I hope this entry finds you well! I've had an absolutely marvelous weekend!
When I looked out my window on Saturday morning I knew it was going to be a grand day. The sun was shining and I had plans to visit the Dublin Writers Museum. What could be better?
Now we all know I love Irish Literature more than anything, save Shakespeare, so it was bound to be a great experience. As I walked up O'Connell Street and saw the big brick building my heart started to beat a little faster, so fast in fact one might assume there was food involved. After taking pictures outside, because I am a total tourist, we went in and I was mesmerized. The actual museum itself is pretty small with only 2 rooms, but they were chalk full of information and random tidbits about the likes of Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, etc. along with the tales of their respective journeys to becoming the great literary pillars of Ireland.
I especially enjoyed learning about the foundation of the Abbey Theatre or the National Theatre of Ireland as it is also known as. It was primarily founded by Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats. Of course, being the raging feminist I am, I loved learning about Lady Gregory's plight and how important she was to such a big part of Irish Literature.
Of course, Oscar Wilde was featured too and I enjoyed reading about him as well. When going through immigration in America Wilde is quoted to have said, "I have nothing to declare, except my genius." Perhaps, next time I go through immigration I will take the Oscar Wilde approach. Just kidding, Dad. Don't worry!
Then, of course, my most favorite exhibit was James Joyce. I just adore him and I cannot get enough of learning about him. I had an audio guide and it played one of the only recordings of Joyce reading an excerpt from Finnegans Wake. Even though I've heard it several times before, there was something so special about hearing his thick brogue in Ireland that made it all the more special to hear. After reading more about Joyce, I took as many pictures of James Joyce memorabilia that I could!
Then my next stop was The National Leprechaun Museum!
So I know what you're thinking and I'll beat you to the punch line- yes, I am a leprechaun sized person and, yes, I did indeed visit The National Leprechaun Museum, and, yes, it was wonderful and absolutely everything I wished it would be!
The Leprechaun Museum was absolutely perfect and so well done. This summer my mom and I kept on encountering places that were so clearly someone's vision incarnate and this wonderful museum was no exception. It was so thoughtfully laid out and I understand that it opened fairly recently and it was quite nice as a result! But I will admit, at first I was skeptical; the thing about a leprechaun museum is that it can go one of two ways; terribly kitschy or terribly boring. However, it was neither of the two; it was a lovely mixture of interesting facts and historical significance coupled with elements of fun to keep people like me entertained. After learning the origins of leprechauns, which is that they were made up due to the great stories of Irish people, we made our way to the fun yet still informative part of the museum!
We went through this tunnel that was supposed to make us feel like leprechauns, but as Chelsea pointed out earlier today, while standing 5'2 this transformation was perhaps shorter for me than most. No pun intended. Anyways, we then went into this great room where everything was huge, as we were made to feel like leprechauns. Naturally, I went crazy climbing on the big comfy chair, pretending to drink tea from the big tea cup and having my friend take pictures all the while. But then it got not so fun for this leprechaun, I was too short to maneuver myself onto the chair. Largely, one small step for me could have been a giant leap for short people everywhere, but alas, I was terribly unsuccessful as you can see in the picture below where I am grappling for the side of the chair. Chris pointed out that I was using the chair incorrectly when he saw the picture but I still had fun.
The next part of the museum offered more information about fairy hills and the origin of mythical creatures in Irish folklore that I found very interesting. There was also a storytelling portion where a woman was telling the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill and how he came to be the leader of the Fianna. Naturally, I enjoyed the story more than most of the small children in the room. The staff in the museum was very knowledgeable and friendly which made the experience even better so the National Leprechaun Museum comes highly recommended!
I spent the rest of Saturday evening in Dublin exploring the Temple Bar area with my friends, going to a few different pubs. We stumbled upon a pub that had live music and we had a truly wonderful time. I really felt at home in Dublin the other night and really felt like I connected to a place that is so connected to my heart and heritage. Dublin has been wonderful thus far and I am really enjoying myself! Thank you for coming reading and please come visit me soon so you too can experience the wonder of Ireland!
All my love,
Kate
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