Return to Dublin

Our primary vacation goal had been to explore our ancestral heritage in the Lake District, but Julie and I planned to spend additional time in England or Europe in order to take advantage of the long flights.

As it turned out, the exact dates when all of our kids happened to be in reasonably close proximity to Sizergh Castle didn't line up well with any cruises, so we charted a path by train to southern England after a day in Liverpool.  When we realized we could actually fly home from Dublin burning fewer air miles than from London, we decided to add four nights in the Republic of Ireland as our trip's grand finale.

From Chester, we boarded a train to Holyhead, Wales, where we'd catch the ferry to Ireland.  The train station and ferry port are in the same complex,  about 250 yards apart, which was fortunate because our Virgin Train was late.  We walked rapidly to catch our ferry.  Virgin refunded half our train fare for the inconvenience, taking away part of the sting of extra stress.

The StenaLine ferry from Holyhead to Dublin cost $49 each, including upgrade to the "Hygge" reclining lounge, which was a comfortable place to read The King's Deception, another fun Steve Berry amalgam of spy mystery with quirky, alternative history, which was appropriately set in England.  Add a meal and a nap, and before long, we'd arrived.

While Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland is a separate country, requiring passports and customs check.  That didn't turn out to be too onerous, unless you happened to be like the Bangladeshi family without passports or visas who were in front of us.  As Americans with passports, we were soon welcomed by a different agent to his booth.

In the parking lot, we crowded into one of several buses lined up to take locals and visitors to different parts of the city.


Julie and I first visited Ireland in February of 2002.  That was in the wake of 9/11, which had badly damaged the collective psyche of the world, diminishing demand for travel.  We found an exceptionally good deal and damned the metaphorical torpedoes.  By the way, we always have incredibly good deals for Ireland in winter, because apparently no tourists in his right mind chooses to go there when the weather includes bone-chilling fog.

On that initial trip, we only spent a half day in Dublin.  Following Julie's trusty checklist, we saw quite a bit, but I've wanted to return ever since.

Our four nights at Staycity Chancery Lane Dublin were perfect for us, with friendly, accommodating staff and an immaculate, modern room.  Best of all, they did our laundry for free, and when I gave the guy a tip, he reluctantly accepted it, saying with a modest smile, "That really isn't necessary."

"I've tipped for a lot less," I said.

If you're looking for historic charm in the heart of the action, this would not be your cup of tea.  It was far enough from the famous Temple Bar District to be quiet for sleeping but not so far away from the main tourist haunts as to be inconvenient.

Our first evening in Dublin, we strolled around checking out menus for meals that might interest Julie.  We settled on the Beef & Lobster, a pub which to me had a decidedly New York City vibe, probably because no staff members were Irish or spoke English as a first language.

The non-Irish staff turned out to be pretty standard in Dublin pubs during this boom era when the estimated thousand bars overflowed with revelers.  It was quite a contrast to the placid daytime Dublin of February in 2002, although this time we had arrived on Saturday, the biggest party night of the week for locals as well as visitors.

The next morning, we would take a Hop-On, Hop-Off tour, which is a modestly-priced, easy way to get the lay of the land and learn a bit about the history of a city.

Before hopping on the bus, we visited Trinity College, which houses the cherished Book of Kells.  The bus stop in front of the campus is catercorner from National Gallery of Ireland, a lovely art museum with free admission.  How could we pass that opportunity by?

When we finally started the tour, it was getting close to noon.  It's not a huge city, so even starting this late we could take a spin around much of the city before breaking for lunch.

We enjoyed the ride, getting off the bus not far from where we boarded to again search for suitable dining.  Madigan's grabbed our attention, and the Guinness Cottage Pie was definitely the best meal of this Ireland sojourn.

It was so good, in fact, that we kept ordering Guinness Pie at other places hoping to match that perfect combination of flavors.  The others were tasty, but Madigan's O'Connell Street won the Guinness Pie derby, beating out even the Guinness Brewery's restaurant, which would seem to have an unfair advantage.

At Madigan's, we noticed a lot of fans wearing colorful team shirts we didn't recognize.  I asked some young guys sitting nearby if this was for rugby or soccer, and one replied, "No, hurling."

I nodded knowingly, but I wasn't sure what that was.  It turns out, Dublin was hosting the All-Ireland Hurling Championship Semi-Finals.

When we went back to our aparthotel that night, I happened upon a replay of the day's big match on TV.

What an amazing game!

I don't know what the rules are exactly, but it seemed like a combination of baseball, football, hockey, soccer and maybe lacrosse, although I don't actually know how lacrosse is played either.  I just know when these guys would run around with the little ball, they could be tackled unless they tossed it in the air and air-dribbled it with what looked like giant chef stirring spoons.

Every now and then, they would just stop, throw the ball in the air, and hit it like a baseball coach smashing fungo flies for fielding practice.

If it went through the uprights of the goal like a football field goal, then it scored one point.

If they somehow got close enough to the goal to fling it or whack it past the goalie into the lower portion soccer goal, then they scored three points.  It's a fast paced game and worth checking out.