Dublin May 26-29 2018
THE ABORTION REFERENDUM in IRELAND
On May 25th the Irish voted to repeal the 8th amendment of their constitution, which effectively outlaws abortion. While Ireland has taken socially progressive steps in recent years, including legalizing same-sex marriage in 2015, the abortion issue is divisive in this predominantly Catholic country. Ireland only fully legalized divorce and contraception as recently as the 1990s
Restrictive abortion laws are among the world’s most restrictive. The 8th amendment passed in 1983, gives an unborn fetus a right to life equal to its pregnant mother. Women can face a 14-year prison sentence for having an abortion, even in cases of rape or nonviable pregnancies. From 2010 to 2015, 25,000 Irish women traveled to England and Wales to terminate the pregnancy.
Incremental change. A campaign to liberalize abortion law gathered momentum in 2012 when 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar died in a Galway hospital after being refused an abortion during a miscarriage. In 2013, abortion became possible in cases where the mother’s life is in immediate danger.
I was in Ireland since May 11 to see the campaign – every lamppost was festooned with YES and NO posters with the NO’s predominating in the more religious west and the opposite in Dublin. The NO posters mentioned killing a lot and some were: “1in 5 pregnancies are terminated in Britain”, “97% of Down’s babies are terminated in England”, 90% of abortions in England are done on healthy babies”, “Legalizing abortion is too extreme”, “Abortion will be legal on-demand”. I thought some of these were almost pro-abortion and not so well thought out. Having the Catholic church (that has lost a lot of popularity in recent years) in favor of NO was thought by some to hurt the NOs’ chances.
Rallies to repeal the ban were held in cities across Europe, while a “Save the Eighth” demonstration in Dublin attracted tens of thousands of people in March. A poll in early May found that 47% of voters were in favor of repealing the ban, while 28% would leave it in place; the others are undecided or abstaining.
As I write this it is May 30 and the referendum passed with a resounding 70% for YES. Now the government will have to decide what law they need to enact. They should do what happened in Canada – the law was thrown out in Court declaring it unconstitutional and one was never put back in place, effectively leaving us with no law. And that has turned out best leaving it a decision between the doctor and the patient. I believe abortions are not done after 20 weeks in Canada and the tone here was that abortions would only be allowed up to 12 weeks. But that is too restrictive especially as the diagnosis of Down’s Syndrome often occurs after 12 weeks and many women delay making abortions up to 15 weeks common.
As a general practitioner, I performed abortions over my entire 30-year career and when I retired in 2006 was the only provider in the entire West and East Kootenay area of southern British Columbia. Other doctors were only too happy to have someone else take the flak and the damaged reputation that comes as being an “abortionist”. My office was picketed every day for 30 years.
Read my post on abortion on the Ideas page of this website.
HOWTH PENINSULA
The Howth Peninsula, NE of Dublin and the end of the DART line, has restaurants, bars, a harbor, and a pier and is a good place to escape the city. The cliff walk goes around the peninsula with great views south of Dublin and The Wicklow Mountains. It is 8kms from the village to the west side and the Bally Lighthouse (until 1997, the last manned lighthouse in Ireland) – sea cliffs, secluded beaches, and rocky islands. then 3kms by the sea along Strand Road to the Sutton DART station.
National Transport Museum of Ireland. This is one of the quirkiest ‘museums’ I have ever been to – not so much a museum as a large storage shed for trams and an odd assortment of large vehicles: fire trucks, buses, large trucks, bread wagons, and military vehicles. I only visited it as it is a Nomad Mania site.
The idea for the museum started in the ’50s when street trams were being retired. Instead of leaving them to rust in fields, society started collecting them and storing them in an obscure place outside of Dublin. They were all moved to the present facility in 1985. Most were in terrible shape and some have been lovingly restored.
It is next to Howth Castle and has good parking. The museum is in 2 large adjoining metal industrial buildings with the vehicles parked cheek to jowl inside, not in any chronological or other order. All have good explanations. It is only open on Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank holidays from 2-5 pm. €2.50 concession
Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy – Museum of Vintage Radio. This place is not easy to find. It is in an old Martello tower on top of the hill with wonderful views over Howth Pier and Harbour. This area of Howth looks like a great area to spend a day with several restaurants and lots of places to walk.
The museum was locked and had no signs on the building or opening hours. I talked to a woman whose husband has been there. It is rarely open and only when the owner feels like it. Her husband had a good time with the individual tour.
