, especially for book lovers. The room is 65 meters long and contains over 200,000 of Trinity College’s oldest books. It was constructed between 1712 and 1732 as a “copyright library” which means that Irish publishers must deposit a copy of all publications, free of charge. In addition to the Book of Kells, the Long Room is also the home of the Brian Boru harp which is the national symbol of Ireland, and a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
We capped off three wonderful days in Dublin with dinner at Opium Asian Restaurant and Cocktail Bar on Wexford Street. The restaurant specializes in casual contemporary Thai and Vietnamese food which was a nice break from traditional pub food. And with that, our time in Dublin came to a close.
