A travel blog of Ireland, Europe, and New Zealand

It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve blogged by myself. Trawling back, it seems to have been April 2015! Partly this is because I’ve been very busy, and partly because Bruce is (a) wittier and (b) way better at photography than I. (Can I have that in writing? Ed.) (Oh, hang on…) Also, of course, he has more spare time.

However, last Friday I found myself in my favourite seat on the bus (top floor at front) heading back from a staff development event at Trinity College. Dr Dilly Fung from University College, London, sharing their work on the Connected Curriculum for those interested! As I headed up O’Connell St I decided to take some photos on my iPhone and share the trip with readers. First, the O’Connell St spire.

At the top of O’Connell St, the Ambassador Theatre is advertising a display on the 1916 Rising. This is rather dominating Irish literature, plays and TV at present, as we head towards the centenary of the event (we will post a separate blog shortly, with reflections from both of us).

The other event which is bearing down on us even more quickly is a general election. The Taioseach (pronounced ‘Tee-shock’, aka the Prime Minister in other people’s parlance) called the election only three weeks back, so the lead-up hasn’t been lengthy and needless to say, every spare telephone pole is now sprouting multiple advertisements for hopeful politicians of every hue. Ireland has a multi-party government so there’s fierce competition to be part of the next government.

As we head up on the No. 9 bus towards DCU from Trinity, we come to Phibsborough. This is a suburb the closest to where I stayed in a B&B when I first arrived, so I know the area quite well.

After you pass through Phibsborough shopping centre, you cross a canal. It’s not a highly used canal, but we have seen canal boats on it. To the left and the right there are still working locks, but a bit clogged with debris so I have treated you to the right side of the road where you can see quite a pleasant canal, with a path on one side that is well used by walkers and their dogs.

Our next place of note is the famed Hedigan’s Brian Boru pub. I think my family were quite surprised that I would visit a pub on my own and dine when I first came out here, but it’s pretty common practice and the food was quite pleasant. The waiting staff came to know me by the time I’d eaten there once a week for the first month!

Wherever you go in Ireland, you’re not far from a church. This one, shot from the bus looking back across the Tolka River, is a Catholic church opposite the Botanical Gardens. It’s quite a modern church, unlike many in Ireland.

Finally, we head up the hill and stop at DCU. The walk in shows the daffodils just coming out. Usually, when I go to work, it’s pitch dark as I like to be in by just after 7 a.m., as does my boss Mark. The rest of the crew straggle in around 9.05, 9.15, 9.20… but leave commensurately later. It’s way better getting there early, both because the traffic is much less but also because we share an open plan office and I can achieve a lot before the distraction starts. You can see the front of our oldish building, Bea Orpen, in the photo following the daffodil walk.

So that was the trip. Quite pleasant, and I got back in time for a rather lengthy meeting about research! Hope you enjoyed this bit of insight into a typical Day in the Life of Dr Ferguson!