CÚIG GHRIANGHRAF-Ireland Day 25

Today was our first full day in Dublin. We started with breakfast with Peter and Jarek, and we decided that this would just be a "get a feel for the" city day and we would select attractions as the mood called us.

Today was overcast, but the temperatures were pleasant. We passed by St. Patrick's Cathedral an Anglican Church where Jonathan Swift once served as its Dean.

We decided to explore Christ Church Cathedral which was built under Viking in the early 11th century. My first impression of the church was the sense of how old it was. We learned that the roof collapsed in the 16th century and it was rebuilt from a wealthy distiller of whiskey hundreds of years later.

Besides the church, one of the first things that captures your eye is the prone monument over the resting point of Strongbow. The name Strongbow gives the image of a strong soldier, but he was not known by that nickname until several hundred years after his death and it might be more of a loss in translation. We found it funny that he was described as "...a rather gangly, effeminate and softly-spoken man with ginger hair and freckles who had ‘more of the air of a man-at-arms than a general-in-chief".

I couldn't help think of the fierce queens of Stonewall. Don't underestimate their strength or determination.

Despite the depiction, Strongbow was known for leading an army of Normans in an invasion of Waterford, and he was promised the hand of the Irish princess Aoife and subsequently considerable land. Traditionally business deals signed over his resting place were considered a sign of sealing the deal.

The cathedral was otherwise quite beautiful. Purportedly the choir of Christ Church were among those who first performed Handel's Messiah in 1742. Having sung that piece in a church choir, I imagined the honor of performing in the choir lofts here.

After our visit to Christ Church we decided to make a visit to the EPIC museum which celebrates Irish history and documents the hardships that caused Irish immigration as well as the influence of Irish immigrants in world. I took the opportunity to work with Maura, a genealogist, during our visit to EPIC. She was very helpful in unlocking some family tree mysteries where I had been stuck around my maternal grandfather's lineage.

After our visit we had the pleasure to connect with Frank who I sang with in the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. Frank is originally from Dublin and he returned a few years ago. We enjoyed a few pints at The George, a stately gay Irish pub, and we enjoyed dinner and catching up at an area Italian Restaurant. It was a very fine day, and we are really enjoying this last leg of our journey.Read more