Disturbing a Fairy Fort

Arriving in Dublin was relatively painless in comparison to some of our other Irish road experiences with a quick 2 hour journey on the motorway from Galway propelling us into Ireland’s largest city. Staying at the lovely Ashling Hotel (www.ashlinghotel.ie), a former residence of Wittgenstein, we discovered that, like Galway, Easter Monday meant that mostly everything was closed. So, we’d need to cram a bit into Tuesday then!
After another hearty breakfast (Mum and Dad have become obsessed with kippers and poached eggs) we hit the ground running for our whirlwind cultural tour of Dublin...

Cultural Stop 1: The Guinness Storehouse...the Home of Guinness

Our hotel fronted directly onto the massive Guinness complex at St James’ Gate Brewery which made our first destination a bit of a “no brainer”. A quick walk in the brisk morning air and we were in the heart of the Guinness empire. Reminiscent of the chocolate factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this is a black ale lovers’ dream for once you enter the gates the participant is surreally thrust into the middle of a 7-story pint glass which acts as the entry point to the experience. The first section of the tour introduces you to the history of Guinness via an extremely impressive multi-levelled interactive display. The most interesting fact from this exhibition reveals that the lease (which sits embedded in the central atrium) for the brewery has a duration of 9000 years – making this the longest brewery lease in history. The remainder of the first section of the tour takes you through the four natural ingredients required to make this famous ale – barley, hops, yeast and water. Further floors reveal the companies transport, advertising and sponsorship history when finally you arrive at the 7th floor Gravity Bar (a round clear bar with amazing views of the city) which represents the head of the beer. Our ticket price included a pint of Guinness which both Dad and I relished at 10:37am whilst taking in the panoramic views of the city!

Cultural Stop 2: Trinity College Library and The Book of Kells Exhibition

With one iconic aspect of Dublin sampled it was on to Trinity College and its famous library (containing the often referenced Long Room) which contains the largest collection of manuscripts and printed books in Ireland. It was with great excitement that I discovered that the library was also hosting a large exhibition on The Book of Kells, a lavishly decorated book of four gospels from the bible which dates back to the 9th century. At the end of exhibition you are treated to four actual pages from the 1000 year old text...an incredibly humbling experience.
After exiting the exhibition you emerge into the Long Room of the Old Library which is currently hosting a display of the history of medicine (including the skeleton of the Irish Giant – a man whose height reached an unfortunate 7 foot in 1730). This vast room, with its unique barrel-vaulted ceiling and 2nd floor gallery, is a beautiful collision of over 200,000 dusty volumes of text, several wrought iron spiral staircases and a plethora of 15 foot ladders leading up to various letters of the alphabet.

Cultural Stop 3: The National Leprechaun Museum

Our next cultural stop on our tour of Dublin was the recently opened Leprechaun Museum on Jervis St (on the other side of the canal) which, although sounding twee, ended up being a rewarding and enlightening experience. Semi-hosted by a story-teller the experience commences with an initial revelation about the history of the mischievous Leprechaun (with a reference to the horror-series Leprechaun which apparently starred a pre-Friends Jennifer Aniston) but goes on to divulge much more interesting information about Irish mythology and lore.

Things I learnt from the Leprechaun Story Teller.
1. A Banshee is a female fairy. If she wails outside your house she is pre-warning the death of someone within.
2. A Fairy Tree is a singular tree that sits stark and alone in the middle of a field. One must not play or disturb the tree for if they do they will be cursed by the fairy people protecting the tree
3. A Fairy Fort is cluster of trees and rocks that is apparently easily identifiable by the Irish (pity for those not in the know). See above for the consequences of disturbing one.
4. A Changeling is a substitute, normally a child, who has been planted by the fairies as replacement for the original as the fairies were enamoured by the original. The only way to recover the original is to thrust the Changeling back to the fairy world (normally by chucking the Changeling down a well).

Here ends our gastronomic, historic and mythological tour of Dublin.
Couple of quick tips:
- Some coffee houses have key-padded toilets. The only way to access is by using your “toilet code” on the bottom of your receipt
- Always carry Imodium...thank God for Boots the Chemist!