Welcome to Ireland

Welcome to Dublin Ireland. This is our first view of Dublin. It was cloudy that day and most days every since we arrived. They tell me that they had gone through an extensive drought before we arrived. Irrigation is unheard of here.

Dublin by air

On our first day here Deanne went shopping with Sister Creer, mission president's wife. I have to admit that shopping is one thing Deanne likes. They toured a number of sites in the down town also.

I stayed behind and visited with the members. The Dublin Stake was holding a bake sale, bazaar and a parking lot dance to raise funds. This was the small Irish band that played for the dance. They were very good. Played a variety of Gaelic music and country and western. Johnny Cash and Elvis was their favorites. I find that listening to the radio here is not much different than at home. However there are more classical music stations than back home. We listen to a local country and western music station.

This was our first home when we arrived in Ireland. A small cottage next to the mission home in Dublin. Former mission president's home and now temporary home to new missionaries arriving into the mission.

This is the Dublin mission home. Three days after we arrived it was closed and the Ireland and Scotland missions were amalgamated. In Provo our mission president was President Smith. When we arrived in Birmingham President Ogdon was our new President. One week latter we were sent to Ireland and met at the plane by President Creer and his wife. Three days latter President Creer was released and went home. President Griffin from Edinburgh Scotland became our new mission president. That is 3 mission president's in less than a week and 4 in 2 weeks. It is a record for missionaries.

This office is temporarily our Welfare Services office, until they decide what they are going to do with us. There have been a number of meetings here, in Solihull and Frankfurt to resolve the future of this building. The current proposal is to turn it into a youth outreach center with institute center and an Employment Resource Centre.

Ireland is a land of a lot of old churches. The primary religion is Catholic. You will see some of these old cathedrals built within a block of each other by different ministry orders of the church. It is illegal to tear them down. They are considered an important heritage. They are huge and impressive but little used today.

Another more modern cathedral less than a block from the previous church.





A typical row housing block

More older housing blocks in the down town of Dublin

Everywhere there are monuments to some great leader or saint

This is the oldest Protestant church in Dublin. It sits in the middle of an important intersection in the center of the street. It is now used as a art gallery. A woman on the bus told us that as a child she was told by her Catholic mother that if she ran around this church three times she would see the devil. She was always to scared to try.

Down town Dublin

Trinity College. One of the oldest universities in the world. Over a thousand years old. It is still in use and very exclusive to get into. You have to have money to get in.

Interior mall of Trinity College.

Down town Dublin. It is one of the cleanest down towns I have seen anywhere and teaming with people. Few cars and no garbage.

This is a living statue. Deanne put a coin in his cup and to her surprise he leaned over and said thank you. How he could stand so motionless for so long is a mystery. He was good.

This is Grafton Street in down town Dublin. A large section of the city is blocked off to all vehicle traffic. The streets are so narrow, where would they put the cars anyway? Shopping here is not cheap. If you look closely you will see a Canadian flag down the street. This is a large exclusive chain store owned by the Cristie Family of Canada, owners of Weston Bakeries & etc. At the entrance of the store was a doorman in a uniform. We talked to him and obtained a missionary referral from him. He had been to Calgary while in the military and trained at Suffield. While there he visited Cardston. In Dublin the preferred method of travel is by taxi, bus or train.

Statue of Molly Malone

Who can forget the sweet little ditty we all learned as a child of Molly Malone.

In Dublin's fair city

Where the girls are so pretty

I sat my eyes on sweet Molly Malone

As she wheeled her wheel-barrow

Through streets broad and narrow

Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh

Alive, alive oh
Alive, alive oh

Crying cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh

Poor Molly was a street hawker of fish by day and part time prostitute by night.

But she made such a sweet ditty.

This is the widest street in all Dublin. O'Connell Street.

One of the numerous statues on O'Connell street in Down Town Dublin

Our new home for the next few months in the Dublin suburb of Fenglus

Kitchen

Living Room and dinning room

Stairs leading to the bedrooms upstairs

View outside from our bedroom window. Note that all yards have high fences around them.

These tree intrigued us. Dublin is at the same latitude as Edmonton, AB. Yet these trees are more like those grown in Florida. Sort of like palm trees.

Our parade has a garden and park area on top of it. After a period of drought it is now getting fairly dry, They do not irrigate here.

Another view of the parkade roof.