The trip north from Cork took me through green pastures, past more Friesian cows, and in sight of small rural villages. The train wound it way north through the counties to Limerick Junction, the meeting point of the counties of Tipperary and Limerick where the Heffernan clan are from. And if I ever doubted my ancestry, to be sure there are more people in Ireland with my hair than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And lots of the middle aged to elderly Irishmen look like my Dad. In fact I can see my Dad here – I think he would love it.
As I write, the temperature reading on the train says it is 10 degrees. I don’t believe that. I have felt colder in Ireland (and particularly Dublin than anywhere else I have been. There is no snow but it is a damp cold, the kind that makes you feel like snuggling under a wooly blanket your grandma knitted in front of an open fire. Fortunately the hostel had an open fire (as did many of the pubs) and inside it was toasty warm. [‘Uptown Girl’ Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – you can improve anything by adding a punk beat to it]
After arriving at the train station, I discovered the bus I needed to get me across to Temple Bar. Most things in Dublin are a fairly short walk except Heuston, the train station from the south. The station north – Connolly is only about 10 minutes walk from Temple Bar. Britain may be phasing out its red double decker buses, but Dublin has them everywhere. They are blue and the mailboxes are (predictably) green.
Eventually I arrived in Temple Bar – tourism central. Along with the strip of authentic Irish restaurants and pubs, and the people holding advertising signs in lieu of sandwich boards, there also three massive souvenir shops, including an official Guinness store and the official Temple Bar souvenirs store. These were all of course in very old buildings, some of which were probably pubs, and there were, as you’d expect, cobble-stoned streets. The hostel was really nice and staffed by (again) friendly kiwis. Lots of the people staying there were Australians and during my visit to the common room later in the evening, I came across some very young, very drunk, very annoying Australian guys. No wonder we have such a reputation overseas. In fact a lot of Australians must go to Dublin because the currency exchanges all show Australian flags and if you use a visa card, they ask if you want the transaction in AUD.
Evidently the rugby match I had encountered in Cork was played in Dublin – there were banners everywhere saying ‘We welcome English rugby fans to Temple Bar’. Wandering around, I actually heard more pommy accents than Irish ones, which is a shame because I melt when I hear an Irish accent. (I still haven’t met a sweet Irish boy yet but there is always Belfast.) Still feeling quite fluey, I chose a restaurant with an open fire that promised a hearty Irish feed. I chose the Beef and Guinness pie with mash. It was exactly what I needed. And once again I couldn’t finish the piles of mashed potato it was served with. And I love mash. And I washed it down with a pint of Guinness – when in Ireland and all that.
Some years ago I watched a documentary about the making of Guinness that was narrated by a man with my surname who said his family had been involved in the original Guinness discovery. I decided that if my ancestors were involved, I should at least give Guinness a try. It was much too bitter for me. Not in Ireland though. Here it is absolutely delicious. I could drink it all the time. Now if we could just get them to make Irish Guinness in Australia, everything would be grand. [‘Rocket Man’ – Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – some songs should be left alone but this song is good if you want to actually know the words to the song – they’re annunciated better in this version.] After dinner and only my second call home since I left, I snuggled under the blankets for a good night’s sleep.
I awoke to another typically damp, windy Irish winter day (despite the fact that spring officially began yesterday). First job was sorting out a ticket to Belfast. For anyone intending to travel from Dublin to Belfast on a Eurail Pass like me, you will only get halfway – the pass only gets you to Dundalk. From there you have to buy a ticket to get to Belfast (about 20 euros). After sorting the travel I headed out for a walk around Grafton Street and through the area now known as SoDa. I found a great little market arcade with some hip designers and the usual market stuff. It also housed a retro shop but there wasn’t anything much that you couldn’t get at Route 66 in Melbourne or Sydney – They even had the same shoes. I found a great skirt in one of the boutiques but as usual sizing was a bit of an issue and the skirt was a bit too expensive for something I would need to alter.
By about lunchtime I was in need of sustenance as I had woken up a bit late for the free hostel breakfast. I found just the ticket at nude, which was essentially one of those juice bars that also do soups and salads. Something warm like soup looked very appealing. As it turned out they also did stews, served with mash or in a bread bowl. I chose an Irish stew in a bread bowl and a mug of tea. Perfect Irish comfort food. [‘Debaser’ – The Pixies – this is another real winter song which seems appropriate at the moment]
After refueling (and warming up a bit) I headed back out, this time walking a bit further towards the parts of Dublin where people actually live like The Liberties. There was a lot of what I imagine were post-war flats or perhaps even housing estates, mostly all red brick. I also came across St. Patrick’s cathedral which has a nice manicured park and garden. It wasn’t as mindblowing as some of the other churches I had seen but was c certainly a good example of an Irish Roman Catholic church. I also came across a couple of nuns walking around Dublin – the only place I had seen them outside of Rome.
My last stop in Dublin was at the castle. Now Dublin castle is a strange place. Many of the buildings that were contained in the castle’s walls as well as the walls themselves remain standing. However, parts have been refinished. And painted bright colours. As in Rome, you are reminded that people weren’t protecting these ruins for the past thousand years the same way they are today and cities grew up around these historically significant buildings without regard for protecting their surroundings. It has actually been one of the most interesting things about monuments on my trip – what the monuments were next to.
After my historical encounter it was time to spend some money in the two level souvenir shop (yes I had to) and grab my bags and bid farewell to Dublin.
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I’m disappointed – were there no drunken binges? No brawls in pubs that spill out into the streets that ultimately end up in everyone hugging each other, before going back inside for jigging and more drinking? Damn. We hope to visit Dublin July/August and will need a debrief from you. I will be keeping you busy getting all your tips!