IRELAND, DUBLIN: THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF IRELAND, THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND, AND IRISH DANCING

 July 12, 2024

The National Library of Ireland is somewhat like our Library of Congress in the United States, albeit much, much smaller--12 million items as compared to the US Library of Congress's 167 million items. Its purpose is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge." This is a reference library, which means that guests can't check out a book, but can view them on the premises.

Built in 1890 in the classical style, the building houses the archival papers of some of Ireland's most prominent writers, including Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, Edna O'Brien, Colm Toibin, and W. B. Yeats.

Bob was not as excited about taking a stroll through the library as I was, so he sat on a bench on the porch and I went in for a quick visit.

A replica of the building is on exhibit in the main hall.

Unfortunately, I was not able to enter into the area housing the library's collection of printed material without completing a time-sucking amount of paperwork, so I explored the exhibit portion of the library instead, which included a large display entitled "The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats." How could I turn that down? The library has the largest collection of Yeats books, manuscripts, and personal items in the world!

There is a questionnaire on creativity that Yeats filled out in the 1930s. He has very creative handwriting, and I can't read it.

This looks a little too much like the nightstand next to my side of the bed.

The exhibit includes copies of Yeats's books, photos and drawings, his letters, giant reproductions of book covers, and more.

I liked the graphic displaying the Yeats family tree, with father John Butler Yeats (1839-1922) and mother Susan Pollexfen (1841-1900) at the top, W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) and family on line one, Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) and wife on line two, and Lily (1866-1949) and Lolly (1868-1940) Yeats on line three. It is interesting to note that although there was a spread of only six years between oldest and youngest, there was an eighteen-year gap in lifespan between the two brothers.

The quote from Yeats's tombstone, and a photo of the young Yeats:

Yeats was a bibliophile in every sense--from writing books to owning books to designing books. He was known to collaborate with artists to create the covers.

Facing the National Library and across a parking lot lies the National Museum of Ireland, built at the same time as the library and in an almost identical architectural style. There are actually three National Museums, each with a different emphasis. This one focuses on archaeology.

Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3991093

The zodiac mosaic on the floor in the entry was one of my favorite things in the museum . . . 

. . . along with the interior architecture:

Full disclosure: It had been a very long day with a lot of walking and a lot of sights, and we were not in the mood for another museum. We went through this one in about 15 minutes, trying to hit the high points. One of those was the Lurgan Logboat, a 45-foot-long by 3-foot-wide carved oak canoe from 2200 BC. It was found in a bog by a bogworker in 1901

It is so l . . . o . . . n . . . g!

The other big draw in this museum are the bog bodies, found by peat cutters during the last few centuries in the bogs of Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Britain. The bodies, both male and female, date to between 400 BC and 400 AD and were apparently murdered by hanging, stabbing, throat cutting, battery with a blunt instrument, hacking with an axe or sword, drowning, decapitation, dismemberment, or disembowelment. The dead bodies were thrown into the bog where the acidic conditions acted to preserved the bodies unusually well. Very, very gruesome.

Well, there is only one way to get over an experience like that!

Gelato was the appetizer for our final activity of the day, the Celtic Nights Dinner and Show at the Arlington Hotel, O'Connell Bridge. Tickets were about €50 each and included dinner and the show.

I don't particularly remember the food, but the entertainment was great! We were seated right next the the edge of the stage, maybe not the best view of the overall performance, but certainly the best view of the magical flying feet:

 The show consisted of some terrific Irish music:

. . . and quite a few heart-pounding, foot-stomping, tourist-exhausting dance numbers:

Our three granddaughters are into competitive Irish dance. We sure wish they had been joining us for dinner that night!