Upon entering the vast city of Dublin, I was unsure on how to undergo my first solo trip as a human being free from the presence of my parents or friends through the transportation process. It wasn't until I saw the lengthy line in the customs terminal in Dublin Airport that I finally understood the allure that the Republic of Ireland had on foreigners; whether just up for a visit, studying abroad, or even looking for a new permanent home, Ireland and its clear benefits for all of its permanent and temporary inhabitants provides something close to home for everyone. However, as our initial walking tour of the city of Dublin suggested, not all was homely or inviting for Irish people throughout the island's history.
Lorcan Collins is, to say the utter least, an interesting and passionate man for his celebrated causes who clearly prophesizes to the fullest what he believes in: "socialist republicanism". While I would profoundly disagree with some of his viewpoints and political ideology -- particularly on socialism -- his love for the workingman, the Republic of Ireland, and for Irish revolutionaries is irrevocable, perhaps even arousing intellectually. Although as an Irishman clearly biased for his love of Irish revolutionaries, his views on English aggression were brand new information for me, and some of the murders and casualties caused by English mercenaries and soldiers was eye-opening as well. It should never be routine for an ethnic group such as Irish Catholics to be subject to such heinous crimes by the English hand, but it definitely offered a new perspective on some of the international relations that persist to this day between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and clarity for the rationale as to why there remains a constant bloc of anti-English sentiment among Irish citizens to this day.
The exterior of Dublin City Hall (a building featured in the tour but only through its exterior)
I thought Collins' commentary on politics today was undeniably eyebrow-raising but also a fresh-off-the-shelf perspective coming from roughly the first Irish citizen I have ever conversed with. His admiration of the Sinn Fein party in Ireland -- which still maintains a notable presence in the national government -- corroborated virtually every talking point he had espoused to that point, and additionally, his commentary on the party's allegiance to universal suffrage for all genders is certainly a topic that Americans can connect with. I would imagine the history of social justice and its partner movements would be a prime topic of discussion in both our English and political science courses given the obvious linkage to both Irish policy and the Irish citizenry and their writing ventures. Furthermore, Collins and his views on American politics in the 21st-century were the controversy of some of his blabbering, including, but not limited to a hatred for American entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, a declaration that the Democratic Party and Republican Party were "two cheeks from the same arse", and an off-the-mark/hot-mic remark that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered was somehow dashed in the mix for some incomprehensible reason.
Nonetheless, Lorcan Collins' tour of the marvelous city of Dublin was essentially a tale of adventure from a seasoned veteran of the area, offering bewildering information on the current state of Dublin and its complex, illustrious history, a firsthand view of some of the crown jewels in Dublin proper -- such as the Trinity College, Temple Bar, a commemoration for Frederick Douglass, and the mysterious Heineken building, as well as harrowing tales of Irish revolutionaries who fought for a republican Ireland.
After the tour, I encountered my first Irish meal of peppercorn chicken and vegetables paired with the omnipresent workingman's stout: the Guinness. In losing my Guinness virginity, I had a feeling that as an American accustomed to the taste of lagers and ales that stout would be not quite my tempo; I was correct. The atmosphere of Brannigans Bar was welcoming for its celebration of the Golden Age of American cinema and artifacts of the past championing the likes of Humphrey Bogart and James Stewart, but the sewer-dark pint of Guinness at the end of the day was just another glass of alcohol that I could use to drown my sorrows away -- not a libation that I could relish joyfully. (As for now, I will stick to other non-stouts in Ireland and IPAs, lagers, and ales back home across the pond.)
While most of the day was spent exhausted over the jetlag from my red-eye flight from New York to Dublin and in the midst of a panic attack (typical for new excursions for myself -- usually nothing to worry about unless it snowballs over), I could see from my two functioning eyes that the city of Dublin on its face is a wonderful, beautiful city that over a million Dubliners get to call home. I get to call this city home for roughly four weeks in my own right, and I would love to do it by venturing out, meeting new people, enduring new things, and enjoying my time here.
(Also, apologies for only one picture -- I was not attentive to the rules for blogging in the first 24 hours and will plan accordingly for future entries.)
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