St. Stephen's Green

 First day in Dublin consisted of sleeping to get over jetlag. This will definitely take a couple of days since I have never been able to sleep on things that move, like airplanes.

Second day in Dublin, I decided to walk to St. Stephen's Green, maybe 1 1/2 miles away. It was a lovely walk. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, the trees were swaying in the breeze. Suddenly....pow! I landed face down on the sidewalk! It was one of those falls that you know could never appear graceful. Luckily, the street was nearly empty, except of course for the attractive Irishman out for a run who saw the whole thing. Quite the way to make a first impression! Anyway, he continued his run after making sure I was okay and I brushed myself off, laughed at myself, and kept moving forward...'cause really, what else can you do?

St. Stephen's Green is a park. Why is it called St. Stephen's Green you ask? That I can't answer, but I can tell you that it is Ireland's most well known Victorian Park. In fact, it has had the same layout since 1880. The first few pictures below show the center of the park, one of the fountains (for some reason full of suds), one of the lovely shady green paths, and one of the colorful flower beds.

 
The park also has several memorials and statutes. Ireland is extremely proud of their independence and their poets.

The Nationalists:

Robert Emmet was one of the early rebels who tried to help Ireland gain its independence from England. After a failed rebellion in 1803, he was hanged and beheaded for treason. His final speech on the dock before his execution brought inspiration to the people who fought for and eventually won Ireland's independence over 100 years later.

Constance Markievicz was born into a privileged family who was later inspired by the words of Robert Emmet and became one of the primary leaders in the fight for women's suffrage and Ireland's independence.

Tom Kettle was a politician, economist, and poet. He was a leader of the Home Rule (Irish Independence) movement in Ireland at the turn of the 20th Century. When WWI broke out, he joined the English Army to fight and was considered a traitor by some in Ireland. Today he is considered a patriot. Just before he died in the war, he wrote a poem to his daughter. The last few lines are inscribed on the bottom of the memorial: Died not for flag, nor King, nor Emperor,—
But for a dream, born in a herdsman's shed,
And for the secret Scripture of the poor.

The Poets and Writers:

James Joyce

James Clarence Mangan

Tagore

A couple more historic statues:

The Famine. Portrays the Great Famine that happened in Ireland from 1845-1852. The potato crops failed and one million people died from starvation and one million people emigrated. This is one of the most important events in Ireland's history.

The Three Fates. A gift from the people of Germany to the people of Ireland for their help to the refugees during WWII.

After spending some time walking through the park, I headed over to the Shopping Centre and Grafton Street. This is a popular shopping/tourist area. This area feels very Amercanized. It includes a McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, and TGIFriday. The Shopping Centre has stores like GameStop and Claires.

Street Performers on Grafton Street. These are real people holding absolutely still next to a stuffed dog (the stuffed dog is the give away).

 

St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre