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From Ireland (2015) |
It was pouring, of course. And because I am nothing if not consistently awesome, the rain hat I specifically bought for this trip stayed warm and dry at our hotel all day. At least Ed had an umbrella. I wore a hoodie that soaked up all the rain.
You'd think this was my first trip to Ireland.
Anyway, onward we went to Dublin Castle, which was first founded as a major defensive work on the orders of King John of England (1166-1219) in 1204; until 1922 the castle served as the seat of British rule in Ireland. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Record Tower is the sole surviving tower of the medieval castle and dates from c. 1228.
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From Ireland (2015) |
Ed expressed an interest in seeing the Chester Beatty Library, where we saw the Damsels for Dinner exhibit, which features three scrolls that tell of an episode in which Minamoto no Yorimitsu (948-1021), known as Raiko, slays Shuten Doji, a demon described as an ogre, a kidnapper of pretty maiden,s and a cannibal disguised as a giant human being; the scrolls are from the 17th century. An exhibit on another floor - the Sacred Traditions Gallery - featured sacred texts, illuminated manuscripts, and miniature paintings from Christian, Islam, and Buddhist collections, with smaller displays on Confucianism, Daoism, Sikhism and Jainism. I especially enjoyed seeing the illuminated Qu'ran manuscripts, which were just beautiful.
At that point, we were effectively kicked out, since everything was closing, so we decided to go to Mass at the Clarendon Street Church, which had two beautiful chapels, including this one for St. Teresa of Avila, who was the patron saint for this particular church.
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From Ireland (2015) |
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