Wednesday 18 June 2014

The 6 day trip to Ireland - Dublin (Day 2 - morning still) - Trinity College Museum Building - The 11th of June 2014



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We headed towards the Trinity College ensemble, more precisely to the Museum building under the direction of a local citizen, who having seen us looking at a city map just minutes before offered his services as a guide, letting us know that he didn't do it for money but just for the need to keep busy since he had retired.


The Museum building dated 1857, which has been home to the University of Geology and Geography Departments pertaining to the Trinity College stood out due to its Byzantine inspired architecture and the Lombard-Romanesque details. Both external and internal carvings are said to have been carried out by the O'Shea brothers and one has to agree that they excel in quality.  


 










Irish marbles and Cornish serpentine were the materials used in the inner courtyard pillars, balustrades and bannisters. The entrance hall was particularly beautiful  because of the arching dome constructed from blue, red and yellow enamelled bricks and although the lighting was not the ideal for  photographs I feel privileged to have had a "guide" who turned out last minute photographer just for us.























He insisted on us being taken in photo with the skeleton of the iconic Pleistocene Mammal, known as the giant Irish deer and we acted accordingly.










We might have missed this building altogether had we not been with Gerald Scallan, whom we took one last photo with before leaving the premises, as having access to the Book of Kells in the Trinity College Library would certainly take a few hours, considering the queue.

















The "ghosts" of the former College students Wilde, Becket and Stocker are said to be felt wandering around the gardens and though we were open to meeting just any of them we seem not to have been so lucky that time, for the only "presence" we felt was the one of the guardian angels of the Campanile.










We ended up making our way into College Green prior to having walked along Dame street so as to reach the National Gallery where we intended to spend part of the afternoon. Once more the colourful pubs and art  in its various forms caught my attention  and the more I looked around the more I felt Dublin could also be a city of "details".


















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