Field Trip # 2, Day One in Dublin

The second week in my archaeology class, we took a trip up to Dublin and to several sites around County Meath.  Thomas's wife was expecting a baby (who was born the following Tuesday) so another professor, John Sheehan, Viking Extraordinaire, accompanied our class instead.

St. Patrick's Bellshrine.

In Dublin, we visited the National Museum of Archaeology and History.  There, John told us to ignore the "No Photography" sign and to take pictures sans flash when the guards weren't looking.  His snarkiness continued as he led us through the museum and talked about different displays, poking fun at what we did and didn't know and at Thomas's usual giddy excitement over certain topics.  His lecturing style is completely opposite from Thomas's, but I love him just the same.  Where Thomas is loud, excited, and generally jolly about things, John is dry, soft-spoken, and quite sarcastic.  Thomas had warned us to beware his temper, as John is recently "off the fags."

John talks about Dubhlinn.

After the museum, we walked through Dublin and John told us the history and took us to various spots that had been famous for the Vikings, including what is now a garden but used to be Dubhlinn (pronounced "duvlin"), a lake around which the Vikings first built the city.  After a pit-stop for lunch in a beautiful restaurant, we headed to Christchurch Cathedral.

Once again, John's delightful snark made itself known as he pointed out the way the nave leans to one side, an indication that it will collapse in time.  He then beckoned us in closer and informed us it had happened once before, destroying the pilgrimage tomb of Strongbow.  The tomb now housed there is a fake.  Well, it's real, but it's not Strongbow's.  Awkward...

Cat and Rat.

The Cathedral itself is beautiful.  Small compared to several I've seen (i.e. Notre Dame) but still lovely.  Beneath Christchurch is an impressive collection of artifacts, including the infamous "Cat and Rat" which were found completely preserved in an organ pipe and are referred to in James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake."

This post is getting too long now, so I'll share the rest of the trip next time.  As always, slán agus beannacht leat.