96. Scattered First Impressions

On my flight to Dublin I sat next to a

young Irishman, an architect. I asked if there were any sporting events happening. He reminded me that the national Gaelic Games happened some weeks ago. That unites Ireland. Certainly, religion and politics doesn’t. He said the only sports this weekend in Dublin is American college football - Kansas state vs. Iowa State. Who would have thunk. The next day I was shocked to walk by Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral flying the flags of both college teams. Sports as international ambassador.. 

But it gets stranger. Originally Dublin was a viking settlement at the mouth of the Liffey River. The Viking raids were the scourge for coastal villages and monasteries. So what NFL team has been invited to Dublin at the end of September. Yes, the Minnesota Vikings. Stranger things!

And I was hoping to see the ancient Gaelic game of hurling, played with sticks and a small ball the size of a baseball. It’s considered the fastest game in sports. But not this month.

Ireland is divided into two countries with the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Ireland. Economically, the South is in the European Union. The North is part of the United Kingdom with Britain and Scotland. Don’t even start with religion. In the South the sovereign flag is a vertical green for Catholics and Orange for Protestants with white in the middle, the hope for peace between the two.

The photo shows the goddess Hibernia, the Roman name for Ireland . The Romans never attempted to invade because it was too cold, the land of winter. All you could do was “hibernate” to stay alive. This statue stands atop the famous General Post Office in North Dublin. It’s all innocent enough, until you let your eyes fall downward to the bullet holes on the classic columns below as a witness to past civil strife. But last night I noticed there was an open air soup kitchen on the sidewalk below, also a witness to a healing future.

I’m staying in student housing at Trinity College. Fantastic location. Yesterday I was surprised to see two young men in black standing outside my room with a cleaning cart. In California and elsewhere the cleaning service would most likely be Spanish speaking women. I shared my observation. We spoke. They were from Poland, on contract for the Summer to service the guests at the college. When the students return in September these two workers return home. And the rooms probably won’t get cleaned as well by the student residents. The two seemed gentle spirits. One smiled at me, “You are lucky to be born where you were.” There was no envy. in his voice. Just goodwill. He had gratitude for his opportunities. And reminded me that I should do the same.  A simple gesture.

But Eastern Europeans aren’t the only guest workers. Walking down the street, I asked directions of a young man. He knew exactly where I was going and walked with me. I sensed the lack of an Irish accent, so asked where he was from. “Azerbaijan” was the answer. I replied, “No way. I was just there last year in the capital city of Baku on the Caspian Sea.” So I immediately jumped to politics to ask his opinion of the recent peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The young man was really excited and thought it was the best thing for the region because it protected them from their “neighbor to the north.” This was a veiled reference to Russia always intervening to pit one former Soviet Republic against another. I was pleased to hear his enthusiasm. But the wording of the treaty still needs to be passed by Armenia’s legislature. I personally think the treaty especially benefits Azerbaijan for its territorial claims and energy trading route to Turkey. What does Armenia get? Allowed to live in peace and not be the victim again. That’s a lot, actually. Hopefully the young man is right. The last thing I expected was a brush with the Caucasus on the streets of Dublin.

Thanks to his directions I was off to the largest burial passage mound sites in Europe. They were built in 3200 BC with tons of stone imported from miles away. And all this predates the Egyptian pyramids. But the pyramids did not have ocular openings for the Solstice light to penetrate the interior. The pyramids were built for the dead. These enormous Irish sites were built for the living, as well as the dead. 

That’s another story. We can wait.