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.

Easter 1916 Centenary

I happened to have a day off, just before St Patricks day, and with everyone else working, I decided to  check out the Proclaiming a republic : The 1916 Rising Exhibition which is was on in the Riding School at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. The exhibition contains one of the largest displays of materials from the period, many of the objects have never been on public display before and others such as the Irish Republic flag which flew over the GPO, has been specially conserved. This exhibition explores the background to the Rising, events of Easter week itself through the everyday, intimate and personal belongings of the participants, scenes of the surrender of the rebels and also explore the stories of those who were imprisoned and interned. A particular eerie highlight are the last letters of those sentenced to death, which are displayed alongside their belongings that were in their cells in Kilmainham Gaol, within a sombre space. This 1916 exhibit is worth a visit. +Niamh did the Outdoor exhibition in St Stephen's Green telling the events of the rising that occurred there over 20 illustrated exhibition panels, the Saturday after. The funny thing was that evening, she was telling me how good the exhibition was, as I was about the one at Collins Barracks, which she ended up doing on her day off the following Tuesday. Paddy and myself did the outdoor one that afternoon too on route to visit his parents.

 

As the week processed, we convinced our parents to come up for Easter and to finally meet Paddy. They even surprised us by deciding to come up a night earlier then originally planned. As I was telling them about the Easter 1916 Lost Leaders March, that was taking place on Good Friday from Kilmainham Gaol to Arbor Hill arranged by Sinn Fein. After getting the introductions out of the way, when they arrived up Thursday evening, we were all soonenjoying ourselves, laughing away. On Good Friday morning, we got up early to make sure we got there in time and to soak up the atmosphere at the Gaol. By the time the March finally got underway, 45 mins late typical Irish time keeping, instead of starting at midday as advertised, a massive crowd and participants had gathered for the March. The Procession/Parade itself was very well done and bigger than my parents or myself thought it would be. I forgot how big the hill up to Arbor Hill was, it had nearly taken the wind out of us. We got lucky with our position for the ceremony and speeches itself. It was a pity that the March began late as half way through Gerry Adams Speech, I had to dash off to catch the LUAS to work after I had dropped my parents off in town, luckily I managed to just make it in time. We all agreed that despite how severe the March was it was worth the pain and effort.

 The following morning, I decided to treat Paddy to a visit to the +GuinnessStorehouse, as in all his years he'd never been despite being a Guinness drinker himself. I had brought early bird tickets online before we went, which proved very lucky as the queues for both cash and online tickets were massive. I got talking to one of the staff, who was asking people in the queue, if anyone had early bird tickets, as they were only valid until 11.30am and it was almost that, so we were able to skip the queue and go straight in. Although I had been there before, I enjoyed the visit nearly as much as Paddy and was intrigued how much they had changed the tour since my last visit there. I personally am not a Guinness drinker myself, but even I enjoyed the smooth pint up in the Gravity Bar and the staff were so friendly up there too. It ended up being a late night drinking and bonding which ended up being quite fun.

 

The following morning, Easter Sunday, Niamh and myself got up early and left for town, as everyone else was still in bed, for the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony & Parade. As we didn't want to get quashed with the crowds, we managed to get a perfect spot up at Christchurch, just as Military Parade was beginning to arrive into area, before halting until the Flag Ceremony at Dublin Castle. In the end we both felt we got very lucky with our spot, as we able to see the parade perfectly and observed other events on the big screen located nearby. After Military parade, we headed for home and get our parents on the bus home to Clare, which was managed via a detour for them with Dublin Bus to the Red Cow to meet the coach for Ennis. It was a great weekend, even better with the parents coming to stay and visit.

Due to the LUAS strike, I had to get a bus anyways to work on the Bank Holiday Monday, I decided to go with Niamh into town early, to experience some of the RTÉ Reflecting the Rising on O'Connell St before, or that was the plan, before we decided on going to the Rotunda Hospital for their exhibition entitled Rotunda: Birth of a Nation which showcases the lives of five prominent medical women throughout Easter Week 1916, through a series of selected items from private collections, video footage and graphic and print wall hangings. Soon after leaving this exhibition, I left Niamh on O'Connell St to enjoy the events, while I sprinted away for the bus out to work. Niamh was telling me  that of the 4 areas with events on, that O Connell Street was by far the best. She was saying that Joe Duffy's Liveline 1916 special, Discovery Gospel choir, Simon Morgan and Lisa Lamb, and the Lost Boys were particular highlights. What made the trip into town more worth it especially with the wind and cold was meeting up with her friend Helena and having a good catch up.

