Dublin, Ireland
As dawn broke we sailed into the River Liffey towards the city of Dublin and a day in which to experience the cultural glories of Ireland. The morning before us held the prospect of great historical and artistic treasures. What to choose from at the National Museum of Ireland? – so many national icons from the golden age of Irish art. The Tara brooch, encrusted with intricate gold interlace and spiral designs, is only one jewel amongst a breathtaking group of gold and silver Celtic and Viking brooches of the 7th – 10th centuries. The Ardagh chalice and the Derrynaflan chalice and many other relics from the early centuries of Christianity dazzle us with their perfection. And, further back in time, the most amazing collection of prehistoric gold objects dates from the Irish Bronze Age up to 4000 years ago.
Not far away in the Library of Trinity College is the most famous treasure of all – the Book of Kells. Created twelve hundred years ago by monks on the tiny island of Iona, or at its sister monastery of Kells, this fragile masterpiece has miraculously survived the ages, and now attracts hundreds of people of all nationalities every day to gaze spellbound at its illuminated pages. We were no exception, each one of us for just a moment held in fascination before its brilliance.
Ireland today is a place of vivid contrasts. There is the Dublin of elegant Georgian squares and heroic literary figures such as James Joyce, Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde and Seamus Heaney. By its side are the industrial docklands and the modern commercial city filled with a youthful population.
Or, leave the city behind, and travel through the greenest fields strewn with sleepy villages, to the Wicklow Mountains. There, in the secluded valley of Glendalough, St Kevin came in the 6th century seeking to live the aesthetic life of a hermit. Around him grew a community of devotees, and ultimately a thriving monastic center developed. Today, this haunting spot contains the well-preserved remains of seven early churches, a lofty 11th century Round Tower, St Kevin’s Cross, and many other stones (see picture). It is still a place of pilgrimage, offering us a glimpse of the contemplative life amid a world of bustle and commerce. It is a place to stand for a moment, by the softly flowing river, and listen to the birdsong filling the air from the surrounding trees, just as it did in the days of St Kevin and his companions.
Back to the Endeavour, fortified by a glass of the famous Irish coffee, with time for a final evening in Dublin, before we sail away from Ireland on the midnight tide, westwards across the Irish Sea.
As dawn broke we sailed into the River Liffey towards the city of Dublin and a day in which to experience the cultural glories of Ireland. The morning before us held the prospect of great historical and artistic treasures. What to choose from at the National Museum of Ireland? – so many national icons from the golden age of Irish art. The Tara brooch, encrusted with intricate gold interlace and spiral designs, is only one jewel amongst a breathtaking group of gold and silver Celtic and Viking brooches of the 7th – 10th centuries. The Ardagh chalice and the Derrynaflan chalice and many other relics from the early centuries of Christianity dazzle us with their perfection. And, further back in time, the most amazing collection of prehistoric gold objects dates from the Irish Bronze Age up to 4000 years ago.
Not far away in the Library of Trinity College is the most famous treasure of all – the Book of Kells. Created twelve hundred years ago by monks on the tiny island of Iona, or at its sister monastery of Kells, this fragile masterpiece has miraculously survived the ages, and now attracts hundreds of people of all nationalities every day to gaze spellbound at its illuminated pages. We were no exception, each one of us for just a moment held in fascination before its brilliance.
Ireland today is a place of vivid contrasts. There is the Dublin of elegant Georgian squares and heroic literary figures such as James Joyce, Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde and Seamus Heaney. By its side are the industrial docklands and the modern commercial city filled with a youthful population.
Or, leave the city behind, and travel through the greenest fields strewn with sleepy villages, to the Wicklow Mountains. There, in the secluded valley of Glendalough, St Kevin came in the 6th century seeking to live the aesthetic life of a hermit. Around him grew a community of devotees, and ultimately a thriving monastic center developed. Today, this haunting spot contains the well-preserved remains of seven early churches, a lofty 11th century Round Tower, St Kevin’s Cross, and many other stones (see picture). It is still a place of pilgrimage, offering us a glimpse of the contemplative life amid a world of bustle and commerce. It is a place to stand for a moment, by the softly flowing river, and listen to the birdsong filling the air from the surrounding trees, just as it did in the days of St Kevin and his companions.
Back to the Endeavour, fortified by a glass of the famous Irish coffee, with time for a final evening in Dublin, before we sail away from Ireland on the midnight tide, westwards across the Irish Sea.
