Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle represents the heart of Dublin. Actually Dublin has its name from the pond of the castle. The name of the pond is Dubh Linn. The castle served as the center of the British power more than seven hundred years. It has also served as a prison, fortress and residence for the British. Dublin Castle was originally built as a defensive fortification for the city in the orders of King John of England in 1204, shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. The castle represents some of the oldest surviving architecture in the city, and was the centre of English power in Ireland for over seven centuries until it was taken of by the Irish Free State in 1922. The castle is built with strong walls and good ditches. It was here the administration of Justice and the protection of the King’s treasure took place. The Irish crown jewels were stored in the castle, but they were stolen in 1907, and have never returned. The castle later evolved into a royal residence, resided in by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland or Viceroy of Ireland, the representative of the monarch and in some years it served temporarilyas courts of justice.The castle is also used for hosting official State visits, State banquets and Government policy launches. Now the castle is a tourist attraction and it is also used as a conference centre.The castle has also been used in films as setting (Becoming Jane etc.) and it is also hosting the Heineken Green Energy festival each May. Dublin castle contains a lot of important rooms for example: Saint Patrick’s hall which is the biggest room of the State Apartments, and contains one of the most important decorative interiors in Ireland. Formerly the ballroom of the Lord Lieutenant's administration. Throne room which contains a throne built for the visit of King George IV to Ireland in 1821. The state dining room which is also called the Picture Gallery, and formerly known as the Supper Room, this is the oldest room in the castle and largely retains its original decoration, having escaped major modification and fire over the years.

Comments: It could have been fun to see the pond, but we could not find it, maybe it has been removed. We were a little bit dissapointed that Dublin Castle was not more spectacular. We had exspected a lot more. Maybe it is because when Danish people think of a castle, then we think of princess castles with big towers and so on.

- Astrid, mathilde og Mia

Undersøgelse af irsk rockmusik, gruppe 4: Anders, JJ, Tine og Cecilie

Inden vi skulle ud i feltet og have svar på spørgeskemaer, havde vi forventet en større venlighed hos de mange irere vi ville støde på. Vi håbede, de ville være hjælpsomme og forstå os, selvom vores engelsk bliver talt med et præg af danskhed. Vores store frygt var at blive afvist og måske fornærme de mennesker vi nu spurgte. Vi havde forventet en masse turister, og at vi ville støde ind i nogle engang imellem. Vi var også spændt på det resultat, vi nu ville få efter feltarbejdet. Vi ville gerne have en masse forskellige aldersgrupper, og vi frygtede lidt, at vores resultat ville blive lidt for ensformigt. Vi havde forventet en masse delte meninger omkring irsk rock, men at størstedelen af de unge vi nu spurgte, foretrak rock frem for folkemusikken.

Da vi så skulle i feltet, var vi i starten meget nervøse. Nervøse for at henvende os til folk, og spørge om en tjeneste. Vi gik rundt med frygten for at skulle forklare os på engelsk, og at vi måske ville blive misforstået og fortolket som sælgere. Det krævede mod at henvende sig til de mange forbipasserende, men da vi først kom igang, var vi ikke til at stoppe. Alle i gruppen fik mulighed for at spørge og snakke med dem, og vi endte med en god følelse af lettethed, og vi var tilfredse med det resultat og arbejde, vi fik præsteret.

Ud fra de resultater vi fik, kunne vi se, at vores teori om de unges musiksmag holdt stik. Den samme mening gik igen hos dem, og som vi havde forventet, foretrak de unge at høre irsk rockmusik. Dog var der delte meninger omkring spørgsmålet, om folkemusikken har haft en indflydelse på rocken. Også spørgsmålet, om hvor meget folkemusik eller celtisk musik har haft af indlydelse på den enkelte, var et blandet indtryk.

Hos de ældre var det noget helt andet. Både keltisk og folkemusik havde stor betydning, og rockmusikken var ikke så populær. De mente dog næsten allesammen, at rock er blevet en stor del af Irlands kultur, og at folkemusikken og keltisk musik har haft en eller anden form for effekt på rocken.

Vi brugte to forskellige metoder under vores feltarbejde. Vi havde delt os op i to hold, og i den ene gruppe havde man stillet spørgsmålene mundtligt, hvorefter irerne havde svaret. Det resulterede i en masse mundtlighed og skabte gode dialoger. I den anden gruppe delte man spørgeskemaerne ud, og irerne fik til opgave selv at læse og besvare skemaerne. Dog fik man stadig en sludder for en sladder, og en samtale var da heller ikke helt umulig.

Som førnævnt var vores begyndelse lidt svær, da vi til tider fremstod som sælgere. Efter et par mislykkede forsøg ændrede vi strategi, ved at spørge ind til folk på en ny måde. Det gav pote, og vi fik derefter en masse resultater med hjem.

Four Courts

The Four courts is the Republic of Ireland’s main courts building. It was build between 1786 and 1802, in the architectural neoclassicism style by the architect Thomas Cooley and James Gandon.

Four courts Originally housed the four courts of Chancery, King's Bench, Exchequer, and Common Pleas. These courts remained until 1924, were criminal court and family court were separated.

The architectural style of the building is neoclassicism. This means that the style of the building is inspired by Greek buildings.

