"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy"

Ireland is an island divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic occupies five-sixths of the island with a population slightly less than 4,800,000.
Dublin is the largest city of the Republic. Population of the city is estimated at 554,000. The Dublin metropolitan population is approximately 1,250,000.
Irish history is one of conflict and oppression. The present peace and prosperity began in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement. It remains an uneasy truce.
Approximately, 12,000,000 people have migrated from Ireland in the last 200 years. Approximately. one million people died from starvation in Ireland from 1846 to 1851. During these years, Ireland lost 20% -25% of its population from deaths and migration.
The first positive growth is population was 2008.
The Republic of Ireland is a member of the EU.

The Irish are a maudlin people. They are quick tempered, dry sense of humor, quick to weep and resolute in their fate. In summary, a great people.
I am Irish according to my mother and 61% by 23andme.

It is Saturday in Dublin.
Bill and I are up early. There is a bakery down the street for coffee and muffin.
Our residence is a small house and recently renovated. It is in an older section of the city and across the river Iffy. I am guessing the row house was built in the late 1800's.
Dublin's older residential architecture is noticeably different than London. The houses are 2 story versus 3-6 in London. Materials are brown brick as opposed to red brick or stone. Dublin was neutral during WWII and did not suffer the damage that London did.
Caroline is sleeping on the pull-out in the TV/Living Room. Leaving for coffee, we let Betty and Caroline sleep a little longer.
Bakery is a misnomer. We sit outside as the delivery truck delivers the baked goods for the day. So, it is a bakery store. The biscuits are good and the coffee strong. It is a great day. We are in Dublin.
Caroline is dressing as we get back. Bill and I have walked the local community and found a sign which says "the city" with an arrow pointing to a left turn.
I have read very little about Dublin. James Joyce forgive me. In literature and history, the cities are London, Paris and Rome, literary geniuses did not go to Dublin to drink or write. I venture that the old Dublin was the Gary Indiana or Detroit of Europe - you were from there and left when you had bus fare.
Dublin has definitely changed. It is young, active and progressive. It has gentrified and quickly.
Caroline is in charge. She has confidence. She knows where she is going and it is Temple Bar.
We leave the house. Turn left at the light. Turn left at the arrow and cross a bridge. Almost all European cities are river cities. The Iffey flows through Dublin to the sea. The Iffey is neither as broad as the Seine nor the Thames. It is not a working river. It is swift flowing and separates Dublin surely as the viaducts separates neighborhoods in Chicago.
We pass Christ Church and wonder up to the door. There is price to pay to enter. It is the Church of Ireland so our salvation is not dependent on the price.
As I found out during the trip - all Churches were Catholic at creation. The two centuries of Reformation eliminated that simplicity. Be honest, did you know that there was a Church of Ireland? This became a common comment on the journey. "I did not know."
Within Minutes of leaving the church, we have entered the social and mercantile center of Dublin. Betty, as always, has done well. We are close to the events and locations, but several hundred dollars less.
Temple Bar is a place - actually, a very large bar with a lot of bars inside. Temple Bar is also a destination. You have entered Dublin (tourist) - enjoy the numerous bars, restaurants and a Communist Bookstore. Temple Bar is a definition - it is young, assertive, fun, progressive and open 23 hours a day.
We find the "place" and decide that we need a coffee at the shop across the street (street is not correct - more like 20 feet that divide one side of a building from another with a walkway in between.
After coffee, we walk to find Molly Malone. Molly is a statute in front of St Andrews Church. The statute of this fish monger is from the unofficial song of Dublin "Cockles and Mussels". It was donated in 1988 by the Jury Hotel. Unofficially, Molly was a professional woman. Her creator gave her an ample bosom which tradition has glistened by tourists climbing the statue to touch.
With no specific destination, we walk across Fleet Street and meander to Grafton Street which is a pedestrian shopping street.
At the end of the street is the entrance to St. Stephen's Green. The Green is a beautiful park. St Stephen's Green is a singular best exhibit on why there are, have not been or will be never great Irish Generals.
As you walk the Green, there are neat permanent placards posted at various historical sites within the park where the Irish rebels took on the British army in 1916 - the Easter Rising. Although the Rising began the successful rebellion with resulted in the Republic in 1922, it was a Tarantino movie of inglorious acts that got good men and women killed.
Briefly, the Irish rebels took the low ground in the park with tall buildings above them; they forgot to take the telegraph office (the British quickly responded); the guns (no machine guns) from the Germans were captured and did not arrive and three quarters of the rebels did not show since they thought it was bad idea to not be armed going into combat.
But, there were glorious acts of bravery and selflessness. The British acted like brutes and made martyrs of the rebels.  The British rule in Ireland - extending in to the 1990s - is only matched by the British rule of India and China. And in some ways, far worse in longevity and cruelty.
Great Park. Brave people - just not great generals.
We are hungry and head is to the Temple Bar area. Guinness and pizza in a local bar. It is my first order of Guinness in a bar. There is a tradition to a pour. Guinness is to be served a 45 degrees. Guinness has nitrogen injected which creates the distinctive cream on top. The bar person pulls til the pint glass is 3/4 full. The glass sits while the bubbles settle (@ minute). The bar person fills to the top. Do not reach for the glass. You wait until it has settled again and the bar person hands to you.
You now know why Guinness on tap is "neither far nor near" in the US.
We walk to the Dublin Castle. The Castle began as a fortress to guard the river. It was not successful and the Vikings quickly overwhelmed and came back every year to pillage. Eventually, the double mileage credits ran out and the two households costly,
Dublin is a Viking city and the Irish are very comfortable with the Norsemen heritage and genes.
The fortress became British with William the Conqueror and the emblem of British rule for over 800 years.
The Castle is not much of a Castle when compared to the castles of Europe and England. The rooms are smaller; there is wood instead of marble; the paintings are of Viceroys and Earls.
The Castle is the home of the President of the Republic and is used for public functions and international events.
We are exhausted. We started mid morning and we are now walking home. It is late afternoon. We stop to buy dinner.
Tomorrow - we drink. Guinness Storehouse and Teeling Whiskey.