Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St Patrick's Day



In honour of At. Patrick's Day I thought I would post some photos we took of the Temple Bar district in Dublin.

Temple Bar (Irish: Barra an Teampaill) is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is promoted as "Dublin's cultural quarter" and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists.











The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. It probably got its name from the Temple family, who lived in the area in the 17th century; Sir William Temple, provost of Trinity College Dublin in 1609, had his house and gardens here. However it got its name, the earliest historical reference to the name Temple Bar is on a 1673 map.


Fishamble Street in Temple Bar was the location of the first performance of Handel's Messiah on 13 April 1742. An annual performance of theMessiah is held on the same date at the same location. The republican revolutionary group, the Society of the United Irishmen, was formed at a meeting in a tavern in Eustace Street in 1791.


During the 19th century, the area slowly declined in popularity, and in the 20th century, it suffered from urban decay, with many derelict buildings. Its unfashionability probably saved it from Dublin's property developers, who destroyed much of the city's historic architecture during the 1960s.


The area is the location of many Irish cultural institutions, including the Irish Photography Centre (incorporating the Dublin Institute of Photography, the National Photographic Archives and the Gallery of Photography), the Ark Children's Cultural Centre, the Irish Film Institute, incorporating the Irish Film Archive, the Temple Bar Music Centre, the Arthouse Multimedia Centre, Temple Bar Gallery and Studio, the Project Arts Centre, the Gaiety School of Acting, IBaT College (City Centre), as well as the Irish Stock Exchange and the Central Bank of Ireland.







10 comments:

  1. I love when bloggers post beautiful photos of place I've never been -- these are great.

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  2. Fantastic armchair travelling! Thanks for sharing these great photos.

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  3. Thank you for that tour! I love those old cobblestone streets.

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  4. Oh to be there today listening to some traditional Irish pub music with a jug o' punch!

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  5. Aye, some Guinness! Reminds me of a gallery showing my son did after he came back from Ireland the last time. He spotlighted pubs...and graveyards, as well as some people shots.

    Love yours! So colorful. Wish I had some of his shots. My shots of his are on the walls of my bedroom. Guess I could scan them....Happy St. Patrick's Day!

    Here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT

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  6. Thanks for the authentic tour. We have lots of pubs here that call themselves "Irish" but the real thing is always better.

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  7. Now what could be more appropriate for St. Patrick's Day than pubs in Dublin? :) Gallaghers and Teac na CelBe (how on earth is that pronounced?) especially look exactly the way I'd picture "pubs in Dublin"! Thanks for sharing--Dublin is definitely on my list of places to go someday.

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  8. One of my favorite things to do: travel by armchair! (Although the real thing is much preferred.) Thank you so much for taking me along on your tour!

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  9. Once again I'm reminded that I really want to go to Ireland some day. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. What great photos! It certainly looks like everyone was having fun in that bar! :)

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