Monday, September 23, 2013

Dublin, Ireland, continued...


So, after our fun with the English gents a week ago, let's see more of Dublin!  I've already shown you Christ Church Cathedral and Irish Beer and Mrs. Brown.

You can't possibly talk about Ireland without showing the colorful store/bar fronts.

Or the doors!
When I was there in 1998, I bought a poster of The Doors of Ireland!

And what about the windows?!

And the signs!

I especially loved the Gaelic added to signs.
I wanted to learn the language on the spot!

You know me and architecture....

Why not make it come alive with artful graffiti!

One could spend a lifetime just phtographing graffiti, I'm sure.
Don't you love it when it says something profound!

Sometimes the art is under your feet.
Hundreds of people walk over these "artifacts" every day.

If you don't pay attention, you miss them and walk right on by.
I wonder how many I missed?

But how could you possibly miss the school girls?!
I'd love to chat with them for an hour or two and learn about their school life.

You can't talk about Ireland without mentioning St. Patrick, of course.
Don't you love that he banished all the snakes, chasing them into the sea!

Then there's Molly Malone, too (top left).  In Ireland, June 13 is Molly Malone day...my birthday!
The song about her is supposedly best sung by The Dubliners here.
Cockles and mussels in Dublin's fair city!
And that Spire of Dublin, btw, is 398 ft. high, Dublin's Monument of Light.

Irish friend Catherine, who once lived in Dublin, was our guide.
When she took us inside the Post Office, we got our history lesson about the Easter Rising rebellion of 1916.  Seven members of the Military Council organized it and were holed up here for 6 days.
All 7 were executed but the movement towards Irish independence was achieved.

 We were in and out of restaurants/cafés throughout my three days.
How can you say NO to that!

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

I'm saving the best for last:  Trinity College and the Book of Kells
...to be continued...

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Totally unrelated, today is my turn at Vision and Verb about Manipulation as Art:

(from the subway in Budapest, Hungary)

17 comments:

  1. ... Ah, to be cursed with such "graffiti"! ... and yes, the Gaelic is so fun to say out loud - you should hear how I butchered it - but how fun to walk around reading it outloud (ha). Molly Malone is a children's story? All your images are amazing... not so sure I could sit on those OLD leather cafe seats though. Definitely a place I'd love to visit with my oldest children - they would adore Ireland.

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    1. I am SURE I have Irish blood in me, Margaret, but I have no clue how much! Look at my red hair. HA! I can hardly wait to go back again...but this time with Astrid. I want to spend T I M E there. As much as possible! Yes, your kids would love it! Thank you.

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  2. Ohhhh! There is so much you observed, mmmm.

    I think I recognize Trinity College in that blue door on the left in the collage? I love the schoolgirls in blue! They remind me of that adorable doll Grandma Olive gave Susan when she went off to Northwestern (which she still has on her bedpost, a little dusty by now). And don't you love a country whose heroes are literary?? It just slays me.

    I love this post.

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    1. Ohhhh, Ruth. I did not know about that doll to Susan from G'ma Olive. I need to visit Susan's home one day! But I can hardly wait to show you Trinity. Regrettably, that blue door is NOT from Trinity but not too far away. Catherine would know exactly where it is. Maybe she'll let us know because she tried to get us in...but something else was going on at the time. I know why you love Ireland so much...with all the literary heroes. No wonder! I'd love to go there with you one day...and Astrid, and maybe even Don! :)

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  3. Definitely one of your most colorful posts. Isn't the orange filled with symbolism? There's also more than a hint of wild Irish fantasy in these images. Yes, you ought to spend time photographing the graffiti. Thanks.

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    1. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colors of Ireland, Ted. Orange is the Dutch color, of course, ss it means a lot to me, yes. I really want to go back. And when I do, I will try to find more graffiti. For sure! :)

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  4. Dearest Ginnie, Now that I've seen you at work I really enjoyed these photos even more. You are so thorough in everything and with a beady eye for detail.....all of these are wonderful!! First of all the blue door is to the Municipal Gallery of Art. Secondly we never got to discuss the orange which of course has huge the symbolism of William of Orange coming from the Low Countries to invade us (what else!!!!) We include it on our tricolour flag for that reason.

    But really you have SEEN Dublin through your own lens, love of architecture, colour and language.....and you have highlighted so many of the things we love and are proud of......what a thrill for me x

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    1. It's always wonderful to see our country/city through the eyes of a "tourist" or foreigner, Catherine, I know. We see the warts and pimples...but need to focus on the beauty others see. I'm so thrilled I spent those 3 days in Dublin and that YOU led us by the hand to what was important to you. THANK YOU for that!

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  5. am completely short of eyes. the facades of the pubs and other businesses are to die for.

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    1. Thanks, Maria. Exactly. The colors are fabulous everywhere you go!!!

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  6. Amazing what you saw in Dublin, so colourful and so many beautiful things. One day we have to go back and you show me. Wonderful impression, great collages. I love the treasures in the tiles. Great find.

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    1. One day, definitely, we will go back...together, MLMA. I can hardly wait. And I can hardly wait to see you create something from the Celtic design book I gave you!

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  7. Love all the colors! So bright and saturated!

    I also love taking photos of portals of any kind. Windows, doors, holes that lead into an abyss :)...

    PS: turns out I can only comment on your posts when I read and write on my phone. I've tried several times on my laptop but still can't seem to get it to work. But just know that I'm still reading, just cant comment as much as I'd like since i do most of my blog reading on my computer.

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    1. It's the colors that I may most love about Ireland, Mad. I LOVE them. And then the doors...how can you not like them!

      Another friend can't comment on my blog, either, on his computer. It's a huge mystery to me. He sends his comment to my email and then I add it to the post myself, as though I were him. That's the only way it works. So sorry.... :(

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  8. Thanks for taking me down memory lane with your two posts!!! Your captured it all so well! As usual!!! Now bring on NEW YORK CITY!

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