#dublin Archives • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

June 8, 2026June 8, 2026

visiting Dublin Castle

there is something interesting about this castle beyond the fact that it was a target of the revolution and that it was the seat of power of the English colonialists in Ireland. It was one large seat of occupation that was not destroyed during the Civil War or after. It’s good to walk through to get an idea what it meant to be an English overlord.

Large staircase visiting Dublin Castle — Typical large central staircase taking up a lot of room but great for presenting people as they come down the stairs

One of the entrances visiting Dublin Castle — at one of the entrances it’s nice they put the symbol of Ireland at the top

Declaration of the republic visiting Dublin Castle — The 1916 declaration of the Republic is very prominently displayed

James Connelly room Bill Smale — This room was used as a hospital for World War I wounded soldiers and was later named after the great Irish patriot

James Connolly Bill Smale — James Connolly portrait

The Irish version Bill Smale — This is the Irish version of the dedication above to James Connelly. As you will notice, the name Seamus in Irish is equivalent to James in English.

Elaborate hallway Bill Smale — Down the elaborate hallway

Eamon de valera Bill Smale — The great revolutionary who was also a US citizen so was spared execution after the 1916 Easter rising. He became the president of Ireland several times.

Monarch symbol — On the mirror the symbol of the monarch

View from the castle to the gate — A view towards the gate from the castle

Entertainment room — The main entertainment room

Ceiling — Beautiful Murals on the ceiling

The three countries — The Royal Banner depicting the lion of Scotland, the three Lions of the Plantagenets and the heart of Ireland

May 3, 2026May 3, 2026

again in Dublin

Dublin is a exciting city but it is definitely filled with tourist and a lot of focus on the temple bar area for drinking and music and other entertainment. So if you’re going to be again in Dublin see if you can find some comedy shows, theater maybe at the Abbey Theatre and some other varied kinds of entertainment.

Bring your humor again in Dublin — Irish people like to just have fun and joke around so make sure to bring your sense of humor and leave your serious self behind

Music in the pub again in Dublin — Of course you will find formal and informal places in pubs where music is being played. This is a very important part of Irish culture, not just for the tourist

Gum on the street Bill Smale — I’d come from a different culture so I don’t really understand why people are spitting their gum down on the pavement especially since there are so many garbage cans around asking people to make a contribution

Irish stew Bill Smale — And Irish stew was about the tastiest Irish food I had

Gelato Bill Smale — Gelato is a daily requirement. On the bottom is chocolate and on the top is, if I remember correctly, a nut flavored vanilla

Comedy show — Passing out flyers for the comedy show

Made where? — I bought some piece of clothing. Please tell me where it is made. It says Thai but it also says a popular name in Vietnam

Guinness has quite a few gates on St. James Street

Pearse House And education center

i’m sure you know by now that Patrick Pearse was one of the insiders and major leaders of the Easter rising and writers of the declaration of the founding of the Irish state in 1916. He was a very educated fellow who taught literature and the Irish language in trying to reestablish the Irish identity as opposed to the identity forced on the Irish people by England. This house is not only where he lived in Dublin but also his educational center.

Neolithic burial site — I didn’t check to see if this was a real antique but I suspect it’s something they put in the garden to represent the Neolithic history of the islands.

A brave man — He was not only a very intelligent fellow but he was also extremely brave, putting his life on the line for his people

Irish newspaper — He published a newspaper in Irish

Patrick’s bungalow — Patrick had a small bungalow in that area which is also a museum now

Ireland forever. Erin means “the land” and is the name of these islands. The English of course could not speak the language so they called it Ireland. The motto is Ireland forever

The harp — Of course you have to display an ancient harp since it is the symbol of the country

Whiskey tasting — I saw this place where I could taste whiskey’s and stopped in

Method madness — I tried this one and it was very tasty

Good pizza — This pizza was pretty delicious

Glycine jeweler — I bought a glycine in 2014 and still have it. It was not a major brand but it was popular among pilots so I suspect that this jeweler was selling a popular watch among the crowd of pilots and military people during World War I and World War II

Mother’s tank station — Is this where the mothers go to get tanked?

Gary Og is a very famous singer of rebel songs. He told a story that back in the 70s when he sang in Armagh, in the north, of course she was singing rebel songs popular especially in IRA in influenced areas. After he finished his gig he was outside the pub and asked to get paid and the owner said “you’ll not be paid since you’re not IRA“. But the fellow who arranged the gig for Gary no the top IRA members in the area and he told the owner of the pub that he really needs to pay Gary. The owner paid him. It was a tough time.

Howth

this is a small port area near Dublin, a very short ride on the bus. There is a Lookout point on a hill and I was not particularly impressed. But the port seems to have some good places for fish and nice fish smelling restaurants which should please people who especially like fried food. It’s a shame the concept of fish cooking is mostly fried.

back to Dublin

A play near the Abbey theater — I came to see a play at the theater adjacent to the Abbey Theatre. Of course it was full of Irish humor which was very satisfying

Another Guinness — Of course this is something necessary to have before or after a play

Declaration of the Irish state — Many places you go in Ireland you will see the declaration of the Irish state which was passed around in 1916 during the Easter rising and after.

