IMMA Busy!

Well after surviving my first night out, we had a busy busy day! The night out was very fun. A majority of the group all went together to a pub called Porterhouse, where we eventually split up into smaller groups and ventured to different bars and pubs. The next place we went was the Braisen Head (which is the oldest pub still operating in Dublin!) for a drink, then headed off to Temple Bar (an area in Dublin that is not actually a bar but is house to many of them) to experience some more of Dublin's night life.


After a good night’s sleep we began the adventures of the day. We started off by walking to the IMMA, Irish Museum of Modern Art. The museum was in the opposite direction of where most places we went were so the walk was nice and a change of scenery. The museum was in an old World War I military hospital which was gorgeous! A picture of the building is to the right. We weren’t able to take pictures of the art inside, however. But in all honesty, I didn’t get the art… I guess I just don’t think about with the right side of my brain to understand it. I appreciate and respect the art done, just don’t really comprehend the meaning and/or message of the piece.


After a lunch in the café at the museum, we headed to Kilmainham Gaol which is an Irish prison with a great deal of history. Many historic events took place at the jail, some of which can be attributed to why Ireland is a free republic today, such as the brutal executions of two men who were involved in revolts against the British government and the Easter Rising. One man was wounded in the revolt and was unable to stand up to be shot at execution, so he was strapped to a chair in front of the firing squad. The other was executed only 12 hours after marrying his wife, and was only allowed to see her for 10 minutes before the execution took place (I won’t get into too much history in effort not to bore you). A picture of one of the blocks of the jail is shown to the left, as well as one of the sights of execution of one of these men mentioned above to the right.


When done with the tour of the prison, we walked back to the National Museum of Ireland. It was very interesting to me because the stuff on display was ancient. There was intricately carved jewelry and other gold cups as well as bells. There were also some artifacts from the presence of the Vikings in Ireland. After we saw those couple of things, we got to go look at Bog Bodies, which are bodies that were preserved in bogs from hundreds or thousands of years ago. I was pretty creeped out by it; nevertheless it was interesting to see. Unfortunately we were unable to take any pictures at the sight. After all of that walking, we were pretty tired, so we went and napped at the hotel.

After our nap, we got all dressed up and headed off to the Abbey Theater where we were able to watch a play. The play was called Bookworms and we went on the debut night. It was a comedy about the fall of the Celtic Tiger (the recession in Ireland basically after 15 years of economic booming). Some parts were very funny, and other times people would laugh and I would have no idea what about. I guess that shows the difference in cultures. After the theater, some of us headed out for a drink or to at a bar called Fitzsimons, then we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.
It was a really long day, but we got to see so much! I’m really starting to look forward to heading to Galway and experiencing a slower and less jammed packed Irish experience. Until next time… Thanks for reading.

<3 Ashley