Ireland - Day 1

First Day in Dublin

We made it to Ireland! This country has been on my bucket list for a long time since my birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day. I have always said I have a little bit of honorary Irish blood in me. We had a few glitches with flights on the way over, so it was a little stressful, but in the end we changed from having to stop in Amsterdam to getting a straight flight to Dublin. After dropping our bags to be stored until our flat was ready, we stopped at The Oval Bar, our first Irish pub, and had a pint (Guinness for Jimm and an Bulmer’s Irish Cider for me). One of my favorite things about Europe in general is all of the rich history and longevity of buildings. The Oval Bar has stood at 78 Middle Abbey Street since around 1822, making it the only licensed premises in the area to maintain both its original location and continuous commercial operation since opening. The Oval endured tremendous upheaval during the 1916 Easter Rising. Located close to the conflict zones, it was almost completely destroyed. Inside, you’ll find sculpted heads honoring the heroes of the 1916 Rising and even a quirky shrine to The Quiet Man film.

We spent some time getting our bearings of the area around where we are staying and then we headed to get the keys to our Airbnb and got settled in. As sometimes happens, the flat looked better in pictures than in real life, but it works for the 6 days we are here. We took a quick trip to the local Tesco grocery store for coffee and breakfast items and got ready for dinner. I had made reservations for us at The Church Bar & Restaurant near our flat. The building began life as St. Mary’s Church of Ireland. It was notable as Dublin’s first classical parish church, featuring unique Baroque influences such as its soaring east window (seen in the collage). This historic church hosted a number of notable events. Arthur Guinness was married here in 1761, Theobald Wolfe Tone was baptized nearby in 1763, and the playwright Seán O'Casey was baptized in 1880. The church remained active until its closure in 1986. In 1996, entrepreneur John Keating acquired and began restoring the building. After a seven-year restoration, it reopened in December 2005 as John M. Keating’s Bar, earning the Best Old Building award at the Dublin City Neighbourhood Awards in 2006. In September 2007, new ownership rebranded it as The Church Bar & Restaurant, expanding its services to include a café, nightclub, and terrace barbecue. It is a beautiful building and the food was delicious. I couldn’t wait to sit in a bar and listen to traditional Irish music and see some Irish dancing. This venue delivered a wonderful experience for our first night in Dublin.