Day Seven: Dublin

Today, Erika and I went around Dublin again, postponing our trip to Cork until tomorrow. Basically, we had intended Cork as a day trip, bracketed by days in Dublin, but we were out quite late last night and Cork seemed something one could better appreciate fully rested.

Today, we visited the Kilmainham Gaol, a jail where many of the people involved in the Irish Independence movement were jailed, both during the movement itself and during the later civil war. There's so much history inherent in the place, especially because, by the end, the prison was used exclusively for political prisoners. It was simply amazing to see, and we learned SO much. I really didn't know anything about Irish political history, really, but as a result of the tour, I'm quite intrigued and intend to read much more. It's really too much to write about.

The jail also had an attached museum, detailing the history behind its prisoners. We spent quite some time going through, and they had some fascinating artefacts, such as things people made in jail, or the last cigarette of a executed prisoner. I would say it was the most interesting thing we've seen in Ireland.

After that, we had tea and sandwiches in the attached tearooms, then headed down to the Dublin Writers' Museum. It was interesting, but unless you had a deep connection with some of the writers exhibited, it didn't mean much. I enjoyed the Oscar Wilde, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker exhibits the most.

After that, we went to a delicious dinner, then just walked around a bit and got tickets for Cork. everyone here is SO FRIENDLY and HELPFUL. I can't stress enough how warm the city feels. It's mostly little things, but everyone here is more than willing to chat, and seem to go out of their way to be helpful. I feel like we've seen most of what there is to see in Dublin, but I will definitely miss Ireland when we leave.

Tomorrow: Cork and Blarney Castle!