Day 12: Our First Day in Dublin

It’s hard to believe that we began the last leg of our Ireland adventures today. I have had such a blast exploring Ireland and learning about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, and I’m so excited for this last portion of our trip! 

We hit the road at 9:00am after breakfast in the hotel. Our final destination was Dublin, but we made a stop in Kilkenny first to take a look at the Kilkenny Castle. We went on a self-guided tour through the (fairly recently) restored castle. Built in 1195, Kilkenny Castle was originally meant to control and protect a fording point, a place shallow enough to cross on foot, in River Nore. In 1391 the castle was sold to the Butler family. The family saw this castle through many years and restoration attempts, but largely because of their own financial struggles and loss of power, the castle began to deteriorate. This was until 1967 when Arthur Butler, 6th Marquess of Ormonde, sold the castle for £50 to the Castle Restoration Committee and handed the keys to the chairman Mr. James Gibbons. Upon selling the castle, he is quoted as saying: 

“The people of Kilkenny, as well as myself and my family, feel a great pride in the Castle, and we have not liked to see this deterioration. We determined that it should not be allowed to fall into ruins. There are already too many ruins in Ireland.”  

The first phase of the restoration project opened the castle to the public in 1976, with more phases to follow. The castle and grounds are managed by the Office of Public Works today. On the tour, we were able to walk through the many rooms of the castle and see both original and replica works throughout. For example, in the library, the bookcases and curtains are all replicas, except for one of each which is an original. For the carpet in the room, the restoration team found a receipt in the family’s records and tracked down the company who still had the design records to recreate the piece. Aside from the library, we got to look at bedrooms, a nursery, a photo gallery, and so much more. After the tour of the castle, we found The Ros Tapestry exhibit which details the Norman conquest of Ireland’s Ancient East through 15 tapestry pieces. It was cool to learn about a piece of Irish history I didn’t know much about in such a neat format. We then went to the Tea Room in the castle for lunch, and I got a ham & cheese toastie and a caramel latte. 

We made the fairly uneventful drive to Dublin which was about an hour and a half, said goodbye to our bus driver Joe, and checked into Harrington Hall. The remainder of the evening was ours to explore Dublin, and Emily, Keegan, Ella, and I wasted no time in doing so. We first walked through the Iveagh Gardens which were conveniently right behind our hotel and so gorgeous. Our walk included fountains, tree tunnels and a yew maze! We then made our way across the street to walk through some more greenery: St Stephen’s Green Park! 

We had reservations at Mulligan and Haines for dinner, and made our way there next. We sat upstairs by some stained glass which was super pretty and there was live music while we were eating which I also loved. Considering it is a Friday, we knew it would be busy, but we had to make sure we hit The Temple Bar while in Dublin. I made the mistake of ordering a Bailey’s Coffee, which don’t get me wrong, was delicious, but a bit too hot to drink in such a hot and crowded space. Once it cooled down though, the taste was amazing. We made our way through the crowds of people in the bar and somehow ended up with a table right in front of the live music. We knew a majority of the songs so we could sing along with the crowd, which was a great time. The view of the bar on our way out was even cooler than on the way in because all of the lights on top were on and we snapped a few pictures before heading in for the night. 

I’m so excited for the remainder of our time in Dublin!

Corinne Doty