During the civil war, the four courts were bombarded and the west wing was destroyed. The wing was rebuild in 1932 and open for audience again.

Oplæg om General Post Office

•The General Post Office Ard-Oifig an Phoist is located in the centre of O'Connell Street. It is one of the most famous buildings I Dublin.

•It was the last of the great Georgian public buildings erected in the capital.

•The General Post Office was located in a small building off Dame Street, where the Central Bank is now.

•On 12 august 1814 the foundation-stone for the current General Post Office was laid. The building was opened for business on 6 January 1818.

•The building was build for the sum of £50.000, and was build mainly of mountain granite, except the portico, which was built of Portland stone.

•In 1916 during the Easter Rising the building served as headquarters for the leaders in the rebellion.

•The British forces attacked the headquarters and damaged the building greatly. It was not repaired until several years later, when the State Government took up the task.

•Since the Easter Rising the building has remained a symbol for the Irish nationalism and national history.

•After the failed Rising a statue of the death of the mythical hero Cúchulainn was raised in front of the building. The statue was featured on the Irish ten shilling coin in 1966.

•Despite the fact that it is a symbol of Irish freedom, ground rent was still paid to English and American landlords until the 1980s.

Vi synes, at det var sjvot at se bygningen i virkeligheden. Jeg (Sigrid) havde faktisk ikke lagt mærke til GPO, selvom vi havde gået forbi mange gange. Det var spændende at være et sted, som har så stor national betydning som denne.

-Gruppe 1: Morten, Niklas, Robin og Sigrid

The bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland is the oldest bank in Ireland. It opened for business June 25. 1783 in Dublin.Until that point, banking had been handled by private institutions and individuals.

Being the Official Government Bank gave the Bank of Ireland an economic edge over its competitors and helped create an image of security. The economy was bad and the majority of people were poor. The small group that did have money, mainly landowners, was very protective of their money and skeptical of banks.

In 1784, the Bank of Ireland printed and issued its own paper currency in Irish pound and guinea denominations. The British government had decided to allow six Irish banks to issue their own currency under strict government regulations; the six included the Bank of Ireland, the National Bank, the Ulster Bank, the Northern Bank, the Provincial Bank of Ireland, and the Belfast Banking Company. The Bank of Ireland was the first to take advantage of this opportunity. Soon the other banks followed, and there were six different Irish banknotes as well as English currency being circulated in Ireland.

Their corporate agility and strength has earned them the nickname "the Celtic Tiger" and established them as leaders in the international banking industry and global economy.

The impression we got of the bank was, that it was a very big building. The architecture was very impressive and beatiful. But all in all it was quite what we expected to see, because of all the pictures we had seen before we took off.

Anders, JJ, Tine og Cecilie

Blogoplæg - O'Connell Street

O’Connell Street

Introduction of O’Connell Street
It is Dublin’s main thoroughfare and is located in the heart of Dublin. It is one of Europe’s widest streets. It is 49 meters wide and 500 meter in length. O’Connell Street is a very monumental street with many beautiful buildings. The street ends at the City Hall and Dublin Castle. We have not expected the street being so enormous. It was very wide, and full of people all day long.

History of O’Connell Street
In the early of the 20th century it was largely rebuilt. As you can see around us, there are a lot of statues of Irish political leaders. The street is used for many public celebration, protest and demonstration through the years. Until 1924 it was called “Sackville Street” but it was renamed in honor of Daniel O’Connell, who was an Irish political leader. O’Connell Street was created in the 18th century.

The statue of Daniel O’Connell
On O’Connell Street, there are a lot of statues, one of Daniel O’Connell. They started building the statue in 1864, and it was finished in 1882. When we saw the statue, it looked very big and beautiful.

The monument of Light
Many of you will probably wonder what this is. It is the Spire of Dublin, and is called the Monument of Light. It is one of the highest monuments in Europe, and it is 120 meter high. The Monument of Light is designed by Ian Richie Architects. It’s a monument who symbolized the 21th century of Dublin. It wasn’t completed until 2003 and it was meant to be done in 2000. In real life the Spire of Dublin was a lot bigger than expected. We were surprised because of it's length.


Gruppe 5: Kirstine, Astrid G & Leandra

Hej hej. (:

I dag var A'erne paa Irish museum of modern art. Det var rigtig spaendende kunst, men ogsaa noget man skulle taenke laenge over, for at kunne forstaa. Museumet var ikke som saadan praeget af malerier, men mere installationer, skulpture og fotografier. Det var altsaa ikke et traditionelt museum, men meget alternativt. Hvis man ikke kunne lide eller forstaa kunsten, kunne det let blive uinteressant.

Bagefter tog nogle sporvognen ind til byen for at shoppe, mens andre tog hjem for at sove, pakke eller slappe af, da vi havde fri hele eftermiddagen og foerst skulle moedes igen klokken halv 7 til pub crawl. Det har vaeret nogle haarde dage med masser af byvandring og shopping, saa vores foedder er rigtig oemme.

Alt i alt har det vearet en fantastisk tur, med en masse nye indtryk og indblik i den irske kultur. Klassen har faet meget ud af turen, da vi er blevet rystet godt sammen. :)

Astrid, Mia og Mathilde