August 3, 4 2022 Dublin

 First impressions of Dublin, IR:

Dirty and unkempt. Litter everywhere, even in tourist areas. Seagulls poop on everything. Want to lean on the stone railings along the river to take in the view? Bring a blanket to spread over all the bird poop. Empty beer bottles scattered along a public promenade along the river. (Tourist area). Broken bench along the promenade.  Buildings in center city look run down and dirty as are all monuments. Apparently antique building

renovation and cleaning is not "a thing" here. Groceries seem to be cheap-- cheaper than back home anyway. Buses-- lots of buses-- double-decker buses everywhere in center city. "Tagging" (writing in marker on public spaces and surfaces) must be a Dublin city sport. It seems to be everywhere.

We started our second day with a  visit to St. Mary Pro, the primary Catholic church in Dublin. It's called Pro for provisional, as this was meant to be a temporary cathedral, with the idea that grander cathedral would be built on a more prominent spot.  We got there just in time for the morning Mass which we attended. Dedicated in 1825, St. Mary's backstreet location was the best the city's Anglo-Irish leaders would allow a Catholic cathedral. The church is neither impressive or grand, but it feels like a true community church. There are beautiful altars of Mary and the Sacred Heart

behind the main altar.

On the walk over to Christ Church, we passed a cool building that had ceramic figures all around the outside perimeter. It turns out, this is called the Sunshine building, built as the home quarters for the Lever Brothers company, who at the turn of the 19th century sold soap. The building decorations tell the history of soap. Lever Bros. became Unilever later on in the 20th century. 

We continued on to Christ Church, one of the 2 Anglican cathedrals in Dublin. Odd that the Anglicans have 2 grand cathedrals and far smaller congregations than St. Mary Pro. 94% of Dubliners are Catholic. But this cathedral has stood here for almost 1000 years, having originally been built by the Vikings. It was rebuilt and enlarged in the 13th century, partially collapsed in the 16th century, and was renovated and rebuilt in the late 19th century.

After touring Christ Church and its crypt, we headed over to the other medieval cathedral in Dublin, St. Patrick's.  It was built near the reputed place where St. Patrick baptized people. The building is impressive, but badly in need of cleaning and restoration. One area (I think it's called Lady's chapel) was recently restored and the difference is remarkable between that area and adjacent walls. Lady's chapel is almost white, and the nearby walls almost black. We thought it odd that the fighting flags of various Irish regiments were hung in one area of the church. The flags are left until they rot off their poles (and many were in an advanced sta te of decomposition.)

We finaly headed back to our hotel, right in center Dublin. Our room was right over the street, and in the evening, we heard a busker (they're everywhere in the city) playing and singing Irish tunes. To be honest, it got old pretty quickly. The songs all sounded the same.  Our room was comfortable and breakfast in the morning was excellent.  The breakfast had just about everything you could imagine as a selection in a lovely setting.  Service was exceptional. 

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Z9KPgFczjtx773zu7

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