To find it (Google Maps takes you to the area but is no help after that), park near the end of the pier and take the side street 100m before the end of the restaurants – there is a sign on the corner that says Martello Tower Vintage Radio Museum. Turn at the first left and walk up the hill to the tower.
NORTH DUBLIN
Malahide Castle & Gardens
Set on 250 acres of parkland, the castle was home to the Talbot family fro more than 800 years. The core building dates to 1185 but later additions such as the 3 round turrets, built after a fire in 1782, give it a fairy-tale appearance. Tours tell of the Talbot family and show 18th-century furniture and Irish art. The 22-acre ornamental walled gardens have extensive lawns and big trees. Lord Milo Talbot was believed to be a Soviet spy. €5 to tour the castle and gardens.
The Malahide Abbey and graveyard sit next to the castle. The standing ruins date to the 15th and 16th centuries replacing an earlier church dedicated to St Fenweis. The 2-story attached tower was used as a security or priest entrance. Two shell-na-gigs – popular in the medieval period are red sandstone figures of women warning against sins of the flesh. Several tombs are in the church – the most famous is Maud Plunkett, famously maid, wife, and widow in one day when her first husband Thomas Hussey was killed on their wedding day. Myles Corbett, a signatory to the death warrant of Charles I in 1649. The castle was ruined after that, but all the walls remain.
Croke Park. In North Dublin, this is the very modern 82,000-seat stadium and home park of Dublin GAA, one of the 28 teams (each county in Ireland) in the Gaelic Athletic Association and the location of the GAA Museum on Gaelic football and hurling.
Gaelic football is like soccer but you can use your hands, bounce the ball take up to 3 steps, and pass and kick. 1 point is scored if kick over the bar and 3 points if the ball is run in. Dublin GAA has won the last five seasons.
Recommended are tours of the stadium that go around a walkway 44m above the ground for panoramic views of the city and its key landmarks.
NORTHSIDE
Running due north from O’Connell Bridge, broader than it is long, to Parnell Square, O’Connell Street is the main artery of Dublin’s north side. Once laid out in grand Parisian style, since 1916 Rising, the area has lost all its former grandeur. Nowadays it is fast-food outlets and ugly modern shops but the focal point is still nice. There are monuments to Daniel O’Connell, a politician key to Ireland’s independence, Jim Larkin who led the 1913 lockout, and Charles Parnell, the leading advocate for Home Rule.
The Italian quarter is centred on Bloom Lane and has bars and cafes. East is the Abbey Theatre and the opulent Custom House. Parnell Square has the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Dublin Writer’s Museum, and the James Joyce Museum. Also in the area are the National Leprechaun Museum, the Emigration Museum, and the modern Convention Centre.
Dublin Spire. On the spot where Nelson’s Pillar stood until blown up, it is 3 m wide at its base and a mere 15cm at its summit surmounted by a beacon.
National Leprechaun Museum. Unlike any museum I have ever heard of, it offers “actors” who tell unscripted stories based on folklore, legend, and the mythology of Ireland – let your imagination explore. There are several ‘spaces’ (the pot of gold, rainbow, forest) where small groups listen to the story. Times are set. €16, €14 concession.
Dublin Writers Museum. This includes photos and personal artifacts from all the great Dublin writers. There are also several rare first editions. €7.50
I walked along the north side of the river – the Liffey has wonderful walkways on both sides with several pedestrian bridges.
Custom House. This architectural masterpiece was destroyed in a fire during the War of Independence in 1921 and rebuilt later in the 20s. It is the home to several federal and local government departments, but the displays on the workhouses were fascinating.
EPIC – Ireland Emigration Museum. This private museum is housed in an old bonded warehouse in wonderful small brick barrel-vaulted spaces. Using many audiovisual aids, it tells the story of the 10 million Irish who have left the country, some of their 90 million descendants, and their influence on wherever they’ve gone. (the present population of Ireland is 7.5 million with 4 million living in the Dublin area). The three elements have usually been hunger, work, or community and 200 testimonials are presented. Poverty has been an issue in Ireland until recently when the Celtic Tiger became established. Oppressive laws like homosexuality being illegal until 1993 have been an issue prompting emigration.
Britain has always been a significant destination – as missionaries in the 6th century; as workers during Cromwell’s eviction of thousands from 2.5 million acres of land, the Industrial Revolution offered jobs, and after the war when Ireland’s economy was still poor and England’s dynamic.
