Dublin is more than the temple bar and leprechauns

 

Four Courts

The Temple bar area, all the Irish gift shops, hop on hop off buses are such a small part of Dublin.

The real Dublin is in the north part of the city which is rich in history. It is in the General Post Office (GPO) building which was the headquarters of the Easter rising rebels in 1916.  On April 24th 1916 Patrick Pearce read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic there. 

The uprising was a failure. All the leaders were executed. They were buried in Arbour Hill Cemetery on the north side. Their efforts were a failure but they inspired a struggle for freedom for Ireland.

It is in the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square.  It is a place for “all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom”. It is also the place where the Irish Volunteers were founded. They would later become the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA played a large part in the war for independence. 

Last, it is in the Four Courts. The Four Courts is a series of buildings that house different court systems for Ireland.

 There was a civil war after a treaty was negotiated with England that gave Ireland independence but still kept it in the commonwealth. The newly formed government favored the treaty. It divided the IRA with some favoring the treaty and some rejecting it because they thought Ireland should be completely free. 

The anti treaty rebels occupied the Four Courts buildings.It was attacked by the army. The fight went on for a week destroying part of the complex. The rebels lost and the treaty was accepted. It wouldn’t be until 1949 that Ireland would gain full independence.

To think I am staying right in the middle of where that all happened.