Throughout our trip, we saw so many castles, towers, churches, and other neat historical monuments. Much of the Irish history is sad with so much persecution, wars, and famine. They are a proud country who celebrated 100 years of independence during 2016.
This is in Dublin. We were walking along and this just appears from a side street without us looking for it.
Another castle along the river, rail ways, or road, I can't remember. Castles were just everywhere.
We decided to tour one of them in Limerick. Very well preserved. Most of the castles were from the 1200s - 1400s, and it's residents severely affected by the black plague.
A lookout tower on the coast of Ireland.
One of the most interesting places we visited in Dublin was Trinity College. This is part of the "3 elite" of the UK, aptly named Trinity to complete the trio with Oxford University and Cambrige (both of England).
In their library, they have one of the oldest collections of books in Europe. The library has two levels and spiral stair cases.
We weren't allowed to take pictures of it, so this one was downloaded from the internet. The Book of Kells contains the 4 Gospels of the New Testament in Latin, but with very ornate drawings and lettering using stains like indigo traded throughout Europe & Asia. This book was sought after during countless raids, so the fact that it survived is incredible. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact.
Lastly for this post, I wanted to highlight some of the beautiful churches we stumbled upon. Above is the cathedral in Limerick. Below is the cathedral in Killarney.
All their interiors were just as breathtaking.
Enjoyed Mass at the cathedral in Galway, although I forgot to snap a picture of it.
