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| checkpoints a, b, c, + d behind my building - Jervis Street, Dublin 1 |
So I got up extremely decently early for a morning meeting. Unfortunately for me, the whole of city centre is shut down for the visit of Queen Elizabeth. Dublin is a happenin' place: the Dalai Lama visited a few weeks ago, Her Majesty the Queen of England this week, President Barack Obama next week, and of course moi...I have been here since September.
There are conflicting views about the queen's visit, as it is the first time a reigning monarch has visited the Republic since Ireland gained independence from British rule in 1922. Some people have it in their heads that an 85-year old woman in a color-blocked suit dress is going to re-take the country. Along with the guards door-knocking to thwart evil plots, it's a security nightmare. A north Dublin pub that posted an anti-queen banner awhile back got raided and they found weapons. Oh and they found a bomb made by the IRA on a Dublin bus headed towards the city yesterday. So that's scary exciting, right?
As for me, the queen's visit made me 45 minutes late to my meeting. O'Connell Street where I catch my bus was completely closed to traffic. I had to walk ten minutes south before I could pick up a bus. I have never seen so many Guardai (police) in the streets, the road barriers from St. Patrick's Day are back up, and helicopters are circling constantly. Here are some quick photos I snapped on my morning stroll. As I type this (3.15pm) I can see a helicopter out the window flying in a straight line along the river and there is a bunch of noise. Pretty sure Her Majesty just drove past. Holla atcha girl Queenie!
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| Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 |
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| Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 1 |
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| O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 |
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| protest sticker - College Green, Dublin 2 |
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| i had to get searched + they even rifled through my bag. oops did i say 'rifle'? |
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