Poke — The Hawaiians are taking over the world with poke

Auto stickers required — The L on the car is required for learners. The N is required for new drivers. So I can imagine there are two kids in the family who are about one year apart in age.

Collins barracks

this was British barracks but of course was taken over by the state of Ireland in 1921. It was named after Michael Collins who led the country after the signing of the treaty with England in 1921.

Thomas Clark was a major leader of the revolution

Giant Irish deer — In such a museum of course you need to show the giant Irish deer which is extinct

Patrick Pearse death mask — If I remember correctly this is a death mask of Patrick Pearse

Declaration of the state — The declaration of the founding of the state in 1916

Is this where the US “G men“ term came from?

April 2, 2026April 4, 2026

going for Guinness

I think every tourist to Ireland has heard of Guinness. They are one of the most successful beer brands in the world. They have a long history of creating a unique range of stouts which revolve around certain taste ideas. There is not only one Guinness flavor. If you’ve never been to a brewery I highly recommend visiting the storehouse tour. If you’ve been to several breweries I’m not sure how different this one will be. I have only visited maybe five different beer breweries in the world but I did not find this experience to be tremendously different than the others. But if you’re excited about Guinness then do the storehouse experience. You can also in addition or separately book the experimental beer tasting at the open gate brewery on Saint James Street. That is definitely a place you must go if you’re interested in Guinness, the company and the different flavors they have invented over these several hundred years.

Storehouse buildings going for Guinness — You have to go around this walkway here and at the end turn left to get to the entrance. It is not on Saint James Street even though the open gate brewery is. At the top you can see the round Guinness tasting room and pub which is a nice place to view the whole city.

Entrance to the store house going for Guinness — The entrance to the storehouse. They are self guided tours but you book a time to go in, get an initial presentation and explanation of the storehouse and then you walk around by yourself.

Company charter Bill Smale — The initial charter for the company

Grain for Guinness. Bill Smale — The specific grain use for the brew

Decked out a guy Bill Smale — This fellow was very interestingly decked out

Nitrogen flavoring going for Guinness — Nitrogen helps with the flavor

Beer barrels Bill Smale — Showing how they used to stack up the barrels for transport

Tasting room entrance entrance — The entrance to the tasting room

A view of Trinity College — A view looking over Trinity College

St. Patrick’s memorial — You can see Saint Patrick’s memorial

Horse carriages — Outside the brewery you can get a horse carriage

Take a Dublin tour on a horse carriage — They are lined up to take you on a tour around Dublin

Open gate pub — This is the open gate pub which you really must visit

Experimental beers — These are a list of the experimental beers they create and are not yet marketed. You pick three of them for the triple tasting experience

Delicious experimental beers — They were all amazingly delicious

I had tried the West Indies Porter before and it was interesting and OK

Wicklow Mountains — You can see the mountains from which the water is drawn

Belgium brews — These are two beers which are brewed in Belgium

after World War II there were no functioning breweries in Belgium so Guinness went there to set up a brewery and it now makes two different types of beer in Belgium which are not exported around the world.

Timmermans — This one is a very thick and a little bit sweet flavor with a tang. It is an extremely delicious beer and one you must try but I warn you, this beer is twice the price of a regular Guinness

Special export Guinness — This special export is also very delicious and very different from the standard Guinness. It has a wide range of flavors

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026

Landing in Dublin

this was only the second time I was in Dublin, the first time being 1985. Things have changed quite a bit but a lot of things have remained the same. I noticed quite an increase in tourist traffic.

Kathleen Emerson landing in Dublin — The custom house, because it was controlled by the British government, became a target in the rebellion against British oppression.

Custom house landing in Dublin — As you visit these buildings you will see the perspective of why there was so much pent up discussed for the rule of the country by England.

British rule landing in Dublin — The Irish were not a priority for the England government.

Jewish boy display Bill Smale — This was an interesting display

Immigration museum Bill Smale — Irish immigration Museum

Fish and coleslaw Bill Smale — This food was not bad. Instead of green peas they kindly replaced it with coleslaw

Coffee in Ireland Bill Smale — Of course I have to stop for coffee. Every place I’ve been in Ireland seems to have pretty good coffee. It’s not strong so you may want to request a double or triple shot to increase the flavor.

Three flags Bill Smale — Here you have three flags. On the left is the Dublin flag, in the middle is the Irish republic and on the right is the EU flag.

Books — This is a very interesting bookstore

The long hall — Look at the name of the building. It’s kind of a play on words.

American Launderette — I wonder if an American Laundrette is any different than an Irish Launderette.

Interesting display — I thought this was an interesting display

Singer bicycle — I didn’t know singer made a bicycle.

