Day 32 Dublin (Dun Loaghaire), Ireland

Finally, after two unplanned days at sea, we were able to step off the ship and what a great day we had.  Our nephew, Jeremy and his wife and two boys organised for us to meet them in the village of Dalkey, just a few kilometres from where our ship is anchored off the shore at Dun Loaghaire.  They suggested we catch the Dart (train) as the station is right where we disembark the tender and it is only three stops to Dalkey.  At first we were hesitant but with some directions from a very helpful Irish chap, it was actually very easy.

Dun Loaghaire, an outer suburb of Dublin, is not a very attractive town and from what we saw it looks the industrial area of Dublin, so we were pleased to be travelling further afield.  Our tender today was a local ferry that was much more comfortable than the ships tender, so we sat back and relaxed for the fifteen minute ride into the wharf.  

We passed a WW11 armament at the harbour entrance just to remind us that Ireland was not immune from the Great War. Very few countries were not affected.

As I mentioned it was easy to find the train station and once again, with some help from some very helpful people we were able to purchase a ticket and board the train on Platform 2.  The train ride took around 15 minutes with just the two stops before our destination, Dalkey.

Dalkey main area is only a three minute walk from the train station and what a gorgeous village it is.  We had some time to kill before we were to meet the family so we wandered around the village centre.  There is a photo at every turn, a photographers dream.

We come across a map showing points of interest in Dalkey and would you believe there are five castles (or remains) within a square kilometre.  This was just one.

Our meeting place, The Queens, was easy enough to find so we decided to sit outside in the sunshine with a beverage and wait for the family to arrive.

Lunch ended up being almost three hours as we caught up on Jeremy and Una's life in Ireland.  Jeremy came to Ireland in 2012 and Una is an Irish lass.  Their life is pretty idyllic as they talked about the places they have holidayed in around the world.  Ireland is fairly central to most places with just a few hours flying time to reach anyway in Europe.  They usually catch up with Philips brother and wife in their travels so it's a happy compromise for the family to see each other.  

After lunch we strolled down to the bay area, passing some pretty impressive houses along the way.  

Una is a walking history book about Irish history that I found fascinating.  We chatted easily all the way to the bay and I was also interested to learn that the kids in Ireland are now taught Celtic as one of their subjects.  The language had all but died and it is great to see it revived.  Una is fluent in Celtic and she said that her eldest son and her now have private conversations in Celtic.

The bay is not a large area but the kids are all splashing around in the quiet waters and some were diving off quite a high platform into the icy water.  Even though it is summer it is still chilly but Jeremy, with his singlet and board shorts said he did not feel cold at all!  I was wearing a puffer jacket!

It really was a fabulous day.  I have no idea if or when we will see each other again but we will always remember today with a smile.