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On the way to St Patrick's you might visit the Carmelite Whitefriars Street church, where the chief attraction, the bones of St Valentine, are displayed. Here lie the famous saint's mortal remains, given to the church as a gift of Pope Gregory. On nearby High Street you can visit St Audeon's church, one of the few remaining medieval churches in Dublin still in use. It is very small but has many interesting features including a stone believed to give luck if you touch it! One location that many tourists miss is the Music Hall that premiered the most famous piece of vocal music ever, namely G. F. Handel's Messiah. It may be found on Fishamble Street [see photo] which is the narrow street which descends past Christ Church Cathedral to the River Liffey. There was a commemorative plaque on the right hand side of the street, about halfway down but this is now missing. The original Messiah plaque, a work of art in itself, was cast by the late Michael Biggs but was removed by Dublin Corporation sometime in the 1990s. I am trying to locate Michael's original work and might hopefully persuade the Corpo to reinstate it. Current redevelopment has demolished the Music Hall, the venue in 1742 where ladies were requested to attend hoopless and gentlemen swordless in order to save space - the mind boggles! The original archway survives but you may enter the beautiful new hotel, the George Frederick Handel (hope you don't have to write a cheque/check to them and get writer's cramp!), and see a picture of the Music Hall in the foyer. Fishamble Street marks the western boundary of Dublin's cultural centre Temple Bar - you've probably heard about it already! Don't miss a descent into the crypt at Christ Church Cathedral - having entered the cathedral by the main entrance turn right and follow that transept until you see descending stairs to your right, the entrance to the crypt. Don't miss the cat and rat in the organ pipe!
| CLOTHES Irish people generally dress for the weather, and it rains a lot! Dublin sees all shapes and sizes as we get many colourful visitors. Typical Dublin casual wear includes Jeans, cords, etc in winter with sweatshirts, zip jackets, tracksuit tops, coats - almost anything goes. Summer wear gets a bit lighter but rarely ultra-skimpy, except for stag/hen parties. Business people usually wear neat/smart, including jacket & tie or a suit FILM SETS Ireland has been the scene for many films in latter years, mainly due to the Irish Government granting tax relief and co-operation to film makers. While the location of many films with Irish content is obvious (Michael Collins = Four Courts, City Hall, etc), many folk miss the location for Educating Rita which starred Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Caine's office and tutorial hall was set in Trinity College's Graduate Memorial Building which may be found just off Front Square past the Campanile on the left hand side. | |||||
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