It’s a very dangerous sport M. Don’t try it at home!
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The way they play the game is so fast. I found it hard looking for the ball on the tv.
I wouldn’t mind one having one of those hurling sticks for protection, if i have to go down Stonebridge park station.
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Actually, quite a few crossover players because of that background, and Ireland Lacross has enormous goodwill in the sport.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/iroquois-nationals-lacrosse-world-games-1.5717395
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/ireland-lacrosse-ribbon-skirt-1.5812907
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Just came back from ChinaTown, my friend was fascinated by Lee Kee restaurant.
We did a tour of Tescos and Lidl, some of the food items there are not the same as in London.
Watching Rte tv news and watching the celebrations by Tipperrary supporters.
Tomorrow’s itinerary is:
1)- GPO museum
2)- Dublin City tour
3)- Guinness Storehouse tour.
There is a lovely church near our hotel.
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You’re never far from a church or a pub.
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Congratulations to Tipp they were fantastic, along with the big win they put16 attempts wide and had a goal disallowed, Cork were big favourites but bottled it especially in the second half when they only scored 2 points. Well done bbc2 for showing this
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How does it compare to Shinty? I used to work with a lad who played that, and he regularly came in looking like he had been lobotomised.
I don’t know Shinty well enough to be able to mention all the differences but I believe a key difference is Shinty plays more on the ground then Hurling does. There is a composite rules game of Scotland vs Ireland in October or November.
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I remember the guy at work saying it is something like the difference between Rugby League and Union (superficially similar looking games but with different rules). I occasionally watched Shinty on BBC Alba, but my knowledge of what was going on was limited by my lack of knowledge of Gaelic.
Hi guys, I am back in Blighty.
I don’t know where to start. I definitely had a good craic.
As you know, the day we got there was the national Hurling final. We got swept up in the euphoria. My friend and I now a Hurling fans. We just need to find a team to support.
Full day 1
We went to the GPO Witness History museum. We spent a good 3 hours there. Reading all the history of the events which lead to Ireland’s independence. The people of Ireland suffered and sacrificed so much for their freedom against British govt rule and get independence. The Brits have alot to answer for their past injustices in the colonies they ruled.
I learned only a tiny snippet of British history at school up to 1918. I kind of knew the names De Valera and Michael Collins, but not John Redmond, Thomas MacDonagh , Éamonn Ceannt, Thomas Clarke, Seán MacDiarmada,Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Mary Plunkett, Patrick Pearse to name but a few freedom fighters.
The film i saw which documented the actual events of the 1916 Easter Uprising was very gripping, fascinating and emotional. It was so well made, it kind of made you feel that you were in the area at that moment time.
This is a must see place for any first time visitor and you must see the film there and it is not very long to watch. It is on a loop.
After that emotional historical facts. We went on cheerful hop on, hop off city bus. The weather wasn’t great, windy and on an off showers. So, we stayed on the bus for 2 hours. I stupidly sat upstairs without the roof as I wanted to take good pictures. I opened my brolly and my brolly and hat nearly blew away. Then, we sat in the shaded part of the top deck which was abit safer.
My friend packed clothes as if she was going to Tenerife and she is used to Bournemouth weather 
I absolutely loved the ride and landmarks. Our guide was chirpy and very humorous.
Really liked Phonenix Park, Croke Park, riding along the Liffey river and Trinity College area. It is such a beautiful city with historical buildings mixed in with modern hi tech offices.
Final stop was the Guiness Storehouse. I didn’t realise how HUGE the building was from the outside.
It was really interesting to learn about the history of Guinness and the founder Arthur Guinness and his family and the process of brewing Guinness. The way they set out the tour is very interesting and interactive and also child friendly. The gravity bar was brilliant. The last part of the tour, we were like dragging our feet. We were tired. We needed a cuppa more than Guinness. Yes, we drank the Guinness which actually looks red in the light, not dark brown It is an acquired taste. It was quite nice but heavy drink.
Final stop for the day, hotel with a cuppa. Then we went to the local chippy around the corner called ‘midnight express’. Run by Irish-Italian family. We got talking to them. I loved the cod and chips. I think the fish is better in Dublin than my local chippy which is generally good in my area. I heard Howth is better for fish, but we didn’t have enough time to go there.
By the way, I usually take my teabags wherever I go. I have to say, the tea in Dublin is superb. They know how to make a proper brew and their teabags are fabulous.
