A LITTLE SOMETHING called Pokémon Go has arrived in Ireland and one interesting feature included is that it points out interesting landmarks around the area where you’re catching them.
Dublin already has some pretty impressive landmarks about the place, from the world-famous Georgian squares, to Trinity College to the beloved Molly Malone statue. However, there are also lesser-known landmarks around the city that have really interesting histories behind them that are worth checking out.
We’ve rounded up seven – let us know of any more in the comments below.
Queen Medb (or Meave or Meadhbh) of Connaught was a fearsome warrior and an enemy of Cú Chulainn. She is also known for stealing her ex-husband’s prize bull, Donn Cúailnge, in a cattle raid – that’s what she’s got in her hand there.
Tucked away beside the Chester Beatty Library in the grounds of Dublin Castle is the 2003 Summer Special Olympics memorial. Commissioned by the 2003 Special Olympic World Games committee and the Office of Public Works, it is a thank you to all the people of Ireland who participated in the games and includes the 30,000 volunteers’ names engraved on bronze plaques.
Just off Dame Street is the Sick and Indigent Roomkeepers’ Society building. It’s the oldest charity in Dublin, founded in 1790, and it still helps the sick and destitute of Dublin, although the charity isn’t based in that building any more.
Now the Alliance Française on Kildare Street, the Kildare Street Club was originally a gentlemen’s club built around 1859. Carved into the base of the pillars are monkeys playing billiards – because what else would monkeys be doing there? No one’s is quite sure who carved the monkeys, it’s speculated it’s could be the O’Shea brothers, Charles W Purdey or Charles W Harrison – or why they were carved there at all.
Hidden away off Nassau Street is the Setanta or Táin Wall, a mosaic that tells the story of how Setanta became Cú Chulainn and defended Ulster from Queen Medb (that’s her above). It was created in 1974 by artist Desmond Kinney.
You’re probably more used to spotting the odd heron while walking the banks of the Dodder, but this rhino turned up in the Dodder river in 2002 and 14 years later, no one’s solved the mystery of how or why. As it’s the closest we’ll ever get to seeing big game in Ireland, who’s complaining, right?
If you fancy going a little deeper and a little darker, there are mummies in the five burial vaults under St Michan’s Church in Dublin 7. Remains of the most influential and richest families from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries are there, as is a Crusader. Bram Stoker, he of Dracula fame, allegedly visited there a fair bit.
Thinking about checking out these landmarks for yourself? Head into Dublin city and enjoy everything it has to offer – from shops, bars, markets, restaurants, theatres and cultural sights. There’s something for everyone, no matter your age or interests. To find out more about what’s going on in Dublin, check out DublinTown.ie.
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