IRELAND - From Hogwarts to The Italian Job

I have been doing some full on sight-seeing in Dublin today. Let's be honest from the beginning here, any delve into Irish history particularly here in Dublin is going to result in a lot of "The nasty British did this and the nasty British did that". So be prepared if you visit!

Anyway first stop this morning was Trinity College, Dublin where you can go inside and view The Long Room (the library), The Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript book of the Gospels) and lastly The Brian Boru Harp (the harp that is the symbol of Ireland). One very interesting piece of info re the harp came from two different guides today (so it must be true!). On the Queen's Royal Standard and the Guinness logo the harp faces one way but on Irish Government documents, signs and passports it faces the other way. Obviously the Royal Family had the image first, then along came Guinness who trademarked the harp. Irish independence came third and when the new government announced that they wanted to use the harp as the symbol of Ireland, Guinness said "NO!" and consequently the government was forced to use it the other way round.

Here are some pics - the library is very Hogwarts.

Stop number two was Dublin Castle (free if you are an English Heritage member). The castle which is basically a palace was the home of the British Viceroy and the seat of British power in Ireland. It still contains the throne made for George IV and is now used by the Irish President for state events.

After lunch I did a tour of St Patrick's Cathedral - the national protestant cathedral of Ireland. Jonathan Swift, of Gulliver's Travels fame was Dean here and would preach sermons lasting many hours. In the words of the very good guide "He would go mental if he caught anyone falling asleep"

If there is one thing that the British have been very good at over the years, it is locking the Irish up and the final place I visited today was Kilmainham Jail (Also free with EH membership). The guided tour here was excellent and took you right through the jail, showing you cells, the exercise yard and finished in the Stonebreakers yard where the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 were executed.  The history is uncomfortable if you are a Brit, there is no doubt about that, as it is all about the fight for independence but as ever the best guides are those to deal with difficult subjects and you could not fault the guide here. For me the jail is the must see place in Dublin.

On a much lighter note, the jail has appeared in several films as renting it out for filming is a good revenue stream for its upkeep. You may recognise this from The Italian Job.