A Day in Dublin: Trinity College Library, Book of Kells & Temple Bar

“Céad Míle Fáilte”

Traditional Irish Greeting, A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

A soft orange glow was painting the sky outside our balcony, as droplets of yellow spilled into the waters of the Irish Sea below. The Seabourn Sojourn was heading to the port of Dún Laoghaire, about 20 minutes from Dublin, and the calm early morning was a good omen. We would be tendering to shore, just as we had done in Cowes – and just as we would be doing in many of the ports on this voyage. A smooth sea is critical for the tenders to operate.

I had purchased tickets a few months earlier for the Trinity College Library and Book of Kells exhibit. Buying tickets in advance is always a risk when there’s a chance of not reaching a port, but waiting until the day we arrive holds an even greater risk that tickets will be sold out. Unless there is a strong reason for concern, I tend to think positively, book reservations in advance and cross my fingers that everything will work out.

Herb and I caught the first tender of the morning and made our way to the DART train at Dún Laoghaire station. The port displayed well-marked signage with easy directions to the train and even featured a much-appreciated poster that proclaimed, “It’s pronounced dun-leery.” In about fifteen minutes, we had purchased train fare from the station’s ticket machine, found the  platform where the train would be heading to Pearse Street, and were off to Dublin!

Trinity College Library

It’s about a 15-minute walk from the station to Trinity College Green, grand entrance to the university. I was immediately captivated by the stately stone architecture, with multi-paned windows and chimneys that seemed to pop up from every rooftop. Trinity College was founded in 1592, and the library was built between 1712 and 1732. Except for a modern sculpture mixing in with the imposing statues, it’s a place that feels as if you have time-traveled to another era.

We joined the line in front of the Old Library building, the library’s informal name as well as home to the Long Room and Book of Kells, and waited for our 10 a.m. admission slot. I had to smile when I saw the “Sold Out Today” sign displayed at the entrance, knowing how disappointed I would have been had we just shown up hoping to secure tickets. In my mind, planning ahead is rarely overrated!

The Book of Kells

The 1,200-year-old Book of Kells has rather mysterious origins. Believed to have been created in a Columban monastery around 800 A.D. in either Ireland or Scotland, the book was named after the Abbey of Kells in County Meath, which was its home for centuries. Considered a masterwork of Western calligraphy, the illustrated manuscript and Celtic Gospel book in Latin contains the four Gospels of the New Testament.

The book was lost and rediscovered in the early 9th century after the Vikings had pillaged Kells Abbey. It remained there until 1654, when it was sent to Dublin for safekeeping, and seven years later was given to Trinity College. In 1953, the manuscript was rebound in four volumes. One volume is continuously on display at Trinity Library, open to two pages that are rotated every twelve weeks.

The exhibition features colorful displays on the history, writing and artistic details of the Book of Kells. A free audio tour is included with each ticket, available on a phone app. The book is housed in a glass case in a separate area, with a guard standing by. Photography of the book is not permitted.

The Long Room

Next, we entered the place I was most excited to see, the Long Room, main chamber of the Old Library. Publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications here, making this “legal deposit” or “copyright” library the country’s largest as well as oldest. The Old Library houses more than six million printed volumes along with collections of maps, manuscripts, music and rare books.

Around 200,000 of the library’s early books have been removed for conservation work. Signage at the entrance explains that four bays with about 16,000 books have been kept intact to give visitors a sense of how the library would typically appear.

Marble busts of great philosophers and writers line both sides of the 65-meter-long (213 feet) room. Glass cases containing the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, a 12th-century Irish manuscript called The Book of Leinster, and Ireland’s oldest harp are displayed in the center of the space. A large, illuminated globe named Gaia, designed by British artist Luke Jerram and installed in 2023, floats in the distance as you enter the room.

The Legend of Molly Malone

A short walk from Trinity College stands the statue of Irish legend Molly Malone. Created in bronze by Dublin artist Jeanne Rynhart in 1988, the sculpture celebrates the hundred-year anniversary of Ireland’s unofficial anthem about the fishmonger who “wheeled her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow, crying ‘Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh.'”

Legend says that Molly Malone lived in Dublin in the 17th century, but no on knows for sure if she actually existed.

The Temple Bar

Before we left home, I had hoped to make lunch plans at a traditional Irish pub with live music. Unfortunately, I found that many of the venues only featured live musicians later in the day or evening. Later in the day was time we didn’t have.

And then I discovered The Temple Bar, a pub dating to 1840, with live music beginning at 10:30 a.m. Temple Bar sits in an historic area of Dublin, also called Temple Bar, and lays claim to an extensive collection of whiskies and pub sandwiches. Housed in a bright red building with brick floors above, Temple Bar also features live cameras showing the performers inside and the streets outside.

Herb was concerned that Temple Bar would be “way too touristy with bad food,” but it turned out to be surprisingly wonderful and incredibly fun! The place was packed when we arrived, and the music was going strong. After making several rounds through the various seating areas, we finally found an empty table.

A friendly server immediately appeared with menus and offered to take our drink orders. We were asked to pay right away, which answered my unspoken question about how they could possibly keep track of collecting payments in such a chaotic environment, with people coming and going from several entrances. When our server reappeared with our drinks, we ordered our food and paid right away again.

Two acoustic guitar players provided lively entertainment, switching between classic tunes – with everyone singing along – and Irish songs. Here’s a little video of a lovely Irish melody.

Those Temple Bar Live Cameras

I had sent links of Temple Bar’s live cameras to our daughter and son, hoping they could tune in and find us. It was quite early in California, but our ever-intrepid Emily was already awake, with her iPad ready to go. We texted back-and-forth as I tried to position myself near the musicians, but I didn’t have much luck getting into the frame.

Outside the pub, however, Herb spotted the camera, and we made contact with California! A while later our little grandsons were awake, and Emily showed them our waving selves, taking a video as they waved back. Andrew was awake in L.A. by then as well, and he texted as soon as he spotted us among the people outside the Temple Bar.

There was something really special about those moments, and as we walked to catch the train back to Dún Laoghaire, I couldn’t stop thinking about how great it was to be connected with our family in that way. Of course, we could have simply FaceTimed or phoned each other, but this seemed different. We were sharing a part of the world with them in real time, with the city spinning by around us.

And in those brief minutes, it felt as if we were all there together, raising a glass to each other as soulful Irish music echoed throughout a Dublin pub.