Dublin Down
We pulled into Dún Laoghaire, pronounced “dun-leery”, early in the morning, providing plenty of time to explore nearby Dublin.
Flags
A tradional Irish pub in the heart of the Barra an Teampaill, or Temple Bar area of Dublin, Oliver St John Gogarty, or Gogarty’s, serves drinks and food, then can put you up for the night with its hostel. Pop in for a bit of craic. Check out their Instagram profile.
Might have stopped to ask about work, if I wasn’t stuck on the train.
Ellis Employment
If Google doesn’t pan out, maybe I could find employment here.
Obelisk
Wellington Monument sits in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. The tallest obelisk in Europe, it climbs toward the sky topping 203 feet. James Joyce’s novel, Finnegans Wake, references the obelisk multiple times. An urban legend claims that a chamber exists beneath the structure where crazy dinner parties and occult meetings have taken place.
Old And New
I snapped this pic while riding a Hop On Hop Off bus, thinking it a bit funny the mix of old and new, not only stone buildings and asphalt roadways, but also of traditional notions of sin and new acceptance of LGBT communities.
Colorful Doors
Dublin homes often have colorful front doors. Because residents could not legally paint the buildings, they instead individualized their houses by painting their doors distinct colors. Over the years, folklore has provided multiple origin stories for the doors.
- Red doors would ward off evil.
- Bright colors helped drunken men return to the correct house after a night of pub crawling. One story claims that writer George Moore painted his door green so that his neighbor, Oliver St John Gogarty, would stop entering the wrong address. In response, Gogarty painted his door red.
- Queen Victoria ordered all doors painted black after the death of Prince Albert. Dubliners painted their doors bright colors in protest.
Dublin Gone Wilde
Author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde comes from Dublin. The city celebrates the famous writer and this sculpture of him sits in Merrion Square.