The biggest migrations happened during the famines of the 1770s and the Great Famine of 1845-52 when 1 million left (25% of the population). America has had 1.5 million emigrants and Canada 340,000 – many came for the free land given to homesteaders.
And Irish have always been a welcome addition to their chosen country having roles in education, medicine, emergency relief, social work, athletics, government (22 American presidents have Irish roots), music, and dance.
CCD – The Convention Centre. Near the fantastic Thomas Becket Bridge, this architectural masterpiece was opened in 2010. The enormous glass front extending out from the body of the building is the highlight.
SOUTHSIDE
I met Blake, a Dubliner I had travelled with for 5 months through West Africa last year at the Dublin Spire and we spent the day together.
Little Museum of Dublin. Crammed into 2 floors of a Georgian house, this displays more than 5,000 artifacts and curios telling the social history of 20th-century Dublin. Beginning with the 1900 photograph of Queen Victoria arriving in Dublin, it traces primarily through photographs, newspaper clippings, posters, and letters, the transformation of the city over 100 years. It is best seen in the excellent tour. €10 but I saw it free as Blake had a pass.
St Stephen’s Green. Across the street from the Little Museum, this is Central Dublin’s largest and most varied park with a distinctive Victorian character. There are several monuments (Arthur Guinness, Wolf Tone, and the Great Famine).
Natural History Museum. Also called the “Dead Zoo”, it has a collection of stuffed native Irish mammals, birds and fish, and animals from around the world. The exhibition style with everything in glass cases has not changed in 150 years, but the taxidermy is great. Most impressive are the skeletons of the mammoth 11,000-year-old great Irish deer. Free
The National Gallery. Showcases European art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Irish art is on the ground floor. There are several wings with two separate entrances. I enjoyed the portrait gallery. Free
The National Museum of Archaeology. This must-see museum has a stunning hoard of artifacts: prehistoric gold is the most impressive, the 15m Lurgan Logboat from 2500 BC, the Treasury with ecclesiastical exhibits, and the Kingship and Sacrifice exhibit showing the leathery bodies of 4 Iron Age noblemen preserved in various bogs around Ireland. Upstairs the exhibits continue. Free
TRINITY COLLEGE. This extensive university is in the heart of the city. Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth, Catholics were admitted up to 1637 and allowed again in 1793 but banned by the Catholic Church until 1970 because of the college’s Anglican orientation. It has many famous alumni and is now one of three universities in the city (also University City Dublin and Dublin City University). Many buildings flank Front Square and New Square.
Science Gallery. Hosts high-tech and interactive temporary exhibitions.
Douglas Hyde Gallery. Modern art.
Old Library. The Old Library is best known because of the Book of Kells. This is a lavishly decorated copy in Latin of the 4 New Testament Gospels of the life of Christ. along with preliminary texts. It has long been associated with St Colum Cile (521-507) who founded his principal monastery on the island of Iona off the Isle of Mull in Scotland in 561, but the Book of Kells was probably produced by the monks of Iona early in the 9th century working wholly or partially at Iona itself or at Kells. It is thought to be altar furniture rather than for daily use. After a Viking raid in 806, the Columba monks moved to the monastery in Kells in County Meath that was, in turn, raided four times between 920 and 1019, one of which left 68 monks dead. It was stolen in 1007, recovered from under some sod after 2 months and despite losing its cover and 30 folios, it stayed until it was taken to Dublin in 1653 for safekeeping in the Cromwell years. It came to Trinity College in Dublin in 1661.
The vellum it was written on is calfskin – the hair was removed with lime, scraped with a knife, tensioned on a frame, and a semi-circular knife was used to completely remove all the hair. The pages were ruled with fine picks and quill pens, rulers, and geometry instruments used to produce it with inks, primarily a brownish gall-tannic ink made from oak galls, iron sulphate, and wine. The illustrations were then coloured in blue (lapis lazuli), white, yellow, purple, and green.
The 340 calfskin folios were produced by four scribes and three artists (goldsmith, illustrator, and portrait painter) using lavish Celtic art decoration with several full-page illustrations. An elaborate decorative scheme of animals (snakes are commonly indicating rebirth as snakes shed their skin = the rebirth of Christ, but also eagles and lions) and crosses employing spiral, roundel, triskele, whirligig, and interlace patterns throughout the text, on the initials, at the beginning of each Gospel and on full-length ‘carpet pages’. Many errors were made indicated by red dots and cancelled with red crosses.
