by Dymphna Lonergan
My first trip back to Dublin since the pandemic, and I was keen to experience any new activities. I found three: a Seamus Heaney Exhibition; 14 Henrietta Street; and a Vintage Tea Bus Tour
Seamus Heaney Exhibition
The exhibition was promoted as being in the Bank of Ireland. Although I lived in Dublin until I was 25 and had visited the city many times since, I had never been inside the Bank of Ireland. The first time I took any notice of it was the day my mother and I were in the crowd at the end of Grafton Street waiting for President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Mother pointed to the Bank of Ireland and told me that the white columns had been cleaned for this special event, but only the sides that faced Trinity College.
The Palladian masterpiece that is the Bank of Ireland was dwarfed that day in my memory by that smiling sun-tanned American dressed in a blue suit, standing up in the limousine and waving. Many of our images from that time are in black and white, but I remember the blue suit, not having seen men wear other than black or brown or grey suits before this day.
Those thoughts were in my mind on this visit as I entered the grounds of the bank through a gap in the iron chain railings. There were some tourists gathered around a cannon near the entrance, but I could not see any information about its origins. I expected to see a plaque. Never mind, I headed for the entrance noting that there was no sign about the Seamus Heaney exhibition either. I expected to see a sandwich board or some such.
Entering the bank, I saw to my amazement that it was, a BANK, going about banking business. A man in livery (it seemed to me, anyway), noted my puzzlement, and when I asked about the Seamus Heaney Exhibition, told me that the entrance was around the corner on Westmoreland Street. Yes, Westmoreland Street I know, a very wide street. On another one of my visits to Dublin I was poised in uncertainty in the middle of that street as the traffic whizzed by when a Dubliner appeared at my elbow. ‘We’ll cross together,’ she said. ‘They won’t run over two of us.’
The archive that comprises the Seamus Heaney Exhibition was donated to the National Library of Ireland in 2011. The information booklet says that ‘Heaney himself delivered the boxes of material to the National Library in his car.’ That tells you a lot about the man. The Exhibition is also free to visit. Whether you are familiar with Heaney’s poetry or not, there is much to delight in and be moved by. I certainly felt it a privilege to see the draft of one of his most famous poems, ‘Digging’, among others. The scribbled-out words and lines. The poet’s struggle to find the best words in the best order. There is audio as well as imagery-most notable the rain stick, as well as Heaney’s poems read by others. I bought a copy of his 100 poems that came with a special raised stamp. Read more about the Exhibition at https://www.visitdublin.com/seamus-heaney-listen-now-again
14 Henrietta Street
Although I am often a solo tourist in Dublin, this time in the Christmas holiday period I had company, my nieces and their children enjoying being tourists in their own city. Five of us headed into the city to see a museum in Henrietta Street.
Henrietta Street, north of the Liffey, a twelve-minute walk from O’Connell Street dates to the 1700s. Number 14 is now a social history museum hosting informational tours about the building’s 300 plus years. Over the five stories (there is a lift for those who need it) we learned about the house from its beginnings as a townhouse for rich Dubliners through its demise sparked by the dismantlement of the Irish Parliament in 1800 and parliamentarians moving to London.
Once a house for one family, by the beginning of the twentieth century 14 Henrietta Street was turned into a tenement housing 17 families, and later became a slum dwelling housing hundreds of Dublin’s poor. We were told that some of these had come from the countryside following the Famine.
Eventually, in the 20th century the Irish government had the power and means to address the problem of Dublin having the worst slums in Europe. Many buildings were pulled down and the inhabitants rehoused in newly constructed Dublin suburbs. I could connect with this part of Dublin history as my parents’ families lived in tenement buildings in the Liberties, near St Patrick’s Cathedral, and my parents moved out to Drimnagh one of these new suburbs in the 1950s.
For more information https://14henriettastreet.ie/
Vintage Tea Bus Tour
Finally, a highlight and a treat for me, my sister, and my two nieces was the Vintage Tea Trip (with an unexpected visit to the Shelbourne hotel).
We parked in the car park at the top of Grafton Street and walked along the side of Stephen’s Green to where our two decker 1960s London bus was waiting for us. The only problem was that we were half an hour too early. It was cold even though we were bundled up in winter coats and scarves, and there was nowhere to sit while we waited.
My niece and I wandered up to the Green entrance, thinking we could find a park bench just inside. We could not see one as we peered through the hedge coming up to the entrance, but then heard my other niece shouting. Turning around we saw her running across the road to the Shelbourne with my sister waving and pointing to the hotel. They were going to find shelter inside.
There are times when I am very much aware how long I have been away from Dublin and how different life is for a younger generation. This was one of them. I was convinced we would not be allowed into the Shelbourne if we were not resident there. I also insisted on crossing by the lights, waiting for the ‘little green man.’ I saw the other two disappear through the revolving door but the liveried man outside paid no attention. By the time we revolved (a flashback to the revolving gates at the Phenix Park when I was a child), my sister and other niece were seated near a large open fire on two large armchairs, beaming. Thus, twenty minutes was passed in splendour and comfort until it was time to board the bus.
The afternoon tea spread was waiting for us, an attendant took our orders for drinks (that came with lids), and the journey was smooth and comfortable.
The commentary was excellent as the bus took us on a tour down by the Pheonix Park and the Irish presidential palace Áras an Uachtaráin where the young tour guide cheekily told some US tourists on board that the architect who designed The White House took the idea from this Dublin building.
As night fell, the bus returned by way of Christ Church Cathedral and surrounds, and we were told a ghoulish tale about a mummified cat and mouse. We arrived back to Stephen’s Green via Merrion Square and its many coloured doors, and then back to our starting point.
It had been many, many, years since my sister and I had been upstairs on a double decker bus. Just holding on to the two side bars on the steps going up was enough to bring back memories of running up those steps as teenagers and of boys using them to swing down without touching the steps, to the annoyance of the bus conductor.
After a five-year absence, I found Dublin this time to be bustling, the people, cheerful, and with a distinctively European look that I had not noticed before. I enjoyed my daily 40 minute commute on the number 9 bus, listening to those distinctive Dublin accents and observing kindness and helpfulness for the elderly and those with children and prams. But most of all the overall friendliness. Older Dubliners will start a conversation if you are sitting next to them on the bus. The young are like young people everywhere, earphones and scrolling thumbs. Bless.
It is worthwhile visiting Dublin in winter, but rug up, and if necessary, you can act like a native Dubliner and pop into the nearest centrally heated hotel if you need shelter! For more details on the afternoon tea bus tour see https://www.vintageteatrips.ie/
Dymphna is a member of the Tinteán editorial collective
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