Another good thing about 2020 is that I (finally?!) discovered podcasts. I’m feeling a bit late to the party on this, but wow, there is a whole world of free, fascinating, useful, and entertaining audio programs out there. Working from home, I’ve found that sometimes it’s a productive use of time to listen to the …
At the beginning of August 2020, I drafted a post titled, “Optimism in the Time of COVID-19,” containing a list of all the hopeful things I’d seen on a walk in the neighbourhood (wearing a sweaty face mask). However, I couldn’t make myself publish it, and I’ve been meditating upon why. At the time, I’d …
Back in January of 2019 (which honestly seems like yesterday), I set myself the goal of visiting 100 museums during the year, and posting a short blog entry about each one. That would work out to three or four a week, which sounded overly ambitious, but hey, why not. I’m delighted to report that I …
The last “museum” in my 100 Museums Challenge is a very special one, as it’s the shrine of a saint. In October 2019 I was lucky to tour Ireland in a group led by Stephen McPhilemy from Derry, Northern Ireland. On the day that we would go to Brú na Bóinne north of Dublin, Stephen …
Continuing from my previous posts (here, here, and here), these are four more Dublin museums I visited in October 2019. 1) Dublinia Dublinia, which was redeveloped in 2010, is a living history museum and not-for-profit heritage centre, focusing on Viking Dublin and Medieval Dublin. It was marvellously interactive, occasionally gruesome, and quite educational. A panel, …
Continuing from my previous posts here and here, these are four more Dublin museums I visited in October 2019. 1) National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology is delicious. Irish Bronze Age gold, prehistoric tools, Viking Ireland, Medieval reliquaries, Iron Age bog bodies, etc., etc. The silver-gilt Tara Brooch …
The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation, a not-for-profit charity established in 1971, held their annual fund-raising Founders’ Dinner last night, and I was honoured to be invited to represent the Ontario Historical Society. As a bonus, it gave me the chance to have a look inside the museum, which is owned and operated by the Ontario …
Continuing from my previous post, here are four more Dublin museums. 1) Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship and Famine Museum Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship and Famine Museum provides a fine opportunity to reflect upon the realities of the disastrous famine in Ireland (also called the Great Hunger) from 1845 to 1849. I appreciated how the history …
The monastic settlement at Glendalough, located in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin, is certainly a place that has, as Anne of Green Gables would say, plenty of “scope for imagination.” The monastery was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. It’s said that he lived in a cave overlooking the upper lake, …
Visiting the prehistoric archaeological landscape at Brú na Bóinne, a bend of the Boyne River north of Dublin, was one of the highlights of my trip to Ireland. Map of Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site Source: World Heritage Ireland – Brú na Bóinne – Visitor Information Access to the passage graves at Knowth and …
