November 3, 2006
Day 20: Of pens and penitentiaries.
Friday, our last full day in Dublin. Everyone is totally exhausted. We walked through St. Stephens Green, jumped back on the Dublin tour bus. The tour guides vary wildly on this bus -- our first guide was an older Irish gentleman, very dry sense of humor. Even Cole remarked on how good he was. Our second guide kind of mumbled his way through everything, made corny jokes, then looked at us expectantly, waiting for the laugh. Our guide this time was an older woman with an even dryer sense of humor and very clear ennuciation (which is important, when you're trying to compete with trucks rumbling by). She recommended the tour of the Kilmainham Gaol (jail), where 14 members of the 1916 Easter Uprising were executed, and which was also the set of the Daniel Day Lewis film, In the Name of the Father.
We hopped off at the Jail and signed up for the tour. Our guide, Sabeena, was Polish or maybe Czech. She spoke English, sort of. She recited the facts in an odd rhythm that was hard to follow and without any passion, repeating herself two or three times and using phrases like "huge big" to describe, well, large things. This was a shame, since the place was so filled with history and blood. It would have been great to hear a true patriot tell the tales. We did, however, have fun threatening to leave the kids behind in one of the cells.
From there we took the bus to the Writer's Museum on Parnell Square, north of the River Liffey. This was a bit of a disappointment as well. For one thing, there was no mention whatsoever of me or Xtina (though Katherine Tynan had her own spot on the audio tour). It was two rooms with long text displays, first editions inside glass cases, busts and paintings of Swift, Wilde, Shaw, Yeats, O'Casey, Joyce, Beckett, etc., and the typewriter Brendan Behane allegedly threw through the window at McDonough's Pub. It was mildly informative but the kids were bored silly.
Then we took what has become our 'usual route' home -- over the O'Connell Street Bridge, past Trinity College, through the crowds and buskers and street performers on Grafton to the light rail station at St. Stephen's Green. I'd hoped to hit one last pub, stroll through Temple Bar on a Friday evening, but the kids were dead set against any more walking. So we stayed in and watched Irish telly.
Posts
1 comment:
that's a shame about your guide around the gaol. my boyfriend & i went yesterday, & our guide was just brilliant, an irish chap called ciaren (spelling may be wrong), who obviously cared very much about the history of ireland & the jail. but it was a very interesting building, i hope you enjoyed your tour despite the guide!
Post a Comment