Day 57 - Dublin

1 Jun 2023

My first day ever in Ireland, and it was a day full of surprises. After a quick walk around the city centre to find some breakfast (very yummy porridge), we jumped on the Hop On Hop Off bus to get our bearings. The bus was probably the most disappointing part of the day – we were expecting a bit of Irish charm with the commentary, but it was instead rather plain, and there were quite long drives between stops through housing that could have been in any city. We are staying in Temple Bar, so when we arrived last night we were surrounded with live music and tons of Irish pubs, and a fantastic Irish vibe. Perhaps this is why the bus ride seemed to be a bit flat.

Some of the sights we found on both our walk and bus ride around Dublin. The river in the centre photo is called the Liffey, and supplies much of Dublin's water. The bottom photo is Christ Church.

We decided to hop off the bus at the National Library of Ireland, and we had a wonderful time exploring the family history records that they gave us access to. There were so many finds, and we learnt a lot more about our Pearson/Creagh/Davies family. In Leeds we had learnt about the engaging and clever Elizabeth Johnson. Today we heard about a different side to her – she was called The Big Mrs Pearson and was rather a formidable lady in her later years, and “bullied her servants unmercifully, often spying on them”. In 1815 she petitioned Parliament to have her scrofula “cure” legally recognised, lest she should be arrested and tried as a witch. Thanks to some notes that we found today, we now know who Elizabeth Johnson’s father was and where she came from in England – it is so exciting when you start to break down those ‘brick walls’.

 

The Big Mrs Pearson! This is the first time that we have seen a picture of Elizabeth Johnson.

After all of our discoveries are the library, we decided to take a late afternoon walk around Temple Bar and further down to the Christ Church, officially known as The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity. As we have done so many times this trip, we accidently timed it perfectly to be able to attend the Choral Evensong. It was so special to be in a magnificent cathedral that is nearly 1000 years old, listening to the very talented choir and the amazing pipe organ, and participating in a service. It was a ‘pinch me now’ kind of a moment.

Top two photos are from our walk after we had left the library. The other three photos were taken in the beautiful Christ Church.

Tomorrow we will be collecting a rental car and will be starting off our adventure exploring Cork.