 As I am usually off on Tuesdays, I decided to make the most of it by seeing some more of the exhibitions ongoing in town. I walked into town, so I could get into the Four Courts and check out the Bullets, Books & Barricades exhibition, that the Bar of Ireland and the Courts Centenary Commemoration Committee produced  to explore the background to the Easter Rising, The battle of the Four Courts area ranging from Church Street, North King Street, Stoneybatter and Smithfield and occupation of the Four Courts itself and the aftermath and executions are also included with the consideration of the Rising's legacy. Trying to find the open entrance to Round Hall was proving difficult, after getting lost yet again, I asked someone for the third time, where it was and they then realised that as the judges were on holidays for Easter, the main entrance on the quays was closed until Friday. So after getting through security, and finding the Round Hall, the long way around through the Four Courts itself, I was at the exhibit. I think due to the fact it being a Tuesday after Easter and the main entrance closed I had the whole exhibit to myself which was quiet, peaceful and well done. A building I wanted to see the inside for years and was finally open to the public is the Custom House which was open for the 2 weeks of Easter. The Custom House, is the architectural masterpiece of James Gandon and the exhibition inside outlines the history of the building and describes the events in the building during Easter week and considers the history of the building and its occupants from 1916 until 1921 when the building was completely destroyed by fire during the War of the Independence. Once I was finished with the exhibition, I managed to time it perfectly to witness, the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins departing from Liberty Hall, who was there for the Commemoration event for the Irish Citizen Army and James Connolly.

 

To round off my day of 1916 commemorative exhibitions, I finished with the RCSI's exhibition entitled Surgeons and Insurgents - RCSI and the Easter Rising which tell the story of the rising through the human stories of key figures associated with the college and the Easter Rising. The Exhibition is free and open to the public weekdays. The building is significant as it's  the only building directly involved in the Rising that stands as it did in 1916, with all others being rebuilt or demolished. The exhibition consists of personal items from figures such as Countess Markievicz to Margaret Skinnider who were with the garrison of the Irish Citizen Army and housed within the college and describes the lives of key figures from both sides.

To try something different one day after work, Paddy and myself went to the Open Gate Brewery at Guinness on the following Thursday evening, which cost 6€ and included a tasting board consisting 4 different exclusive beers, each with various degrees of success. We both agreed the Dubliner Wheat was the one, we both liked most, so much so we ordered a pint each, costing 5€. 

Later in April, on my day off, I finally got the opportunity and chance to check out the renovated old courthouse at the Kilmainham Gaol, which pretty cool to see and observe the historical building mostly untouched from its hay day, with it's original jury balcony and register of convicts sentenced which is opened to page of Constance Markievicz sentence. 

Late Wednesday night, +Paddy turns to me and says do you want to go to the +WWE Live event at +3Arena Dublin the following night, if there was tickets still available. I said sure, as this is a big part of you, I'm gonna show an interest and try get involved and get into it. Tickets bought, I arranged to get 2 passes into the Bar Neon to chill in before the event. Once the event got underway, I must admit I got into it more than I thought I would. The atmosphere from the crowd for the wrestlers entrance and during the fights was contagious. The fight between +Roman Reigns and +WWESheamus BrogueKick  really got everyone cheering and shouting. It was the perfect way to finish the event, which had been such a fun night, although it was my first WWE live event doubt it will be my last.

