Sunday, June 30 Trinity College And The Book Of Kells

This morning we went to Trinity College to see the Old Library and the Book of Kells.

We took a one hour guided tour of Trinity College. This is the bell tower on campus. It is a beautiful campus and right in the heart of Dublin.

After the guided tour of campus we did a self guided tour of the Old Library. George Lucas used this Library as a model for the Jedi Library in the Star Wars series of movies. Trinity College tried to sue him because he didn’t ask their permission. They lost.

Next we waited in line to see the Book of Kells exhibit. The exhibit was great but there was a cheek to jowl crowd around the display housing the actual Book of Kells. The historical importance of the Book of Kells and the work of the monks to create and preserve it is hard to fathom.

We then had lunch and then had tea and cakes at an authentic Irish tea shop. After that we took the bus to Kilmainham Prison. This is the prison where the Irish Patriots who led the Easter Uprising were imprisoned and eventually executed by the British.

This is the old section of the prison. The conditions were terrible, but the conditions in the town of Dublin were so bad that people would commit crimes so they would be sent to prison where at least they would be fed.

This is the new wing of the prison. The conditions in this new wing were much improved, but the prisoners still spent 23 hours a day in their cells.

After putting our feet up for a while we decided to have authentic Irish food for dinner.

Sara found Brannigan’s Beer Emporium.

I had Irish lamb stew and a Guinness.

Sara had fish and chips and a Guinness and Dana had a cheeseburger and a glass of water. This was a very authentic Irish pub. Half the people were drinking Guinness and the other half were drinking Coors Light. In the birthplace of Guinness, Mother’s milk to the Irish nation, why would any true blooded Irishman or Irishwoman go to an Irish pub and drink Coors Light? Please send me a comment if you can help me solve this riddle.

I hope everyone had a great Sunday.

Good evening from Dublin.