The Jeanie Johnston and Phoenix Park, Dublin, Saturday Aug. 6, 2016

On Saturday morning, I headed down to the Liffey River and went east to the Tall Ship Jeanie Johnston.  This is a replica of one of the many ships that carried people during the Irish potato famine of the mid 1800s.  This particular ship made sixteen trips over eight years and due to the care of the captain, ship's doctor and crew, not a single passenger died - unlike many out to make money, where many became ill and died.  They have sailed this replica for a variety of events, but with 2016 being the centennial of the Easter Rising and Irish independence, they are keeping it tied up for tours and events.

The Jeanie Johnston is just a block east of the Famine Statues, a group of statues showing emaciated figures.  The statues are all taller than me, which exaggerates the gaunt appearance of the statues, and serve as a reminder of how people were starving during the potato famine.

Ireland has a strong labor union movement, and the city has reminders of this to celebrate the centennial (sorry about my fat finger in the photo).

From there, I walked west a couple miles to Phoenix Park.  One of the first things I noticed was an obelisk that honors the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napolean at the Battle of Waterloo.

Phoenix Park is the largest municipal park in Europe and is more than 1,700 acres.  The eastern end of the park includes the Peoples' Gardens and I walked through these parts on my way into the park.

After the Peoples' Gardens, I passed the Dublin Zoo which had gardens as well.

West of the zoo were the polo grounds.  Owners and horses were arriving for afternoon polo matches.

The Rock'n'Roll half marathon and 10K were scheduled for Sunday, but a large crowd ran the 5K race on Saturday.

The American Ambassador's residence is in the park, but I could get no closer than the gate.

The main east-west street in the park is Chesterfield Avenue, named after Lord Chesterfield who opened the park to Dublin residents in 1742.  There is a monument dedicated to him at the central traffic circle between the American Ambassador's residence to the southeast and the Irish President's residence to the northeast.

Continuing west, I came to cafe at the visitor center where I had a snack and read for awhile.

The visitor center includes a museum that gives historical info about both Dublin and Phoenix Park.

After the visitor center, I turned east and headed back.  As with the American Ambassador's residence, I could only get to the gate for the Irish President's residence.

However, further on, I could walk up to the moat and fence, and using the zoom on my camera, could get a photo of the presidential residence.

I continued east past the zoo and through different parts of the Peoples' Gardens, and found many beautiful flowers.

I then walked back to Hotel St. George and later went to the Parnell Pub for dinner - Charles Parnell was one of the leaders of the Irish Independence movement and this pub, the adjacent street and square are all named in his honor.

Friday in Dublin, Ireland, August 5, 2016

I left for the airport in Portland about 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, flew to Houston that afternoon, had an overnight flight to London and then an afternoon flight to Dublin, reaching the Hotel St. George about 4:00 p.m. Thursday.  That evening, I wandered around O'Connell Street and the pedestrian malls on Henry St. and Talbott St.

Friday morning, my first task was to stop at the high end Marks and Spencer store for coffee and muffin.  Then it was on to Stephens Green Shopping Center to find an umbrella to buy.  Although it looks like it was converted from a train station, it was designed and built as an urban shopping center, opening in 1988.

Stephen's Green Shopping Center gets its name from St. Stephen's Green, a large park across the street.  The Easter Rising of 1916 led to Ireland's independence and to celebrate the Centennial there are signs (in English and Irish) throughout the park giving the history of the park and surrounding environment, all involved in Irish independence.  There are also beautiful gardens and plantings in the park.

I then continued east to Merrion Square - again, beautiful gardens and plantings, plus the National Memorial to members of the Defence Forces - this is where Ireland has their eternal flame burning.

I returned to the Stephen's Green Shopping Center to use their men's room and saw these signs which reminded me of Ben.  I was pleasantly surprised to see many men and even some women who were taller than me.

Then I headed back to Hotel St. George and visited the memorial to those who died in the Independence movement of 1916.

After a short rest, I headed back out for a tour of the Jameson Distillery.  One block from the distillery, I came across the HQ of the Bar Council of Ireland - as an attorney, it is great to be a member of the bar and be one block from the distillery.

I had an educational 50 minute tour that included taste testing and comparison of Jameson's triple distilled with Johnny Walker Black Label double distilled and Jim Beam single distilled whiskey, followed by a glass of Jameson's 12 year old reserve - so good I bought a bottle to bring home.  Then it was dinner at Madigan's Pub on O'Connell St. before calling it a day.