The following weekend was my weekend off, Niamh and myself decided to head into town and soak up the atmosphere. On the Saturday on our way to Henry Street shopping, we noticed the Easter Rising Commemorative speech outside the GPO which was organised by Sinn Fein. There wasn't much else on that day but on the Sunday, their was a Reclaim 1916 Event. The event was organised by Reclaim the Vision of 1916 initiative, as a way for the people by the people event, celebrating the 1916 Rising and urging all towards its vision of a republic of equality. We had arrived to O' Connell Street early, and got a very good position for the open air event just in front of the Spire and near to the GPO. As we arrived so early, we managed to witness the musicians have their soundcheck before the event. The event commenced by 4 uilleann pipers and 4 harpists from our 4 provinces. Adrian Dunbar was the MC for the event, which had Fionnula Flanagan give several readings, and Stephen Murphy recite his own poem 'Was It For This?' which had everyone captivated and when he finished the thousands in the crowd, cheered and shouted which was totally justified as it was such an emotional recital.

Music was provided by singers Don Baker, Francis Black and Damien Dempsey and musician Donal Lunny. The event concluded with the national anthem. Later that night, while online, I came across that the nearby St James's Graveyard was opening for a special blessing of a grave, first time that this now closed graveyard will be open in over 25 years.

 The following morning, I luckily enough remembered to cross the road to the church, to wait for the Mass to finish before the procession over to the graveyard. The priest decided to wait until 11 am before heading over, which gave me enough time to check out 1916 exhibition - Rising in the Union within Parochial Hall next door to the church. At 11 am, a good crowd crossed the road towards the graveyard, is located behind the new whiskey distillery which is still a building site, so we all had to be careful making our ways towards the grave of Lieut George Fullerton who had been killed during the easter rising. After the blessing of the grave by the priest, a veteran of the armed forces played our national anthem at the grave side using a bag pipes.

Festive Seasonal Fun 2015

After a last minute invite by my workmate Carol, I ended up going to the Jameson Cult Film Club event  at the Round Room in the Mansion House who were hosting a Ghostbusters themed night Thursday November 5th. Myself, Carol and I think nearly everyone there, were acting like such big kids. Everyone got complimentary Jameson and ginger ale and burgers, even I got a veggie one or two. The whole event was quite well laid out and the turnout was bigger than I had imagined.

 

That weekend, I got the first train home at 7am on the Saturday to Clare to visit the family. It had been months since my last visit home with one thing and another. The train journey home itself was uneventful which was ideal with the bad weather and how early it was. The weekend home as is always the way, flew by way too quick. It ended with visiting my Gran which was the main purpose for the visit home as she celebrating her 93rd birthday that week and I wasn't able to be there for the day itself due to work. It was great to see her as always. The bus journey back seems to take forever but at least went by smoothly. Although I couldn't get down for the birthday, Niamh had a few days off and made the journey down to be there for it. I still can't believe that she is 93 years of age though.

 I met +Niamh after work on Sunday 15th for brunch before heading towards Grafton Street and the turning on of the Christmas lights ceremony. The ceremony was preceded by a minute silence as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives in the Paris attacks. The lineup consisted of Hallelujah Gospel Choir, +ZENA Donnelly, Gaiety Panto cast, and The High Kings. After the lights were turned on, Hallelujah Gospel Choir and Zena closed proceedings with 'All I want for Christmas'. There was a large crowd for the event from St Stephen Green area down Grafton Street. Once the event was over, both Niamh and myself finally made our way down Grafton, which finally gave Niamh a chance to have a look at the Brown Thomas Christmas window display. And low and behold, what did she notice in one of the windows but her name on Santa's good list. We both laughed as its such a rare thing to see her name anywhere.      

 The following week, I received an invite from Arnotts for their Christmas Shopping Night. We both went after a day shopping in town and checking out the decorations in the GPO and on Henry st, so it felt like a good way to finish off the day. The event had cooking demonstrations, discounts off across the store, entertainment with Hallelujah Gospel Choir and David Kennedy and the refreshments in the form of Presecco with me drinking for the both of us, the bubbles were going to my head. On the whole was a fun way to spend an evening.

 

After work on the following Thursday, I made my way towards the I Believe Tree Lighting Ceremony located down by CHQ Building. I thought I might miss it, but due to a technical glitch I was there in plenty of time in the end. The 50ft Irish Christmas Tree in the water, was donated by Coillte and as it was switched on Córus choir sung nearby. I checked out the various stalls on the water and Kilkenny and Bord Bia stores within the CHQ building itself. From here, I hopped on the LUAS towards Smithfield for the free open-air concert at Smithfield Square.

