In December I had a conference in Dublin. I was in charge of the Workshop on Information Security and Privacy. Afterwards I did some sightseeing around Ireland and Northern Ireland.

My conference was held in Dublin, so I got to see some interesting sights.

The Spire is also called the Monument of Light. They are famous for pubs with crazy names but good food. I loved the bridge shaped like a harp.

We went to the Finglas Ward which is across the street from Glasnevin Cemetery.

We spent one day touring Newgrange and Tara and learned about the history of the country. Newgrange was built about 5000 years ago. It’s aligned so that the light shines through at 8:58 am on the winter solstice every year.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral (including a mummified cat and rat found in the organ).

Dublin Castle: We had tower/crypt/chapel tour and then saw the state apartments.

We took a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol (built in 1796).

The Cliffs of Moher were spectacular. We got to watch the sunset. These were used as the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride movie.

We spent the night in Galway and saw the Cathedral.

Our plans to visit the the Aran Islands, as well as our plans to hike in Connemara National Park were stymied by rain and strong winds. So we visited Kylemore Abbey/Castle and saw the mini Cathedral and Mausoleum.

In Donegal we saw a church, the castle and the ruins of an abbey/cemetery before driving to Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland (UK).

After a few days in Northern Ireland, we drove back to Dublin to see Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library’s Book of Kells exhibit and Long Room. The pages from the Book of Kells that we saw were intricately illuminated in minute detail. The Long Room was very impressive—very beautiful library, filled with very old books. Also saw the Brian Boru harp, the oldest surviving Irish harp and the model for the insignia of Ireland.

We also went to the National Museum of Ireland—Archaeology for 20 minutes before closing. Saw the bog bodies. Fascinating in how old and well preserved they are, but kind of gross. Also saw the Celtic gold exhibit.