Day 5: last minute plan change leads to seeing more sights in Dublin

We showed up a few minutes early for the Newgrange tour we were supposed to go on today, but were told the tour doesn't start until April. It seems Expedia has been selling this tour, even though they know it doesn't run this time of year. The lady working at the desk for the tour was very nice and gave us advice on some things to do in Dublin, and a free pass for the hop on/hop off tour again. We first went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Long Room in the Old Library. There's no photography allowed inside, but we did get some pictures of the campus.


Next we got lost and spent nearly an hour trying to find Dublin Castle. We eventually found it and joined the next available tour. Dublin Castle is where all the important government functions take place, and several movies and TV shows have been filmed there. They're currently negotiating with the producers of the next Harry Potter movie to film parts of it there. Underneath one of the buildings, they found part of the original Viking foundation and castle wall during an excavation in the 1980s. You can also see where the River Poddle seeps through the walls into where the moat would have been. The name Dublin comes from the phrase Dubh (sounds like dove) Linn, meaning Black Pool, and the part of the River Poddle that seeps in is where that name came from.

Our final stop of the day was Kilmainham Gaol, a jail that dates back to the 1700s. That was where the leaders of the 1916 Uprising, as well as many others, were executed. They also sent about 4000 people to Australia, since that was used as a type of prison for awhile. It's quite an ominous place to visit, but well worth it. They've also filmed several movies and TV shows there. I think I may start watching 'The Tudors' after this trip.


We have nothing really planned for tomorrow, but I may wander down to St. Stephan's Green and take some pictures there. It's kind of nice being able to just play things by ear.