Dublin Castle

Ladies' Drawing Room in Dublin Castle

I decided to take advantage of my Heritage Pass, which gives me free entry to many places in Ireland, and visit Dublin Castle. It's not really an authentic castle but it was well worth the visit. Today it is used for government events, like state dinners and the presidential inauguration.

I got there at about 1:25 and the next tour was at 2:15 so I got a croissant at the Dublin Castle Cafe and they relaxed in the sunlight in the courtyard. Here are some pictures from the tour:

After the Irish president leaves office they receive a coat of arms which is displayed at Dublin Castle. Currently Mary McAleese is president, and before her was Mary Robinson. Therefore after Mary McAleese leaves office in 2011 it will mark 21 years of having a female president, the longest run of anywhere in the world. When McAleese ran in 1997 she was one of 5 candidates, 4 of which were female and the females got 95% of the vote. (I listened very attentively during the tour.)

Plaster on the ceiling depicting Minerva giving wisdom to Hibernia, who represents Ireland.

Throne in Throne Room. The Queen doesn't really come sit here anymore after Ireland got it's independence.

Chandelier in the throne room representing Scotland, England, and Ireland. It weighs a ton, literally.

Dining room with pictures of past viceroys. Notice the picture at the far end of the room. It is a portrait of Cornwallis and since he was not popular it is hung lower than all the others. I am not making this up; the Irish hold grudges.

Room where the inaugurations take place.

Ceiling in the inauguration room.

After touring the castle we went down underneath it and saw the remains of the viking castle dating back to 1204. The original castle mostly burned down in the 17th century but these walls remain. Very cool.

Reminds me of my basement.

After my 45 minutes tour I went and did a little shopping because I am growing a little tired of my limited wardrobe. I made a friend in the dressing room after this girl offered her opinion on the dress I was trying on (I was grateful because it saved me the effort of finding a gay salesman to enable me to buy clothes.) I told her how I had only brought two suitcases to Ireland. When I decided not to buy anything I offered the girl my coupon for 15% off. "You're not going to buy anything? What about your general lack of clothing?" What a sweetheart.

*I apologize but I am having a hard time getting these pictures to center.

Update: When I open the blog in Safari they appear to be off-center but when I open it in Internet Explorer they are centered. Curious and upsetting considering I'm a formatting junkie.