The Irish Sea

So it turns out that I am as good at blogging as I am at Facebooking, meaning, I am not very good at it. For those of you anticipating my every word (of course you all have nothing better to do), I'll try to be better. The weekdays are very busy with school. Classes are in the morning and then usually 100+ pages to read for the next day's class. I am a fast reader in general, but these readings have not been easy and talk some time. I have also started my internship with a local barrister and get to research constitutional issues for a couple of cases. Due to confidentiality, I can't say much about them, but I am very excited for the opportunity to help with these particular cases.

The highlight of this week was our group excursion to the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough. There is a lot to tell about and some great views to show you. But there is soooo much amazing scenery and I want to be able to tell you a little about everything, so it is going to take me a couple of days to get it all posted. For now, here are the sights of the Irish Sea before we get to the spectacular Wicklow Mountains. Our first stop was about 10-15 minutes south of Dublin in a little place called Sandycove.

Sandycove

Before I go further, it bears stating that Ireland is obsessed with James Joyce. James Joyce wrote a book called Ulysses which is considered one of the most important literary works of the 20th century. Because of this obsession with Joyce, many points of interest in the Dublin vicinity are based on James Joyce and most particularly, Ulysses. Tomorrow, June 16, is Bloomsday and all of Dublin celebrates Ulysses with festivals and events. More on this topic after Bloomsday. It will likely be a post all on its own. I mention it now only so you can understand the importance of the round tower in Sandycove where James Joyce lived for a short time. From the information I have gathered, it seems he lived here for only six days when he was 22 years old.


The tower was originally a Martello tower, one of many built throughout the cove as a defense against Napoleon. The walls are eight feet thick and used to have a cannon on the top. Now the tower is a James Joyce Museum.

James Joyce Death Mask

James Joyce Memorabilia

The Round Room. Joyce lived in this room with a couple of friends.

You have to go up this stairwell to get from the first floor to the round room to the roof. It is about 4 feet wide and very steep. Not a good place for people with a fear of heights or small spaces. Luckily I have neither of those fears, but I do have a fear of falling down stairs. The benefit here is that the walls are so close together that you are more likely to fall into a wall then down the stairs.

Our bus driver kept joking about people swimming in the Irish Sea on our way to Sandycove. At least I assumed it was a joke because the weather is usually around 60-65 degrees everyday and overcast at least half the day. You know the water will be cold and it isn't really good tanning weather. Why would anyone want to swim here? Who really knows, but apparently some people are not bothered by the cold. When people want to swim in the Irish Sea, they visit the Gentleman's Bathing Place. Up until the 1970's, only men were allowed to come here and they would all skinny dip in the Sea. Now it is open to the public and togs (swimsuits) are required.  

 

 

 

Stairs leading into the sea.

Those little specks out there are people swimming.

Some of the group.

Next, we walked to the top of Killiney Hill. The view is amazing. You can see Dublin, Bray, and the Irish Sea. It is a full panoramic, circular view.

Looking toward Bray

Looking toward Dublin

Another favorite Irish son is Bono from U2. He lives just down the hill here next Enya who lives in castle with a recording studio.

At the top of Killeny Hill there is an obelisk. During the Great Potato Famine, obelisks like this were built all over the place. They had no purpose other than to provide work to starving people so they could get food.

Famine Obelisk

End of part one. To be continued......

Daedalus Flew. There is nothing significant about this sculpture other than the fact that I like it. If you don't remember your Greek mythology, Daedalus was the father of Icarus who flew too close to the sun with the wax wings Daedalus had made. The sculpture looks like he is just about to take flight.