The Luas is Dublin’s tram system.  Luas is Irish for ‘speed’, which is funny, because the tram is pretty slow!

Our first stop of the day was at the Guinness Storehouse to take the iconic photo in front of St James Gate. 

Guinness is the national drink, called the “Dublin gargle” and might be the world’s most recognized stout. 

Our ticket included a self-guided tour in the brewery and a visit to the 7th floor Gravity Bar with its amazing views of Dublin. 

Guinness uses water from the Wicklow mountains in their recipe

Dave isn’t supposed to drink beer anymore, as it is not gluten free, but he made an exception today and enjoyed his free pint. It is true what they say, Guinness does taste better in Ireland! 

Kris took a short course on how to pull the perfect pint.  She learned the legendary 6-step ritual and witnessed the iconic ‘surge and settle’ before enjoying her pour! 

Guinness was and is known for adventurous advertising. The Toucan is one of the most famous mascots, being a homophone for Two Cans which make up a Guinness Pint.

In addition to great beer, Ireland is famous for their whiskey.  The first written account of distilling in Ireland is from 1324.  The word whiskey is an anglicization of the Gaelic phrase uisce Beatha (ish-ca baa-ha) meaning ‘water of life’.

Dave learned to love Scotch whisky on our visit to Scotland; our plan is to taste as many Irish whiskeys as possible on this trip!  Maybe he will find a new favourite. 

Pearse Lyons Whiskey in the old St James Church.

We booked a tour here in November – 6 months ago. They cancelled us last week because they got a better offer of a private tour. We understand money talks but that isn’t cool. We shall spend our Whiskey money elsewhere.

The Roe and Co Distillery inhabits the former Guinness power station.  The distillery still is visible through the main window.

St Patrick’s Tower is a former smock windmill that was built in 1757 to power the Thomas Street Distillery.  The distillery closed its doors in 1926 and has now become the Roe & Co.

This area is called the Liberties, one of Dublin’s most historic working-class neighborhoods. 

Lunch was at The Brazen Head Pub, said to be Ireland’s oldest pub.  The pub has the reputation of being a meeting place for historic rebels.

Most people will have heard of Jameson whiskey.  It is a large distillery compared to others.  We usually like to visit the smaller places that we’ve never heard of, and whose product we can’t buy in Canada, but Jameson is very historic. Jameson was founded in 1780 by John Jameson, a Scot who immigrated to Dublin in the late 1770’s.  Malt was heavily taxed in those days, so John experimented with mixing malted and unmalted barley to save a few bucks.  

Interesting horse sculpture outside The Friary.  Like most old buildings in European countries, the building has been home to many things; a monastery residence, a law office, a community center and currently the offices for a software company. 

The Bell on Bow Street

Around the corner from Jameson is the Skyview Tower, once the chimney for the distillery.  The tower dates from 1895.  At 60 meters, it was one of the tallest structures in Dublin at the time.  259 steep spiral stairs brought us to the viewing platform at the top of the tower, where the sites of Dublin are etched into the glass. 

Molly Malone, or “Cockles and Mussels” is the unofficial anthem of Dublin although there is no evidence that the song is based on a real person.  The song tells the fictional tale of a fishwife who plied her trade on the streets of Dublin in the 17^th C but died young of cholera.  She has been portrayed both as a part-time prostitute and a virgin! 

The statue is affectionately called The Tart with the Cart.  It’s pretty obvious that it is a thing to touch her bosom, and said to bring good luck! 

The Temple Bar Pub is famous across the globe for its traditional ambiance, unrivaled vitality and craic! 

The Ha’Penny bridge crosses the River Liffey.  Built in 1816, it is the oldest pedestrian crossing over the river and one of the earliest cast iron structures of its kind.  It was originally called the Wellington Bridge and it acquired its better known nickname from the halfpenny toll levied on all users until 1919. 

Daniel O’Connell is known as ‘the Liberator’ for successfully campaigning for the rights of Irish Catholics to become members of Parliament and securing the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. 

The Spire or the “monument of light” is a 390’ tall, stainless steel sculpture made up of 8 hollow cone-shaped sections.  The monument stands on the site where Nelson’s Pillar stood before it was destroyed by a bomb in 1966.  We managed to see it at dusk when it was barely lit up.

Tomorrow we continue our tour of Dublin City.