Sunday started with a full cooked English breakfast included in the price of the room. Bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes, beans, sausage and black pudding together filled our stomachs, along with coffee and juice we were charged for the day ahead.
We checked out of the hotel and took a bus into the city centre. On Sunday most attractions did not open till noon, so we had some time to spare walking around south of the City Centre. We wandered into the University of Dublin - Trinity College grounds, and saw some interesting statues and buildings.
Trinity College
Artwork
We picked up a day bus ticket from the tourist information centre and then walked to Temple Bar, where many interesting Pubs line the streets.
Temple Bar district
From here we bussed it to the Old Jameson Distillery (founded in 1780) for the tour of the old distillery.
Mash getting aerated
Kicking back at the Jameson Bar
The distillery has been restored to its former glory, and within we observed production methods, and learnt a few of the finer points to Irish Whiskey and its main differences to Scottish and other whiskeys. Every Jameson Whiskey is triple distilled, along with a different method of drying the grain. The sampling of the product at the end of the tour in the Jameson Bar was fantastic too.
In the accompanying souvenir shop we found a bottle for sale for 2000 euro’s, equivalent to around $3000 to $4000 Australian!
Next door to the Distillery was The Chimney Viewing Tower standing at 185 feet high. A lift up to the top and a full 360 degree panoramic view of the city can be seen. Being as it was overcast all weekend, we did not see any blue sky, but some good viewing nonetheless.
Chimney Tower
Chimney Tower Views
Chimney Tower Views
Next we walked back into the city spotting the Law Courts on the other side of the River.
Dublin City Hall (opened in 1779) was only open for a few hours on the Sunday, and we managed to get in to see the great hall area (it was totally empty) which had been recently restored to its former glory. 4 solid statues encircled the main hall, and the art and stone work on the roof and walls was something that has to be seen first hand to appreciate. Downstairs was an extensive audio tour of the history of Dublin from 1170 to present day, with many ancient artifacts, the city’s sword, costumes, the great mace, and city treasures.
Town Hall
GAA Museum is located in Croke Park, the 4th largest stadium in Europe. Unfortunately we were informed that the last tour on Sunday started at 4.30, and as we got there by 3.30 we were confident of getting to see the stadium. But not to be, no tours after 3pm on Sundays we were told so we went through just the museum instead.
The museum is a tribute to the development of the Stadium and the main Irish Sports played at the ground, being Gaelic Football and Hurling. There were displays on all forms of the games, video highlights and even a section on international rules football where the Aussies and Irish square off every year.
At the end of the tour, you can try hurling, by whacking the leather ball into a target using the traditional wooden hurley. It was a great workout, and quite difficult to consistently hit the target in the same place. This would be even harder again if you were running at the same time as they do in the game.
Various Guernseys on Display
Swinging and Hitting
Nada showing how its done!
Croke Park
They have green post boxes here in Ireland…
We finished up in Dublin by browsing for souvenirs, before heading back to the airport by bus.
The Plane home was totally full, no surprise being a Sunday night!
Plane Home
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