Smithwick’s Irish ale — I tried this and it was OK but I prefer Guinness

The act of union might’ve been a response to a attempted overthrow of British rule in the late 1700s

Of view from the bridge — Love you from the bridge

Custom house — The custom house from the bridge

Interesting old building — Just an interesting building

Interesting building — Another interesting building

The Irish yeast company — This is an old company

The gym pub — Interesting name for a pub

Casinos and betting offices are everywhere

View from the bridge — Another view from the bridge

Daniel O’Connell

This is a full Irish breakfast. I always bring my own spices so it is filling

An old pub — Peter, a friend and myself at one of the very old pubs in Dublin. We drank a lot of course.

Splitting the G — There is this drinking game type thing called “splitting the G“. When you receive your Guinness you take the first big drink and try to leave the remainder below the halfway mark in the G of Guinness. I wasn’t trying to do this because I don’t think it’s the way to drink but it seems to be popular with some people.

There are not that many people attending Catholic services anymore especially after the scandals following the 1970s.

Beautiful flowers — I just found these flowers to be beautiful

christ Church Cathedral

There is a Magna Carta in this exhibit area, one of the original copies.

Mummified cat and rat — These two were trapped inside an organ

Old relic — Part of the old church dating back 700 years

The Royalcrest — This is the crest of the England monarchs. The words below translate “God and my Liege” . It’s in French because the Norman Viking descendants took the throne in 1066 as the Plantagenets, William the conqueror

A bound heart — I don’t know what the significance of this image is

Foggy dew — The foggy dew is also a very famous song in Ireland about the rebellion

Light meal — I decided to have something light at the pub where I stayed on the second floor

Guinness perfect pour — 99.9% of the time the bartenders pour Guinness perfectly

The music schedule at my pub which was Kennedy‘s in drumcondra

I just decided to have some Indian food which was very delicious

Gelato — Of course a day would not be complete without gelato

A comedy show — I went to see several comedy shows. Craic his Irish for a very difficult word to translate but it encompasses enjoyment, entertainment, fun etc.

Guinness brewery — Of course I had to visit Guinness. I didn’t find the brewery visit all that different from any other brewery visit though it had a lot of visuals and things for families to enjoy. The open gate pub is much more interesting and it’s on Saint James Street.

Of course I had to go see a music show with the guy down below as the main singer

Abby Theatre — I saw this play and it was a lot of fun but the week after that I saw “the plow and the stars“ which was here at the Abbey Theatre which is the national Theatre of Ireland and that play was on its Centennial production. It appeared first in 1926 and was about the people during the Easter rising in 1916.

January 22, 2026January 22, 2026

st. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the cathedral to visit in Dublin. You need several days anyway to explore the city but here you will see why you need to visit this cathedral.

Celtic Cross st. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin — A typical Celtic cross

Sharpie correction st. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin — When you want to make a correction even though it’s not authorized a sharpie is the way to do it

Garbage can Bill Smale — A very nice garbage can

Looking at the history st. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin — Going back more than 1000 years is always interesting

Storytelling windows Bill Smale — Beautiful stained glass windows telling a story

St. Patrick’s well Bill Smale — Going back 1500 years at a well that may have been used by Saint Patrick

St. Patrick’s well — This is the stone over the well which the church is built on top of

Saint Patrick’s history — The history of Saint Patrick

Memorial plaque — There are many memorial plaques in the cathedral which is typical of churches on the island

Jonathan Swift’s memorial — Jonathan Swift was very important writer and religious figure in Ireland and he served the cathedral as well as the general public

Death mask for swift — This is the death mask of Jonathan Swift who you know as the author of Gulliver‘s travels

Swift things of interest — Some interesting things about swift

An important person — So now you see how prominent he was as a “deacon“ in this cathedral

Wake up the parishioners — This seems to be a very aggressive Irish thing

Cathedral view — A view of the cathedral on the inside

Queen Anne’s patent — Patent approved by Queen Anne

George the fourth memorial — George the fourth of William the fourth memorial

Memorializing deaths in Burma — The following are memorials to the people who died in the Burmese war

Old entranceway door — The old entranceway door with an interesting twist

THE PHRASE TO

‘chance your arm’ is often used when describing someone taking a risk.

Yet many people do not know the role this medieval door played in its origin.

In 1492 two feuding families, the Butlers of Ormonde and the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, were engaged in battle. Sensing an impending defeat, the Butlers fled the battlefield and took sanctuary in the Cathedral’s Chapter House.

The Fitzgeralds followed in pursuit, but instead of fighting proposed a truce. Calling to the Burlers through the Chapter House door, Gerald Fitzgerald, head of the family; guaranteed them safe passage from Dublin. However, the Burlers refused this offer, believing it to be a trap.

To prove his sincerity, Gerald Fitzgerald ordered a hole be cut in the door. He thrust his arm through it, offering it in peace. Convinced, the Butlers shook his hand. Today, the story lives on in the famous expression, “to chance your arm”.

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