8 July 2013 Dublin

This morning we docked in Dublin anor beautiful day weatherwise and anor beautiful city.  We met up with Warren and Yvonne and took a shuttle bus into the city where we purchased tickets for the on/off bus, we decided to do the entire journey, see all the points of interest and then alighted in the middle of the city where we walked to Trinity College, Sam and I had been there before but we had not seen The Book of Kells which is over 1000 years old and it contains lavishly decorated copy, in Latin, of the four gospels.  It has long been associated with St Colum Cille (c 521-597 AD) who founded his principal monastery on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland in about 561.  The Book of Kells was probably produced early in the 9^th century by the monks of Iona, working wholly or partially at Iona itself or at Kells, county Meath, where they moved after 806 AD, when Iona was attacked by Vikings in a raid which left 68 monks dead.  The Book of Kells was sent to Dublin around 1653 for reasons of security during the Cromwellian period.  It came to Trinity College through the agency of Henry Jones, after he became bishop of Meath in 1661.

We also visited Trinity College Library which is one of the world’s great research libraries, holding the largest collection of manuscripts and printed books in Ireland.  Since 1801 this library has the right to claim a free copy of all British and Irish publications under the relevant copyright acts and has a stock of nearly three million volumes housed in a total of eight buildings.  There has been a library since Trinity College was founded by charter of Queen Elizabeth in 1592.  The earliest surviving building, the Old Library was built between 1712 and 1732 to the design of Thomas Burgh. 

It is quite mind blowing seeing these things, The Book of Kells, The Book of Armagh and the Book of Durrow, there is also a harp, the oldest to survive from Ireland and probably dates from the 15^th century and is the harp which appears on Irish coins.

Dublin is a very lovely city, I felt the same about it this time as last, it is vibrant, friendly, its economy certainly is not what it was in those very good years, but the shops were busy (the sales were on, July 1 is the day the sales begin) there did not appear to be any closed shops that we could see anyway, just a lovely city where it would be very easy to slot in if one wished perhaps live there for a little bit.   

Enough history, my apols.  We then went to an Irish pub, had a bit of lunch and a beer of course and then headed back to the shuttle to take us back to our ship.  Lovely day, we then sailed that evening for Greenock.  Lots of love Sabine and Sam  XXX