Also shown in the museum are the Book of Durrow, a pocket gospel, and the Book of Armagh with the complete New Testament in Latin written in 807-846.
Long Room. Upstairs from the Book of Kells is the magnificent 65m-long Long Room with its wood barrel-vaulted ceiling upstairs is a copyright library and has the right to claim a free copy of all British and Irish publications since 1801 and now has 4 million titles in eight buildings – 200,000 of the oldest are stored in its bookcases. Some of the 200 medieval manuscripts of Irish laws are shown in display cases including more recently illustrated women’s and children’s books from the 1800s to the mid-1900s. At least 40 busts of British authors and Greek philosophers line the central corridor between the enormous two-story stacks.
A harp, the oldest to survive in Ireland, dates from the 15th century is also in a display case. It is constructed from oak and willow with brass strings and has intricately carved designs. The attribution to Brian Boru, the high king of Ireland killed in 1014, is legendary.
White Friar Church. This is a Carmelite Church (Roman Catholic) a few blocks from St Patrick’s. The Carmelite Order started with layman hermits living near Mt Carmel in the Holy Land, following the Prophet Elijah, and took Mary as their companion. They live by the Rule of St Albert: prayer in their cell is the core, they live devotedly to Jesus, follow the example of Elijah by challenging those who get rich at the expense of the poor and follow that with action, live simply and with compassion, live as a fraternity of brothers and sisters, to wear the brown scapular, choose to be poor, seek social justice, champion human rights, and share what they have. They started missions in New York, Australia, Zimbabwe (their present main mission), Vietnam, Trinidad, and Timor Leste. The first Carmelite church in Dublin was established in 1274 and the present church has been here since 1827. From the outside, it is unattractive brown stucco but inside it is quite lovely with a wide nave and high windows letting in a lot of light. The stained glass is by Meyer of Germany and Early Studios of Dublin. There are two nice chapels – one to Our Lady of Dublin with gorgeous stucco backed by wonderful mosaics and a second is a Shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes with a rock wall. have been
Christ Church Cathedral. Occupying the highest point of Old Dublin, it is the seat of the new Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough. Originally a 7th-century Celtic church and then a wooden cathedral built by the converted Viking king of Dublin was replaced by the Norman 1186-1240 cathedral, of which the crypt, two transepts, and the leaning north wall can still be seen. The weight of the vaulted stone ceiling collapsed in 1562 bringing down the south wall and pulling the north side of the nave half a meter out of the perpendicular. In the 1870s, the distiller Henry Roe bankrupted himself on an equivalent of a €30, million restoration.
Highlights include the Tomb of Strongbow (he captured Dublin in 1170, and was buried here later but the tomb was destroyed in the roof collapse and replaced by a 14th-century effigy of one of the earls of Drogheda); the Chapel of St Edmund and the Chapel of St Laud has their original floor tiles and the crypt with the treasures (including the mummified cat and rat frozen in hot pursuit in an organ pipe. €5.50 concession.
St Patrick’s Cathedral. Dublin has two Church of Ireland Cathedrals because in 1190, the archbishop left Christ Church and built his palace and church here. Built between 1220 and 1270 in Gothic style, its roof collapsed in 1544 and then was used as a stable by Cromwell’s army in 1649. It has tons of quirky funerary monuments: Jonathan Swift (the cathedral’s dean for 32 years), the Door of Reconciliation, and the extravagant Boyle monument. There are also memorials to all the Irish regiments who fought for Britain in Burmah, China, India, the Boer War, and both World Wars. 200,000 Irish died in WW I). The hundreds of regimental banners are allowed to rot. It is not nearly as impressive as Westminster Abbey. €6 concession
Dublin Castle. The original Anglo-Norman castle, the seat of British power in Ireland for 700 years, is long gone (its roughly rectangular shape is now the large central square). Destroyed in a fire in 1684, the present 3-story brick buildings were built in the 18th century to house a complex of residences and administration buildings giving it a collegiate appearance. The entrance fee covers the State Apartments (residence of the English viceroy), the castle garden, and the Chapel Royal. South is the free Chester Beatty Library with a fine Islamic collection and the earliest surviving examples in any language of Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels, St Paul’s letters, and the Book of Revelation.
