Ireland Day 7 - North of the Liffey

On Friday morning we trekked to the northern half of the city, passing the Clarence Hotel on the way, which is owned by Bono (sadly, in nine days, no Bono sitings).


We started our day at the Dublin City Gallery. I think the building itself is the showstopper, but most people come to see Francis Bacon's entire studio, transplanted (allegedly) as is to the gallery.

We had some more conference goings on in the afternoon (closing ceremonies, where it was announced that the next meeting will be in Florianopolis, Brazil. Mom didn't hesitate to ask if she would be invited to that one as well).

Then it was time to go back north to the Old Jameson Distillery. Frankly, I was pretty unimpressed with this tour, but luckily Mom and I knew to be ready to volunteer, so now we're 'certified' whiskey tasters!
The rest of the evening was spent wandering about various historical sites, like the General Post Office, site of the Easter Uprising in 1916

Call me a patriot, but I'm a sucker for a declaration of independence, be it my country's or another's.
Our founding father's signed their names knowing it meant risking their lives. Fortunately for all of us, they won their revolution, and therefore got to survive. Sadly, the gentlemen whose names appear above were not so lucky.

And the Garden of Remembrance, honoring those who died during the Easter Uprising.


And St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral

which has that weird name and somewhat non-descript appearance because, despite being the 'most important Catholic church' in Dublin, the powerful Protestant community at the time of the church's construction in 1816 balked at the idea of it being located on O'Connell St. (a main thoroughfare) and instead it was given cramped quarters at the end of a minor road. The 'pro' approximately implies 'unofficial' because church leaders planned to construct a more grand cathedral once they had more funding (and, presumably, a more favorable social/political climate).