Tell Me on a Sunday

After the eventful few weeks over Easter with the commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising, our parents visiting and finally getting to meet Paddy and me bringing him to Guinness for the first time and him showing what WWE live at 3 Arena  was like, which I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed more than I thought I was gonna. It was time for a change of pace and for something different, so Niamh and myself went to the Bord Gais Theatre to see Jodie Prenger in Tell me on a Sunday. A show Niamh adores and was dying to see and I went cos I adore Jodie. As I watched the musical unfold, I was in awe of how Jodie was able to sing non stop for this emotionally draining one woman one act musical with just the help of the live band. After the intermission, Jodie came back on stage for a Q&A with the audience and a few more songs. We were lucky enough to meet and chat with Jodie afterward at the stage door which was surreal as we got to chat about the last time we saw her in Spamalot and laughed over that which was nice and the perfect way to finish our night out before getting the LUAS home. As Paddy and myself happened to have the same day off during the week, we have a little date day just the two of us in town, trying out the new Tram Cafe that had opened the previous week, on Wolfe tone Square near Jervis. The tram itself is a 1902 refurbished tram which has been themed out so it's like your dining in 1929, which was something to experience and dine in. Later in the week, Paddy had some Uncle-Nephew time with his godson Mikey, who had a sleep over which was cute to see Paddy interact with his nephew and give him some of his so called wisdom.

 That weekend, I managed to make it home from work just in time, to watch the Hurling league final replay between Clare and Waterford. For the most part, my voice was gone screaming at the tv, shouting come on the banner. When Tony Kelly got the equaliser and winning point, I was in shock, that Clare had won their first league final since 1978. It was such a good game and final. And really sets up both teams when they meet again for the 3rd time in a few weeks times in one of the semi final of the Munster hurling Championship. 

The following Tuesday, which was starting to becoming our unofficial date day, Paddy and myself decided to do something and go to the Wax Museum as we saw it advertised, as they had a new exhibit to celebrate the 1916 leaders. I booked online while I was waiting for Paddy over coffee, it worked out a tad cheaper than buying at the door. Although I have done the museum numerous times before, I think possibly it was company I had, but I was really enjoying the random fun of the place and we both enjoyed the silliness of it. It not as good as any of the Madame Tussuads around the globe, we enjoyed ourselves and managed to get right the exhibit we went to see in the first place, the one showcasing wax figures of the 1916 leaders and a particular highlight for both of us were the Chambers of Horror. It was fun, random and difficult way to spend our afternoon, which was the whole point of picking there. 

I was in work early that Saturday, I made plans to meet Niamh afterwards in town as I would be in for about 3. When I got in and to the place she said she would be, for some commemorative march for James Connolly, she wasn't there and I couldn't get hold of her. So I thought I might try where the march is meant to finish. When I got to the GPO and finally got hold of her on the phone for her to tell me, that she somehow got roped into March itself and was holding a photo poster of Sean Heuston. I finally saw her as the march arrived at Liberty Hall and once it concluded at the GPO. We wanted to make most of the sun and had time to spare before our 1916 bus tour at 7pm - Beyond the Barricades. So made our way towards The Marker and try get again to access the Rooftop Terrace bar which we managed to steak out seats near the concierge who was looking after it, for when it opened at 5pm. We luckily enough  were one of the first lots of people, brought up to the roof as the queue for it was getting busier by the minute. We were so happy with our seats, as it gave us a panoramic view of the city and the nearby landmarks such as the Aviva Stadium and the Poolbeg power station. It helped too that the weather and sun were in our favour, the only down side was we had to leave for our tour, as we were enjoying the sun and our drinks.  

We waited for our tour to begin outside Dublin Bus head office on O'Connell Street at 7pm.  From the second we boarded onto the bus, it feels like your transported through time back to 1916. The ANU production use of Abbey Theatre trained actors brings voices of the past to life, right in front of our eyes. Manus Halligan played the parts of Pvt. Andrew Barry, Sean Connolly, Ned Daly & Charlie Saurin and Aisling O'Mara who was captivating and emotional as she portrayed the characters of Christina Caffrey, Nora Connolly, Julia Grenan and Helena Molony. Aisling O'Mara was a particular highlight of the whole tour. During the 100 min bus tour as the actors enact several historical scenes both on the bus and in St Stephens Green and outside Dublin Castle where Aisling O'Mara as Nora Connolly gave an emotional speech describing the night she visited her father James Connolly at Dublin Castle. We managed to see an offer on the 1916 Dublin bus Facebook during the week, for 15€ each instead of the usually 25 euro. Watching history being brought alive was interesting and a different way to spend a Saturday evening. 

The next morning, after an unexpected sunday off and nice sleep in, Niamh, Paddy and myself decided we would finally go and check out the GPO Witness History museum. The whole the exhibit and experience was built into the grounds of the GPO itself. The price of admission in was 10€ and for Niamh 7.50€ as a student, which was my treat, as Niamh had treated me to the bus tour the night before. The show piece of the whole experience had to be the 20 mins video detailing the week of the rising. To finish we had coffee in the GPO courtyard where you could see the Spire and the tricolour which is on the roof of the building from a different angle which was kinda cool and was a nice way to finish the experience and our weekend.

During the next week, it was a tad stress filled with trying to find somewhere new to live, in a luckily turn of events, we were able to find somewhere all 3 of us liked on the Thursday evening and more importantly managed to get it. So after sorting out the contract and all the paperwork, we started the hard and annoying part of packing up our lives from our old place, moving it with some help from friends and family which was a big help and the delightful task of unpacking, sorting and organising our stuff into our new house. On that Sunday, for a bit of relaxation and to do something, Niamh and myself, went towards Dublin Castle as I had complimentary passes for "In the Shadow of the Castle" exhibition which is the castle's 1916 exhibition. Our little trip was on the 1 year anniversary since the Marriage Equality referendum which was been celebrated by some of the groups at the time of our arrival, which was nice to remember the memories of last year. The exhibition it self showed the role the Castle played the rising and the installation of the Red Cross Hospital when the Throne Room, Drawing Room and the Portrait Gallery became hospital wards. The last days of James Connolly at the Castle before he was brought to Kilmainham Gaol are showcased during the exhibition. Once we exited this exhibition, we got to see other parts of the State Apartments which we haven't seen in previous tours or visits, which made our little visit worth it. To round off a week of settling in our new place, Niamh and myself that Friday evening went to meet distant relatives who were visiting from Australia for a few drinks, before they were heading the following morning down to Clare to visit and stay with our parents and meet some of the relatives.