  

The crowd were entertained by bands such as The Geddes who even did a cover of Adele's 'Hello'

and The Original Rudeboys before the Lord Mayor switched on the tree in the square. The evening's entertainment concluded with a few songs from Paddy Casey who hasn't changed that much since I first saw him during my college days in Galway. I waited for Niamh to finish work and she met me in Oscars for a late dinner which finished a long but well worth it day and also a great way to destress.

 Finally we thought, great we have a night free so we can go to Oscars Christchurch, and see the Freddie Mercury Impersonator. We didn't mind too much how late it was beginning but found out quickly how unprofessional and drunk the act was. We decided possibly after 15/20 mins to just leave and go home as things were just that bad. We weren't even the first to just walk either. We were disappointed as we had been looking forward to it.

Despite the disaster that had been the tribute act, I met Niamh in town after work the next day for the switching on of the O'Connell street Christmas tree. Niamh bought herself a Christmas Jumper and she had brought in mine with her for me to change into, so we could take part, in the world record attempt in the number of people wearing a Christmas jumper. The downpour didn't seem to put off the crowds and especially when it started to clear up slightly. As the event really got going, the crowds really started to gather, we were lucky with our spot for it. The MCS for it were Comedian Al Porter and Dustin the Turkey. The first act on was Melanie McCabe who sang a mixture of Christmas and Pop songs which included an Ed Sheehan cover.

Other acts on to entertain the crowds were the Dublin Gospel Choir, Olympia Panto's cast from Freezin who really got everyone laughing and singing along with a medley of Christmas songs. Before all the teenage girls in the crowd went mental for the boy band Hometown, who all seemed to know every word and lyric of the bands songs, it was quite funny and entertaining to watch. When the switching on ceremony was taking place, and Lord Mayor was bringing on someone to turn it on, the crowds kept shouting for Hometown to do it, even though they were the planned guests to do it anyways, it was so hilarious to experience. 

Despite there been over 1000 people taking part in the world record, it was short on the record of 1271 which was set in Dublin at the same event last year which is organised by Debra Ireland. There was a generally great atmosphere and buzz around the place leading up to and during the switching on of the tree. Afterwards trying to get photos taken with the Christmassy Characters was an experience in itself and showed us both, how much of big kids we really are.

As we took part in the record attempt, we got a free LUAS journey home that evening for the effort, which we of course made use of, after a quick drink of course first to try and warm our toes that were wet and frozen. Despite been totally wet and frozen, the whole atmosphere made up for it. After we got home and warmed ourselves up, we kept going with the Christmas fun, by putting up our tree and decorations, always forgetting the hours it takes to do so. 

On our both next day off, which actually was the next Tuesday, we decided to try and see more Christmas based things. There seems to be so much more stuff to see and do this year, just never enough time, isn't that always the way sure. So we got on the bus, towards Parnell Square for the Moving Crib which located in the basement of St Martin Apostolate. The entry fee in was a token donation and we both felt after it was the best 3 euro we spent for anything in ages, as neither of us knew what to expect. The layout of the whole thing was very well arranged and thought out. 

 Before heading towards Custom House quarter, we made a detour towards Power Court to check out the decorations and do some shopping on Grafton st. Despite the walk down towards the I Believe Christmas Market, the weather wasn't too bad however after we exited out of the Lidl Deluxe Magical Christmas Cabin, it had become quite windy. The Lidl Cabin although geared towards children, it really had quite a magical feel to the whole thing. We both left the cabin with such raised spirits and the free chocolate didn't hurt either. After the cabin we checked out the Bord Bia store and several of the stalls on the water before giving into temptation and buying several of the deluxe Lidl products, Hot chocolate with free piece of Praline bread for Niamh and a hot Mulled Wine for myself of course, both of which went down a treat especially with the wind getting so bad . As we were still there at 6pm, we thought we checked out the Après Ski bar which was a Scandinavian themed bar. The hot whiskey was what the doctor ordered and helped warm the auld cockles, before braving the wind to get the LUAS home.  

