Travel Blogging IX

Dublin, Ireland: I didn’t know the city of Dublin was founded by Vikings. Apparently Norse decided to stop commuting between Ireland and Norway and settle down in Ireland with their local “wives.” I suppose the Irish weather seemed “better,” all such judgments being relative, rain being better than snow.

History is about religion in these parts. For example something like 95% of Irish are Roman Catholic but St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin is not Roman Catholic.

St. Patrick’s began life as RC but was changed when Henry VIII decided to form his own church, using the RC properties. It is now “Church of Ireland.” That means Church of England, Henry’s church, the Irish branch.

One thing is clear, the Irish treat St. Patrick’s as very much their own, even though they are RC and it is not. Go figure. Their figurehead President sits there to celebrate certain holidays, we were shown her chair.

The relationship between the Brits and Irish is very much love-hate. The battle flags of Irish regiments (serving the British Army) hang in the cathedral. My guess is that Irish lads still enlist to serve the Crown. We were also shown bullet holes in the post office façade where the Brits attacked the freedom fighters seeking Irish independence.

Dublin is another European city with no high rises. I speculate they are banned. Still more cobblestone streets and sidewalks – and I believe the cobbles are set in something more substantial than sand, albeit less organized than concrete.

Ireland is the first (mostly) English-speaking country we’ve been in this trip. Suddenly all the shop signs are comprehensible, instead of just some. It is surprising how much difference this makes. Also one can ask for directions and understand the response, we did and did – it feels good, feels friendly.

Our guide said Ireland likes the U.S. for many reasons including the fact that there are many more Irish living in the U.S. than in Ireland. That’s a result of the potato famine diaspora.

Ireland has gone through many ups and downs, including one of each in the last 15 years. They were one of the Tigers during the last boom, and one of the true Euro-disasters during the most recent slump.

In a world that wants to do its business in English, Ireland has the advantage that almost every person has English as their first language. And the Irish happily caress the English language, blarney comes from here.

Tonight we sail for Belfast, a short trip north along the Irish coast to a less happy place – think “the troubles” and the IRA.