Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [76]
Then it’s straight to the bar for a drop of the subject matter; eager drinkers can volunteer for the tasting tour, where you get to sample whiskies from all over the world and learn about their differences. Finally, you head to the almighty shop. If you’re buying whiskey, go for the stuff you can’t buy at home, such as the excellent Red Breast or the super-exclusive Midleton, a very limited reserve that is appropriately expensive.
FOUR COURTS
Appellants quake and the accused may shiver, but visitors are only likely to be amazed by James Gandon’s imposing Four Courts (Map; 872 5555; Inn’s Quay; admission free; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri), Ireland’s uppermost courts of law. Gandon’s Georgian masterpiece is a mammoth structure incorporating a 130m-long facade and a collection of statuary. The Corinthian-columned central block, connected to flanking wings with enclosed quadrangles, was begun in 1786 and not completed until 1802. The original four courts (Exchequer, Common Pleas, King’s Bench and Chancery) all branch off of the central rotunda.
The Four Courts played a brief role in the 1916 Easter Rising without suffering damage, but the events of 1922 were not so kind. When anti-Treaty forces seized the building and refused to leave, it was shelled from across the river. As the occupiers retreated, the building was set on fire and many irreplaceable early records were burned – an event that sparked off the Civil War. The building wasn’t restored until 1932.
Visitors are allowed to wander through the building, but not to enter courts or other restricted areas. In the lobby of the central rotunda you’ll see bewigged barristers conferring and police officers handcuffed to their charges.
ST MICHAN’S CHURCH
The macabre remains of the ancient dead are the attraction at St Michan’s Church (Map; 872 4154; Lower Church St; adult/child/student €4/3/3.50; 10am-12.45pm & 2-4.45pm Mon-Fri, 10am-12.45pm Sat May-Oct, 12.30-3.30pm Mon-Fri Nov-Apr), near the Four Courts, founded by the Danes in 1095 and named after one of their saints. Incredibly, it was the only church on the north side of the Liffey until 1686. The original church has largely disappeared beneath several additions, most dating from the 17th century (except for the battlement tower, which dates from the 15th century). It was considerably restored in the early 19th century and again after the Civil War, during which it had been damaged.
The very unchurchlike interior – it looks a bit like a courtroom – contains an organ from 1724 that Handel may have played for the first performance of his Messiah. A skull on the floor on one side of the altar is said to represent Oliver Cromwell. On the opposite side, a penitent’s chair was where ‘open and notoriously naughty livers’ did public penance.
The big draw is the tour of the subterranean crypt, where you’ll see bodies between 400 and 800 years old, preserved not by mummification but by the constant dry atmosphere. Tours are organised on an ad hoc basis depending on how many people there are. Catch bus 134 or the Luas Red Line to Smithfield from the city centre to get here.
PHOENIX PARK
Measuring 709 glorious hectares, Phoenix Park (Map; admission free) is Europe’s largest city park: a green lung that is more than double the size of New York’s Central Park (a paltry 337 hectares), and larger than all of London’s major parks put together. Here you’ll find gardens and lakes; pitches for all kinds of British sports from soccer to cricket to polo (the dry original one, with horses); the second-oldest zoo in Europe; a castle and visitor centre; the headquarters of the Garda Síochána (police); the Ordnance Survey offices; and the homes of both the president of Ireland and the US ambassador, who live in two exquisite