August 8, 2017 - Addendum

Well, it’s the next morning, we’re on the train, and I have time to think about all the things I was too tired to blog about last night!!

In no particular order:

We saw a bus going to Mountjoy Square!  That’s cool because Larry’s middle name was Mountjoy!

Most of the pubs and many of the houses and apartment houses have colorful hanging baskets of flowers because there is little room for gardens.

The Dublin University Fencing Club seems to meet at Trinity College.  They provide all equipment and all standards are accepted.  And it’s only five euros!  You’re also invited to “bury the blade”  - but that’s not the fencing club!  It’s an ad for the rowing team!

The Long Room at Trinity College houses more than books.  In the central aisle there are displays of old photographs, original documents from Jonathan Swift and Samuel Beckett.  And tons of busts of famous writers, scientists, and politicians. We were told that if you want to go into politics, you need to graduate from Trinity College.  Both of Ireland’s female presidents are among that number, as well as Oscar Wilde, Bran Stoker, and Samuel Becketts.  The tour-bus driver told us that Stoker’s wife had previously dated Oscar Wilde until she found out he was not a lady’s man!

On display as you enter the Long Room is the original declaration from the provisional government of the Irish Republic to the people of Ireland.  And one of the signators is James Connolly.  We also were able to see the Brian boru harp, the oldest surviving Irish harp and model for the insignia of Ireland.

We pass a young man wearing a vest saying “Will you help a child grow up?”  When we got closer Connie could hear him talking to a gentleman and it turns out he’s a Scientologist!  They’re everywhere!  They’re everywhere!

When we were in the processing portion of the Jameson’s tour we were able to handle the unmalted barley to feel how hard it is before malting.  And we were invited to taste the malted barley! It’s a bit sweet and reminds us of breakfast cereal.  Later, in the tasting section, we were asked why Scotch has a smoky flavor, and I remembered that it s because they use a wood fire in the malting process, instead of the heated ceramic plates used in Irish Whiskey.

We also learned that Prohibition in America nearly destroyed the Irish whiskey “brand” because the bootleggers called their liquor Irish whiskey and it certainly didn’t taste like Jamesons!!  Basically there were only three distillers left in business at that point, Jamesons, Powers, and CDC, so they formed a conglomerate with Jameson’s staying in Dublin and the other two in the south of the country.

There are several different tours available at Jameson’s.  We chose the Bow Street Experience and recommend it highly!  It’s especially good if you go with someone who lets you finish some of their sample!

We had had such a huge breakfast that the only thing we ate before dinner was a protein bar each!  For dinner I succumbed to the siren call of a hamburger with bacon and cheese.  It came with a side salad and three little new potatoes!  Connie had a cottage pie (think shepherd’s pie) and a salad.  But it’s a pub, so they don’t have salad dressing!

I wish I could remember all the wonderful stories that the musicians told us!  Paddy said that Irish drinking songs aren’t like the German ones where is all “Drink!  Drink!” and everyone drinks!  Instead, theirs are more like cautionary tales. And, although they sound cheery, they usually don’t end well!  Amon told us that the difference between Scottish pipes and Irish ones is that the Irish sound good!  He then showed us all the parts of his pipes and said they are the only instrument that comes with its own seatbelt!  Another difference between the two pipes is that you don’t have to wear a dress to play Irish pipes.  He said that’s too bad because he has good-looking legs!

We also learned pub etiquette during a (musical) session.  Generally the audience is talking amongst themselves while the musicians are entertaining themselves and occasionally the audience might applaud.  However, if someone is brave enough to stand and sign a song without accompaniment, everyone becomes respectfully silent and if someone is talking they are told “cueness” which means “silence” although I may not have spelled it correctly in Irish!  We also learned that the Irish word for whiskey, uisce beatha, means water of life, although Amon said it ought to be water of liver failure or job loss.

The young man who collected our voucher and exchanged it for tickets is also the person who checked those tickets each time we entered a new pub.  He said that’s his only job!  I had already stashed my ticket and he said that was all right;  he remembered me!  Good thing!

Every sign we see is in Irish first with English underneath it.  Paddy said he studied Irish for fourteen years in school!

I think that’s about it!