Two Days in Dublin's Fair
City
At the very beginning we have to confess that it was not even a trip to
Ireland itself. We stayed in Chester with a group of students for two weeks, diligently
attending morning and afternoon classes of – guess what? English! Perfectly predictable,
no doubt.
It need not be mentioned that towards the end of the first week we felt
somewhat dizzy from so much studying. We only had one week-end at our disposal, and so we
carefully planned to escape, to vanish entirely off the face of British soil. And we did
succeed, for fortune favours the brave. We discussed the details of our adventure, but not
the destination – simply because for many years we, two boys with Russian names and
Celtic hearts, had been dreaming of only one thing – to get to Ireland, the land of our
dreams. In fact, this was something much more serious than a purely cultural interest. It
was – shall we name it “the call of the Vikings” The longing for the melody of old
Gaelic speech? The influence of Irish sagas? Or perhaps it was just an overdose of fantasy
novels… Who knows?
And here we are – curious and daring – getting on the train to make
it to the sea, embarking on an absolutely huge ferry-boat called Stena (thank god that
year you did not need a visa to go to Ireland), and finally marching onto the banks of
Liffey River, not yet believing that the dream had come true…
You may ask what our very first impression was. Strangely enough, it
was the quality of air we were breathing. It was very fresh, salty, genuinely marine and
– certainly Irish! But first things first – we had to spend a night somewhere. As we
had been warned before, the dormitory of Trinity College seemed to be the best place for
us, since it was not expensive, and at the same time was wonderfully placed in the very
centre of the city. So it happened, then, that our acquaintance with Dublin started with
Trinity College, a dignified educational institution with a long and eventful history.
At the reception we were not only warmly greeted, but also advised to
visit the Treasury of the Old Library on the College campus. We never regretted it. This
old section of the library resembled a museum. The priceless Book of Kells, a
Gospel book created in the 8th century, has been in the possession of Trinity College for
the past three centuries. Its 680 pages are in brilliant colours; the calligraphy itself
is a work of art.
 From there we rushed to the streets – the famous Grafton Street was just
round the corner! We couldn’t help admiring the old buildings; but it wasn’t the
architecture we were after. It was the atmosphere and the public that engaged our
attention. Both were relaxed, cheerful, kind, festive, remarkably tolerant, with a
child-like curiosity, and a touch of idleness. It strangely resembled our Arbat; somebody
danced, somebody laughed, and somebody played a violin.
And suddenly we saw HER! It was Molly Malone! A heart-breaking song
with lots of cockles and mussels in it, known since our green days. We would have cried
with delight if we had not been born Vikings with Celtic hearts (in one of the new
developments of Moscow)! What we admired about her was her height. She was no taller than
we were, so she was just one of many, one of us! We really loved this life-size style of
street sculpture.
The next day was very serious. Early in the morning we visited
Viking’s Adventure. It was like travelling through time. We were walking along the
narrow streets of the Viking town of “Dyflin”, we chatted with the locals, and
observed their daily work. Even the smells of the city were brought to life, and at times
they were far from pleasant!
Our last stop was the Dublin Writers Museum in Parnell Square, near
O’Connell, another elegant Dublin Street. We always wondered how it could happen that
such a small country gave the world so many glorious names: Yeats, Swift, O’Casey, and
O’Connor… And we still wonder why England “privatized” such celebrities as Bernard
Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce. Strange things do happen, indeed! One of the most
popular English songs is “It’s a long way to Tipperary”, and Tipperary is a county
and a town in Ireland!
Good-bye, emerald-green country! Good-bye, sweet people with red hair
and warm hearts! So long, fair city! Adieu, as-yet-unseen, legendary Limerick and
Tipperary! We shall be back! We promise…
By Igor Merkudinov & Alexander Vasilev
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