Dublin - Day 2

We all met this morning for breakfast in Jack's which adjoined the Travel Lodge. A good variety of breakfast foods was available from a Full Irish Breakfast down to simple tea and toast. Tom and I had breakfast panninis which we found quite filling. We left the hotel at around 10 a.m. and drove to Kilmainham Gaol by a very circuitous one way system which took us out on the road towards Galway by mistake. We eventually arrived at Kilmainham Gaol in good time and were able to look around the museum/exhibition area before joining the official tour at 11.15 a.m. The museum houses many of the effects of the 1916 Leaders including Joseph Plumkett's glasses which were taken from him just before he was shot. They still bear the damage from the fighting in the GPO. Also, Grace Plunkett (nee Gifford's) wedding ring placed on her finger in Kilmainham's Chapel by Joseph jst a few hours before he was taken out and shot. Although I have done the tour many many times, seeing such sights and the cells where the 1916 Leaders were kept, and the Stonebreaker's Yard where they were later executed by firing squad, I still feel quite emotional and saddened by the actions of the British towards the Irish at that time - especially the bringing in of James Connolly on a stretcher to tie him on a chair to be shot. Having read much about the 1916 Rising and having visited the sites where most of the action took place,I found being in Kilmainham and hearing about it all again brought it so much to life again. I noticed that everybody listened very intently to the tour guide who gave a great explanation of everything about the history of the gaol and its grim past. We had a lunch of sandwiches and tea at the end of the tour in Kilmainham's cafe and then drove on to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour of the Guinness brewing process which ends up on the sixth floor observatory bar with a free pint of Guinness - our first one in Ireland this trip. I nice contrast to the harshness of Kilmainham. We returned to the hotel by way of Arbour Hill to visit the graves of the 1916 Leaders and the 1916 Memorial - a little known spot to the average tourists. It is tucked behind a catholic church and active prison. Tonight we drove back up into the Wicklow Mountains for dinner at Johnnie Fox's - the highest pub in Ireland - which has been visited by many celebrities. It is famous for its seafood menu and our friend Paul had mussels for the very first time in his life, washed down with a pint of Guinness in true Irish style. As we left the pub we experienced the first (and only rain) of the trip and drove back down to our hotel in quite poor driving conditions. We all fell asleep quite exhausted after a very full day experiencing Irish history and culture.