We’re in Dublin, Ireland – the Fair City, as it’s called. Based on our time spent here so far, Dublin is a fair city, indeed. I’ve always liked Guinness, so today we’re going to take the tour of the brewery, known as the Guinness Storehouse. We’ll take the “Hop-On, Hop-Off” bus to get there. After the tour, we’ll hop on again and hop off at the next place that looks interesting.
We’ve had good luck using Hop-on, Hop-off buses in other big cities. They’re a good way to get the lay of the land in an unfamiliar city, and sometimes, depending on the driver, get a decent history lesson along the way.
The Guinness Storehouse
The Guinness Storehouse is on the outskirts of central Dublin – a short ride on the Hop-on, Hop-off bus. It’s on the grounds of the massive Guinness brewery. They’ve been brewing ale at this site since Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the property in 1759.
Guinness isn’t brewed in the “Storehouse” building these days. Its sole purpose is to provide a great Guinness experience for visitors from all over the world. They’ve succeeded. After taking one step inside, anyone can tell the Storehouse designers must have had a grand vision for this place.
The Storehouse is a 7-floor building full of everything Guinness. A self-guided tour takes you through the company history and shows how they take water, barley, hops, and yeast and turn it into Guinness. (Which is kind of amazing, when you think about it).
There are opportunities to eat and drink on your way to the 7th floor, where you can have a Guinness in a bar with a 360-view of the surrounding area. The whole experience is nicely presented on the Guinness Storehouse website. Hey – all of a sudden I’m thirsty.
Hop-on, Hop-off
We left the Guinness Storehouse and jumped on another Hop-on, Hop-off bus. The driver on this bus was full of information and personality. I’ve heard that guys trying to make it as stand-up comedians often drive tour buses like these to keep from starving. I think our current driver was one of those guys.
He provided his version of Irish history as we rolled along from stop to stop. As we rode alongside the River Liffy, he described the arrival of the first Vikings to this area way back in 841. Speaking with a thick Irish accent, he painted the picture for us…
“Imagine, if you will, the Vikings sailin’ up the Liffy. Blond hair flowin’, massive shoulders, muscles ripplin’ – and that was just the women!” Ha ha!
I guess these drivers have to do something to keep themselves amused as they drive around in circles all day. This guy was good. And for some reason, jokes are funnier when told with an Irish accent.
That bus driver gave a funny version of Irish history, but the truth is, most of it was a long way from funny. In the beginning, there were the Gaels. They had their own language, culture, religion, and way of life. They were the original people of today’s Ireland and Scotland.
Hibernia
The Gaels traded with ancient Romans, who called Ireland “Hibernia.” Pirates preyed on trading ships in the Irish Sea. In the 5th century, pirates captured and enslaved a crew that included a teenager who would become Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick’s work resulted in the conversion of much of Ireland to Christianity.
Just as our bus driver had said, the Vikings arrived in the 9th century. They established encampments along the eastern Irish coast, one of which would become Dublin. They settled in, assimilated, and over time, made their contributions to the developing Irish culture.
In the 12th century, the Normans invaded Ireland from England. They had invaded England from Normandy a hundred years earlier. (Remember? See Chateau Gaillard – Richard the Lionheart’s Favorite Place to Hang Out). So by the 12th century, they were essentially “The English”.
The Normans/English conquered much of Ireland, pushing people to the east side of the island. For the next 400 years, the Irish fought to regain their lands. By the late-15th century, they’d pushed the English back to an area surrounding Dublin known as “the Pale.”
Storm Clouds Gathering…
In the 16th century, the Protestant reformation took hold in England. Henry VIII became head of the Church of England. And perhaps because England was between wars, he decided to get serious about taking back Ireland.
Henry VIII was determined to force England and Protestantism onto Catholic Ireland. But the more England stepped up its aggression, the more the Irish stepped up their resistance. In 1541, Henry proclaimed himself King of Ireland. (The guy didn’t lack for cojones, did he?) Try to imagine how that move went over in Ireland.
The 16th century was a bad one for Ireland. Really bad. But the 17th century was worse. Let’s save the 17th century for next time.
To be continued…