TEMPLE BAR. Sandwiched between Dame Street and the Liffey River on the right bank of the river looking downstream. Beginning as an artistic quarter in the 80s, its narrow cobbled streets and old warehouses are studios, workshops, boutiques, bars, restaurants, and hotels attracting more outsiders than Dubliners. The main access from the north is the Ha’Penny Bridge. Always a pedestrian bridge, it began in 1816 as the Wellington Bridge but acquired its nickname from the halfpenny toll levied until 1919. It is quite arched necessitating steps on either end. Three wrought-iron arches support lanterns.
Smock Alley Theatre. With the restoration of King Charles II in 1660, 3 major theatres were built in the next 3 years. Smock Alley was the only one purpose-built as a theatre and the only one that exists in substantially the same form as in 2662.
It put Irish theatre on the map but closed in 1787 and then opened as the Catholic Church of Sts Michael and John (the first Catholic church to toll its bell in almost 300 years. The theatre opened its doors in 2012 with the main stage (5 steeply ascending rows of seats in a D shape), a Boy’s Stage, and an upstairs banquet room.
Project Arts Centre. This facility has two stages showing theatre and dance (they also had no shows on) and a small gallery showing audiovisual material. Free
Gallery of Photography. This small gallery with no permanent exhibit opens with a new show every month and was in the process of setting up its new show by students in a local 4-year photography program. Free
Across the square is the National Library with a permanent photography archive and an entertaining show on Photography Detective (old photographs were put up and people were to determine the location and people in them using any resource).
WESTSIDE
Kilmainham Gaol. Built on “Gallows Hill, this jail opened in 1796 and closed in 1924 after the Irish Civil War was over – the last prisoner was de Valera who eventually went on to become Prime Minister in 1966. It is seen on a tour that often needs reservations. Modern for its time it was a ‘reform’ prison with the idea of “separation (solitary confinement), supervision and silence”. Men, women, and children were all treated with no distinction (the youngest prisoner was aged five). Built on limestone, it was cold and damp especially before windows were added after 50 years. 90% of its occupants were common criminals (many on their way to the colonies), but the prison is most known for the 10% that were political prisoners.
Instead of one prisoner per cell, there were often five and only a bucket as a toilet. People wanted to get in during the Great Famine as you were guaranteed one meal per day and crowding was more extreme. Begging was made illegal in 1847 and its 100 cells contained 9000 prisoners over the year in 1850 – only 67 people ever died when in prison.
Executions were public spectacles before 1867 as it was thought that it was best to make examples of people. The three S’s were finally achieved when the East Wing was built in 1862 when all cells held only one prisoner and silence was mandatory, even in the one hour in the exercise yard. Since closing, it has been used in several films and music videos.
The 1916 Eastern Rebellion lasted 6 days with 20,000 British troops versus the protestors. It was not popular with the populace as they were much more concerned with WW I. Of the 90 arrested, 14 men were eventually executed one by one by firing squad. Their treatment changed the people’s attitude and partial independence for Ireland was achieved in 1924.
The Irish Museum of Modern Art. In the 1685 Royal Hospital building (in a lovely park), it has a permanent collection of 3,500 pieces and regularly has guest exhibitions that are paid for.
There were many video presentations and the usual abstract stuff that I didn’t enjoy so much. One monograph detailed Hamish Fulton and his 21 long-distance walks around the world. The ones in Canada were in the Rocky Mountains and the famous Auyttuq National Park hike across Baffin Island. This guy was a walker to behold. Free
St James Gate Distillery. St James Gate was the front gate at the boundary of the original 4-acre property purchased by Arthur Guinness in 1789. The holy well of St James was near the original Middle Age toll gate where a customs duty was collected when entering Dublin. The medieval pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela began here. The cement head at the top of the gate is unknown but looked like Bacchus to me and the original blue and gold colour was changed to black and white in the 1960s. It is now a private entrance to the Guinness Distillery which is not open to the public.
Guinness Storehouse. Around the block from the gate, this is where the present public tour of Guinness is. Much of the area just west of the old city is the massive complex of the Guinness Brewery. They originally made ale but by 1770 made porter, the black colour and flavour derived from the addition of roasted barley. By 1796, it was being exported and 3 years later, ale was not produced at all. At its peak in the middle of the 20th century, it produced 2.5 million pints a day.
The Storehouse is billed as “seven floors of fun”. There is always a long queue here to buy tickets. The self-guided tour starts with the brewing process progressing to the storage and transportation area including the lost art of coopering. The remainder of the tour consists of an array of marketing memorabilia. But the real highlight is the view from the Guinness Bar at the top when you get your free drink. €25, €20 concession.