 

As I was off the weekend of the 5th, we planned to enjoy it with as much Christmas based events as we could fit in. We were afraid that Storm Desmond would get in the way, as I learnt on the way home on the LUAS from work on Friday night, he had planned to, as the LUAS line broke down by Windy Arbor due to a fallen branch across the line. After waiting in the rain for over 30 mins for a bus which didn't turn up, ended up getting a taxi home as the wind and rain was getting nasty. As the weather wasn't as bad as we feared, we started on our fun packed day, beginning with a visit to the +Teeling Whiskey Distillery Craft Fair enjoying the free samples as you do of course. After a quick look and buying a brownie in the Farmer Market The Green Door, next door we got the bus towards Grafton for the LUAS Christmas Express activities and the Canon Snow globe experience. The LUAS stationed at St Stephen Green was all decorated inside with Christmas decorations, free faceprinting, music, photographs and mince pies with Starbucks hot chocolate. We kept on with the fun theme, with joining the queue for the Canon snow globe for our Christmas Photo which was good laugh and fun. We went shopping stocking up on few bits essential for the festive season ahead and finished up with our Christmas Presents shopping, which is all wrapped and put under the tree.

 On our route home, we stopped off at +Smock Alley Theatre for their Christmas Fayre and enjoyed the musical stylings of +Tonnta Music who sang Christmas Carols. We headed home for a while to rest before heading out again and reattempting the 12 Pubs after coming so close last year.

 We decided to start with the same pub as last year, the Brazen Head. Particular highlights of the pubs were such as Dice Bar Star Wars themed Christmas windows, Turk Head's use of old spirit bottles as candle holders and randomly meeting workmates and other friends out in several pubs. It was a random if some what drunken night. It was with relief, we managed to complete it this year, and when I had 12th drink in the No Name Bar, of course had to take the celebratory selfie.  

 

After a well earned lay in of sorts, and with the hangover not as bad as I feared luckily. We got ready for the day ahead at Farmleigh. Despite the mucky ground in the Farmleigh Estate, the weather on the whole was on our side. As soon as we arrived, we heard the Mellow Chords singing Barbershop Melodies outside next to the Festive Crib. We walked though the Victorian Christmas themed experience out in the Courtyard which was quite fun and very well arranged. As we had time to kill before the Puppet Show, we thought we check out the Food and Craft Market. We got a few bits to eat as we hadn't eaten yet that day, The veggie quiche was only 5 euro and  it was such huge slice. We queued for the puppet show but as soon as we got in, we realised how badly organised it was and how inconsiderate some people can be that we just had to leave and enjoy the rest of the Christmas Programme. We joined the queue  at the front of the house, hoping it was the one Carol Service, as no one in it was quite sure but we all were hoping it was. After about 10/15 mins we were informed that they'd be letting us in 2 mins which relieved most of us. Once inside the house, we were able to have a self tour of the bottom level of the house before taking our seats in the Ballroom for the Carol Service, we got luck getting seats in the front row. The Carol Service was provided by the Christmas Cracker Choir who were thoroughly entertaining and great fun and was worth waiting outside for. We thought to finish off our day at Farmleigh, we get a free Horse and Carriage ride around the estate which was the perfect way to finish our Christmas filled day and weekend.

During a stroll around town on my day off, I came across the IFA live animal crib outside the Mansion House. The entrance is free, but donations were being collected for the Mansion House Fuel Fund. The black goat was so funny and overly friendly which was adorable to see and experience. With the premiere of the new +Star Wars film, The Force Awakens at the Savoy, the Spire was turned into a blue Lightsaber which was pretty cool to see and of course had to get my photo with a storm trooper, sure any excuse.    

 To round off our festive Christmas activities in Dublin before the holidays, we were lucky enough to be allocated 2 tickets from a lottery draw for the Farmleigh Christmas Ballroom evening with The Velvettes. The Velvettes are a vocal group based  on the classic swing combos of the late 1940's and early 1950's. The setlist was packed full of great American songbook classics made famous by Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and of course the required Christmas songs from that era, to get everyone in the festive mood. We both enjoyed the swing evening more than we thought, as we weren't too sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised, how much we got into the music and the band. It was a great way to get into the festive mood.