In 1708, a family named Dawson turned a small country road into a street with a market. They named it after the first Duke of Grafton, a son of Charles II of England. Now, Grafton Street is a lively shopping street in the heart of Dublin. In the old buildings, which are painted in various colours, there are traditional Irish stores such as Brown Thomas and Bewley’s Grafton Street Café.
The Jeanie Johnston is a rebuilt version of an original ship that Irish people sailed on to America when they immigrated there during the middle of the 19th century. They sailed from a harbour in the county Kerry, on the south-west coast of Ireland, to North America. About 2,500 people travelled on the original Jeanie Johnston. You can see the Jeanie Johnston at Custom House Quay in Dublin every day from March to November.
There are many bridges that connect the south of Dublin with the part north of the River Liffey. One of them is a popular tourist sight and can be seen on many postcards of Dublin. When it was built in 1816, it cost half a penny to walk over the bridge. That is why it is called the Ha’penny Bridge, although its official name is the Liffey Bridge. Today you can cross it for free but the bridge can only be crossed on foot – it is not wide enough for cars.
The part of the east coast of Ireland that stretches from Howth in the north to Dalkey in the south is called the
Dublin Bay. The River Liffey, that divides Dublin, flows into the Irish Sea at this bay. If tourists get on one of the ships that travel from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, they can see a number of interesting sights along the way. Boat trips along the Dublin Bay usually last about ninety minutes and pass by the James Joyce Tower at Sandycove, the place where Joyce’s famous novel “Ulysses” starts, and the romantic looking Dalkey Island. Visitors interested in walking along the sea or going for a swim will also find many beautiful beaches there.
