Another Day in Dublin

Henrietta Street, often considered to be the best preserved example of Georgian Dublin dates from the 1720s. If you ignore the cars, the cobbled street doesn't seem to have changed much.


We were lucky enough to be standing around taking photographs at just the moment that a friendly local wandered by and invited us into the house to take a quick look around.

Henrietta Street ends in a dead end at the gates of the imposing King's Inn where barristers are still trained two centuries after the building was constructed for that purpose.

The locals are remarkably unintimidated by the imposing buildings, using the King's Inn archway as a shortcut, despite the remarkably jarring ride across the cobblestones in a pram.

Some of the grand houses of Henrietta Street have fallen into disrepair. Others are in the process of being restored, sometimes by what looks like rather extreme means. Surely they're not going to torch the front door and start over?


We went to visit the site of an abandoned gaol and found that it had been converted into a children's playground with one rather serious memorial in the middle.

We paid our respects in the suggested manner.

The gaol we really should have visited is the fascinating Kilmainham Gaol. I didn't learn about this intriguing Heritage location until after we'd left Dublin, although I discovered that I had passed within a few blocks of it on my walking tour of Dublin. I spent several days going through all sorts of strange contortions while trying to kick myself.

I left Dublin with a certain amount of regret for the sights that I would not have a chance to see on this whirlwind tour. As we drove up and out of the city we paused to take a farewell photograph.

Sad as I was to be leaving, Dublin had conspired with my new shoes to give me something to remember it by.