Dublin (The Little Museum, Museum of Archaeology)
By our second day at the Wynn’s we were already nearly masters of breakfast. We got down a bit before 7:30am before the room became crowded. I got salmon with scrambled eggs, Barb had half of a full Irish breakfast along with oatmeal/porridge.
The Little Museum of Dublin was in a very small temporary storefront while their main museum building was being renovated for accessible access. We were treated to more of a show than a history lesson from our very capable guide, Emma. Her schtick and interaction with the 30 or so attendees was well honed. We learned a little about Irish history but it was an entertaining half hour. One of the highlights was when a group of invading “Vikings” gave a rousing shout as their “duck boat” drove by outside the Museum. A friendly rivalry between tourist activities.
We headed to the National Museum of Archaeology to see exhibits on Ireland’s Neolithic ages, bog people, some amazing pre-Celtic and Celtic gold work, an excellent treasures room, relics from the Viking period and more. We spent several hours there though a good chunk of it was me looking for Barb while she chatted up one of the docents.
We walked cross-town encountering more districts and shopping areas we hadn’t seen, a bit off the tourist map. We scoped out the Powerscourt Mall and several arcades of shops before we made it to Dublin Castle. We wandered the grounds briefly, getting a photo op for Barb to send to Dan and David.
We walked through the Temple Bar district, surprisingly busy on a Saturday afternoon. Barb was not impressed. We made it back to the hotel for a pit stop then plunged into the General Post Office museum which documents the 1916 Uprising.
I did the audio tour while Barb mostly read the displays and played with the interactive screens. We learned that the Uprising was surprisingly poorly planned and executed by the rebel forces. The leaders were soon caught, tried in secret and executed. The British overreaction and summary executions (at Kilmainham Gaol) actually turned the tide of Irish sentiment in favor of the revolutionaries. There remained a convoluted War of Independence followed by a brutal Civil War. Even then, independence in 1922 begat a Free Irish Republic that was still beholden to the crown in London. Only after World War II did Ireland become fully separated from the United Kingdom. The museum did a pretty good job explaining the story but it was still mighty confusing.
We took short naps in the room then chose to try dinner in the hotel’s restaurant because it was most convenient. I had roast beef and Barb had salmon. Both were adequate; neither were great.
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