On our first day, after shopping in the afternoon on Grafton Street we managed to locate Dublin Castle (which by the way after being awake for like 30 hours at this point wasn’t that easy).
Dublin Castle was built in the 13th century and was the center of British rule for over 700 years. Unfortunately, we did not get to go in the Castle as it was closed until July, 2013 for some reason or another. We then enjoyed the Chester Beatty Library with it’s beautiful ancient bound books and oriental art work. We also were able to enjoy the gardens by the Castle.
I believe these are Bells of Ireland flowers:
The snake in the garden…
A beautiful gate in an area with sculptures for the Special Olympics…
XOXO, L
Have Teacup Will Travel 
Amazing construction and architecture.
A real castle! How cool is that?! Too bad you didn’t get to go inside – hopefully there will be another one that you can take a look at inside.
The snake in the garden – very clever!
What a beautiful castle!! Lovely photos!
Thank you. I absolutely loved all the castles.