All in all, a great day to do things we had on our list.
Here are a few pictures
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I will post more later. I just need to remind myself, what we did on Tuesday.
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As a mild Cork fan, I’d suggest some alternatives after that match…
Your family are from Kerry, you should not be any type of Cork Fan.You can get back on track this weekend in the football final, Kerry v Donegal.
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The only game I have ever seen live was Cork versus Waterford.. Also, because the ancestral immigrant enlisted in Cork, he was marked as being from Cork for decades. But you are right, red is not my colour.
Football is still on my list to go see, though I have seen a match here, local GAA club. But a Croke Park match is on my bucket list (admitted risk of becoming a Dublin fan)
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No, we dominated in the football for a few years but have now decided to give other counties a go. We may try our hand at a bit of winning in the Hurling though.
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They were lovely, especially Simon. We got chatting about life in Dublin. I think their business has benlen there for decades.
The cod fish was huge and it tasty so delicious and fresh from the sea.
Will be posting my 2nd day shenanigans later today. My 3rd day, i have lovely scenic pictures of Glendalough and Kilkenny.
I was so tired coming back to work. I came home late on Sunday from Newcastle.
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Day 2
Since my friend has less stamina than me. There was a toss up, either we go to Howth or South of Liffey, see Trinity College, National gallery of Ireland, St Stephen’s Green, Grafton Street, Fleet Street.
Then my cousin called, the National gallery is a must see before you leave.
So, we went on the bus E2 bus to Trinity College.
We loved travelling on the bus. The hotel youngster gave me a tip to get a leap card which was fabulous. It really helped as we could get on any bus or tram we liked.
South of the Liffey is abit different, calmer, leafier and abit posher. I still liked the northern edgy, quirky bit of the Liffey where we stayed though. We walked in the late evenings it was relatively safe.
Our first stop was National Gallery. We ended up staying 3 hours plus in the place. There was sooo much to see. The collection is pretty impressive from old Italian, Dutch and French artists to the modern artists.
There was a photo/paintings of famous Irish celebrities which was lovely.
Then, we went into the gallery shop and bought loads of gifts and artwork from Maine Jellet. The Achill Horses. I must have bought 10 of those. It was really beautiful. The only problem I had was, how the hell I am going to take this stuff back. I brought a backpack and carry on case.
Then, my friend loves shopping. We found this Kilkenny store. We spent more than 2 hours and more money looking at everything and trying to work out what else to buy and fit in our carryon cases. There was one handbag I really liked and this round glass ornament with a flowers in it. It was abit heavy. Alas, I had to leave them. I had to buy 6x pkts of Butler’s chocolate. I loved the scarves and hats too.
My friend loved the crockery and wished she bought her hard suitcase.
Next time, I need to bring a suitcase. The items were beautiful and some of the artwork from artists were amazing.
I told my friend. If we stay in this shop any longer, the bank will freeze our bank cards.
I managed to drag her out and we headed towards Dawson and Grafton Street. We didn’t have time to go to Trinity College. (On my next trip, God willing).
We had lunch in a cafe opposite UCD which was really lovely.
So, we ambled along Grafton Street which was lovely. We saw so many local musicians singing Irish folk songs. Ironically, one guy, sang one about the GPO. Then, I said we need to see Phil, we cannot leave without paying homage to the great Phil Lynott.
Then, we ended up in the pub having Guinness. We were too tired to move for a while.
During the the day, we chatted to various locals, giving us good tips. They were soo nice, helpful and friendly. It was a blast, only dent was, my bank card. I spent too much money
Then, we moved along Fleet Street and ambled along the lively Temple Bar area. Then, back to the hotel.
Then, we had figure out where to eat. She wanted Asian. I said, let’s go into the suburbs. I found this nice Asian (pakistani-fusion- asian) restaurant in Artane. As I already downloaded TFI app, which is brilliant. We worked our way how to get there.
Our only failing was, we mixed our bearings, when we wanted to go south, we headed north and vice versa.
So, we got the no 27b bus out into the suburbs. I loved it. We passed a park, where kids were practising their hurling. On the bus we met two locals who were saying that restaurant is their local and it was really good and they were getting off the same stop as us. Then, we saw Mount Temple school, didn’t the U2 lads go to school there?
One of the guys took us in the restaurant. He was making a reservation for Thursday
Here are a few pics
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Wow!
You got a lot in
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