Twelve hours in Dublin, so much to do, so little time. My tip, be organized!
Princess actually has a shuttle that will take you from the boat to Merrion Square (and back again) for $16 per person. The shuttle runs on a continuous basis making the 30 minute trip to and from the ship very easy. Once at Merrion Square you are able to purchase a ticket for a hop on hop off bus. There are a number of hop off - hop on bus companies to choose from. We went with the green Do Dublin. As with many hop on / hop off buses, the real entertainment comes with the chatty drivers. A few times we got real gems, but on the last leg it was all pre-recorded information which is not quite as entertaining.
The first thing to do while in Merrion Square is to get a picture with the statue of Oscar Wilde.
There were a couple of bucket list items on our list for Dublin: the Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Guinness Brewery.
The Book of Kells is located in Trinity College's library. I HIGHLY recommend purchasing an advanced timed ticket for entry. As it was, there was a very long line for entry. Here is link https://www.tcd.ie/visitors/book-of-kells/tickets-information/?panel=tickets The tickets are timed but I have read that if you come a bit late they are pretty flexible. We arrived on time - so I can not vouch for the flexibility!
If you are not familiar with the Book of Kells, it is a Gospel book that is bound in 4 separate sections with brilliantly ornamented pages and text. There is a magical movie that I highly recommend watching before coming to see the Book of Kells - called The Secret of the Kells which is just a beautiful animated film.
The exhibit for the Book of Kells ends at the Long Room Library the main chamber of the Old Library. The Long Room is 65 metres in length and filled with 200,000 of the library’s oldest books making it one of the most impressive libraries in the world.
After spending some time in the library and of course the gift shop, we explored the campus a bit and headed out to Grafton Street for a bit of lunch and some window shopping.
We pick up the Hop On bus to head over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Cathedral was restored with the help of funding from the Guinness family who clearly own Dublin.An interesting fact about the Guinness family is that in 1876, Guinness trademarked the harp symbol. As a consequence, the Irish Free State Government of 1922, had to turn the official government harp the other way to differentiate between the trademarked Guinness harp and the official State emblem.
The Cathedral is beautiful inside and is rich in history. Handel practiced on the cathedral's organ before his first public performance of his Messiah. Jonathan Swift - author of Gulliver's Travels - was the cathedral's Dean and he is buried inside. One enchanting exhibit is the Door of Reconciliation.
The story goes, in 1492, two Irish families, the Butlers and the FitzGeralds ,
were involved in a bitter feud. In 1492, the tension broke into outright
warfare and a small skirmish occurred between the two families just
outside the city walls.
The Butlers
took refuge in the Chapter House of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The FitzGeralds followed them into the Cathedral and asked them to come
out and make peace. The Butlers refused afraid that they would
be killed. But, as a gesture of good faith Gerald
FitzGerald ordered that a hole be cut in the door. He then thrust his
arm through the door and offered his hand in peace to those on the other
side - FitzGerald was willing to risk his arm by
putting it through the door. The Butlers - taking the gesture that he was serious in
his intention shook hands through the door. The Butlers emerged
from the house and the two families made peace.
This story also lives on in a
famous expression in Ireland "To chance your arm".
We head to the Guinness Storehouse for our 4:30 tour. You have to admit, when you think of Dublin, you think of Guinness. Guinness has been a driver of the city's economy for over 250 years. The Storehouse is beautiful - the steel and glass structure holds the journey through the production of a pint of Guinness. There are touch and feel exhibits to keep my youngest entertained while the older crew look forward to the tasting room. I purchased advanced timed tickets but to be honest - this is one time I am not certain they were needed.
