New Year's Luminosity Festival

The astonishing 3D projections on Trinity College facade. I was standing there stunned and got it all on video. I think it was the best part of the New Year Celebrations in the city.

The second best was the procession through the streets, even the rain that started to fall quite heavily didn't ruin it at all. All these colourful costumes and vehicles that passed me made me to want to see the St Patrick's Day Procession. Yes, I know, that one day I will see that too, but just don't want to wait too long for that.

My first own Christmas Pudding :) in an Irish way

Christmas in Dublin

One more Statue

And here I am again, just as I promised, taking my photo with Philip Lynott from Thin Lizzy, known also as Ace with a Base. Their best known hit was the 1973 classic “Whiskey in the Jar".

At least now I know where to find this statue, before that I remembered that I had seen it, but I didn't remember the exact place. 

The Statues and their Nicknames

Before my trip to Dublin when I started my blog I did a lot of research on the Internet to get myself into the right mood and of course to be better prepared for the coming weeks. As a language teacher and a bit of a language freak who is awfully attracted to sculptures I got really impressed when I found that web page about the statues of Dublin and their Notorious Nicknames. At first I bookmarked it and then added it to my blog info bar to be sure that I don't lose it. Walking around, discovering these statues in the real life  and taking photos of them gave me an idea to take a picture with all these mentioned statues and here they are. I have to admit that I forgot the Ace with a Base, still passed it several times, but didn't take a picture. I will definitely do it on Christmas time, probably Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzie is still standing on Grafton street and waiting for me.

A statue for the ordinary women in Dublin, with a nickname" Hags with the Bags" , one of the bags was snatched a little while after the statue was placed there, but fortunately it was returned afterwards

The Spire of Light, over one hundred and twenty meters long, located at O’Connell Street and placed there to celebrate the Millenium. A good landmark if you are new in Dublin. But it seemed that the locals don't like it as much as the tourists do :)

Molly Mallone, still wheeling her wheelbarrow through streets broad and narrow crying cockles and mussels alive a-live alive a-live O! Also known as "The Dolly with the Trolley", "The Flirt in the Skirt" or "The Tart with the Cart".

The statue of Anna Livia, who appears in James Joyce's novel Finnegan’s Wake and which Dubliners use to call "The Floozy in the Jacuzzi"

Me and James Joyce, the most famous writer, in the middle of the night somewhere in Dublin, actually at Earl Street North, just turn right from the Spire. Also known as The Prick with a Stick.

Oscar Wilde, very imposing statue, it shows so well the importance of enjoying yourself. And how is he called? My favourite page says that The Queer with the Leer or The Fag on the Crag :) Knowing now the sense of humour of the Dubliners I am not a bit surprised at all. It doesn't show that they don't love him, oh, they do :)

On the corner of the park there's a statue to commemorate the Irish Famine. These pillars surround a statue of the 18th century father of Irish republican, Theodore Wolfe Tone and although it represents one of the darkest periods of Irish history the Dubliners have given it a relevant nickname and call it the Tone-Henge (like Stonehenge - look at the shape of the pillars:)) 

The Chariot of Life - Abbey Street, known locally as "The Mad Milkman"

Opera in the Open

Every Thursday in August, exactly at lunchtime, at the Amphitheatre, which is situated at the Civic Offices near the Wood Quay you can enjoy the open air operas.

We went to see the Magic Flute by Mozart and it was great. Even the weather didn't matter and when it started to rain the whole audience took out their umbrellas and continued. Of course the poor singers got a bit wet, but mostly we were lucky with the weather.

It was almost like the real opera, just without all these decorations and costumes and to make it easier, there was a story teller who just came and told what is going to happen and who is who and actually that was quite funny and really helped to keep yourself on the track better than without that.

As Magic Flute is a comic opera, the mixture of the past and nowadays was very enjoyable, The singers were the young musicians and opera students and they seemed to enjoy it a lot.

Tamino and Three Ladies, seducing him with the picture of Pamina

Especially cute were these little boys, I even don't remember who they exactly were 

All through this summer Elvis haunted us everywhere we went. We couldn't have expected him to be a part of the opera, but he was :) 

Papageno with his sweetheart Papagena - a marvellous couple. 

The showers didn't ruin the day and fortunately they didn't last too long. 

After a week we did it again, because it was such a great opportunity. This time they played La Rondine by Puccini.

This opera was not so well known for me, I hadn't seen it before and knew nothing more than the name of the composer. It was good too, but my favourite was Magic Flute, somehow it suited better to play outdoors without the real opera house and stage. These open air operas reminded me the great outdoor operas in Italy or I just have to say they made me think about that again. Years ago I really wanted to go and see something like that, but somehow it hasn't been in my plans yet. But who knows, one step brings to another and maybe after some years I can say - done it, been there - as I can say now about the Dublin Opera in the Open.

Our neighbourhood

When I want to go to the main street, to the shops, to the Spire or where ever I need to go, I have to pass the Garden of Rememberance, which is situated at Parnell Square. That nice little park is dedicated to all those who have given their lives for Irish Freedom.

At the very end you can see the sculpture which is called "The Children of Lir". There's a beautiful legend connected with that statue - about the children of King Lir who were turned into swans. As in all fairy tales and legends there was again one Evil Queen, in this one from the race of Druids, who had to become a step-mother for four little ones - Finola, Aodh, Fiarce and Conn. And when she was tired of pretending to be nice, she just turned the children into beautiful swans, who could still speak with human voices and please the people who came to the lake to listen to their songs. But the Evil Queen was turned into a bat and had to stay like that forever.

I also looked up the pronunciation of the Irish names of the children, you never know it without checking :) and even then you'll find several ways how to do that.

The story itself could be read from here - Children of Lir.

At Parnell square I also have to pass the Abbey Presbyterian Church, but till now I have just passed, but never looked inside. It seemed that last summer they were renovating it a bit, but it never seemed like working.

But I like how it looks  - a nice Gothic building with tall narrow spires. It has been also called as Findlater's church after a Dublin merchant who paid for construction of the building.