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Leprechauns and Howth

After the zoo on Tuesday, Laura and I headed over to the Google Dublin office to meet up with a friend of hers for lunch (and got to have lunch with MJ too!). From there we split up and she headed over to Trinity Capital Hotel to do her second Ubuntu Open Week presentation while I headed off to the brand new National Leprechaun Museum.

My walk to the museum gave me my first proper walk down O’Connell Street, home of the Spire of Dublin, the famous General Post Office. the O’Connell Monument, and loads of big chain stores.

But the Leprechauns were my destination!

The Leprechaun Museum was an interesting one. The tour starts out with an admission that the museum does not actually have any leprechauns, and it ends up being an experience in Irish Folklore. It’s somewhat guided, beginning in a room loaded with all kinds of leprechaun-related books and goodies.

From there you walk through a series of rooms, each taking you through portions of leprechaun and other Irish folklore. The first couple “shrink” you to the size of a leprechaun and bring you into a room where the table and chairs are big enough that you feel like you’re 1/3 the height of a regular person.

From there it’s on to storytelling rooms (real storytellers and recorded audio), a well, a pot of gold, and a classic leprechaun story decorating walls of another room. Throughout you are reminded of the light and dark sides of Irish folklore, fairies who are not always fair, flawed and powerful heroes. In all, a delightful little museum.

When I wrapped up at the museum I met up with Laura again and after a drink we headed out to the town of Howth on the coast.

I love the ocean, and growing up on the coast not too far from several local fishers and some major tourist attractions I have a soft spot for towns like Howth, and we arrived just in time for a magnificent sunset and took a walk down along the water and two a couple of lighthouses.

We rounded off the evening by having dinner at The Oar House in Howth, where Laura graciously put up with my want for seafood and I ordered a giant plate of mussels. My favorite!

I’ve got at least 3 more posts about Ireland before I’m done! But I have to say now, I loved Dublin. It’s extremely easy to get around without a car, extraordinarily tourist friendly and for once as an American visitor in a strange land I didn’t feel brushed off by the locals (I’ll never forget the guy in London who cheerfully informed me upon making a train ticket purchase that he, at least, doesn’t hate the yanks, gee thanks?).

Wednesday I headed off to the Wicklow mountains…