Day 7 ~ Drogheda & Dublin

We were greeted with Irish rain this morning, but  we can’t complain since we have had such great weather our first week in Ireland. We took a damp tour around Drogheda, then went to Monasterboice before arriving in Dublin.

Drogheda is one of the oldest towns in Ireland and is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea. The Saint Laurence Gate below was built in the 13th century as part of the walled fortifications of the medieval town. On September 11,1649, Oliver Cromwell breached the walls during the the brutal Comwellian conquest of Ireland. During the years that followed, Cromwell passed a series of penal laws against Roman Catholics and confiscated large amounts of their land. To this day, Cromwell is still a hated figure in Ireland.

Millmount is a large fortified complex situated on a great mound on the South bank of the River Boyne located in Drogheda. The fort has played a crucial part in Drogheda's history and has been a dominant feature from Norman settlement to Cromwell's invasion to the more recent Civil War in 1922 in which the famous Martello tower was shelled and all but destroyed. It was restored in 2000 and houses the Millmount Museum.

Monasterboice is an important Irish spiritual site dating back to the 5th century AD. It was founded by Saint Buithe, a disciple of Saint Patrick. The holy grounds were an important place  for local Christians for more than 500 years. Muiredach's High Cross is regarded as the finest high cross in the whole of Ireland. The cross is carved with biblical images depicting scenes from both the Old and New Testaments.This allowed contemporary worshippers who could not read to follow along with the Bible’s stories.

We arrived in Dublin in the early afternoon and stopped off at the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology.  This beautiful building features displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures and the Viking and medieval periods. In the hopes keeping Irish history straight, I purchased A Pocket History of Ireland in the museum bookstore. We’ll see how it goes.

After our museum visit, we were bussed to our new hotel which is a buzz of activity since there is a major rugby game in the nearby stadium.  Our tour of Northern Ireland was a pre-trip to the Ireland in Depth tour. Tonight, we had dinner with our fellow travelers who joined us for this part of the trip.  Tomorrow, we will continue our exploration of Dublin.