Dublin Ancient & Modern

It is thirty years since Tom Duncan took his first group to Dublin, and this tour has remained a regular feature of our programmes. Over those years much has changed both in Ireland more broadly and indeed, in its capital city. A combination of material prosperity and a mature sense of shared history with the United Kingdom has transformed the manner in which its heritage is presented. Consequently, the time seems right to re-think the itineraries of past tours, and we have designed a fresh look at Ireland and more specifically Dublin. New visits have been added while some of the major cultural institutions and sites of past tours will continue to be included.

Ireland has a complicated history: Celts, Christians, Vikings, Normans, Tudors and many others besides have all crossed the Irish Sea to find a new home. Ancient Ireland is best understood by visiting some of the most important pre-historic sites in Co Meath. The Neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley of about 3200 BC is world renowned and the nearby Celtic site at Tara is equally moving.

Founded by Viking explorers, Dublin has been the centre of administration since Norman times and we shall focus on its history throughout the week. Dublin Castle was built for King John, the focus of English and then British rule in Ireland, its military origins absorbed within the later pomp of Georgian splendours. Nearby there are two medieval cathedrals, Christchurch and St Patrick’s, their present appearance due to Victorian interventions of varying qualities. Little else survives of Medieval and Tudor Dublin but from the mid-17^th century onwards, fine public buildings and monuments have added lustre to the city, such as the 1^st Duke of Ormonde’s Royal Hospital at Kilmainham.

The ‘long 18^th century’ was the backdrop to two parallel strands in Irish history. There was the emergence of ‘ascendency’ Ireland, an elite Protestant group who controlled public life and whose buildings and collections reflect their dominant economic and cultural role. Equally important were the growing calls for political reform to allow the excluded Catholic and Presbyterian communities access to basic rights, a struggle which gained pace in the 19^th century, dominated by two giants of the period, Daniel O’Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell.

The fraught struggles which form the emergence of modern Ireland are captured in a series of museums and sites which we shall include: Kilmainham Goal, the Memorial Gardens designed by Lutyens to mark the sacrifice of Irishmen, north and south, who fell in the Great War, Ireland’s two National Museums, the Library of TCD with its Book of Kells exhibition and the National Gallery of Ireland will all be included.

Led by CICERONI’s founder, Tom Duncan, we stay for six nights at the 4* Davenport Hotel. Ideally situated close to Merrion Square in the city centre it’s well placed for all we shall visit, either on foot or by coach transfer.

Day 1: Sunday 25 April

We fly from Heathrow to Dublin, arriving mid-afternoon, continuing to the city centre. We have an Introduction to Dublin via a bus tour before continuing to the 4* Davenport Hotel, near Trinity College for a five-night stay. Later that evening we have dinner at the Davenport’s nearby sister hotel – wine, water and coffee are included with all group lunches and dinners.

Day 2: Monday 26 April

We travel by coach to spend a day in Co Meath’s Boyne Valley area. The Neolithic passage tomb at Newgrange of about 3200 BC is world renowned and the nearby Celtic site at Tara is equally moving. Lunch is included today and we return to Dublin and a free evening.

Day 3: Tuesday 27 April

We begin our exploration of medieval and later Dublin at Dublin Castle. Medieval in origin, this was the centre of English and later British rule in Ireland and its Georgian state rooms are well preserved. After some free time for lunch, not included, we continue to visit the city’s two medieval cathedrals, Christchurch and St Patrick’s.  They are fine examples of English building styles introduced by the Normas and ‘St P’s’ is forever associated with the towering figure of Jonathan Swift, who was its Dean. We return to our hotel and a free evening.

Day 4: Wednesday 28 April

We continue our introduction to Irish History with visits to the two branches of the National Museum of Ireland beginning at the Kildare St branch which specialises in the material culture of Pre-historic, Celtic, early Christian, Viking and Medieval Ireland, especially rich in gold metalwork. After some free time for lunch, not included, we continue to the ‘other’ National Museum site at Collins Barracks where the emphasis is on Georgian and modern Ireland.  We conclude the day with a visit to the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham, Ireland’s earliest classical building. There will be a group dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 5: Thursday 29 April

The Kilmainham Gaol Museum is a poignant talisman of the often tragic consequences of Ireland’s struggles against British rule in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the place where many Irish revolutionaries were executed. Nearby is the no less moving Memorial Garden designed by Lutyens to commemorate the sacrifice of Irishmen, north and south, who fell in the Great War. After some free time for lunch, not included, we visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells exhibition. ‘Trinity’ was founded by Queen Elizabeth I and the college is grouped round a series of quadrangles with some impressive buildings from over three centuries. We return to our hotel and later that evening we walk to a local restaurant for our final dinner.

Day 6: Friday 30 April

We spend the day on foot in and around two of the city’s finest Georgian squares. Our first visit will be to two houses on St Stephen’s Green, both with superb plasterwork, now joined together as Newman House commemorating the role of Cardinal Newman who helped create the first Catholic university in Ireland in the building. After some free time for lunch, not included, we meet in Merrion Square to visit the National Gallery of Ireland. For its size, it ‘punches above its weight’ with masterpieces by, for instance, Caravaggio and Vermeer. We continue to the airport for our return flight to Heathrow.