irelandDublinDUBLIN IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF IRELAND. IT IS ALSO THE LARGEST CITY IN IRELAND. THE CITY IS DIVIDED IN TWO BY THE RIVER LIFFEY. DUBLIN HAS BEEN IRELAND’S PRIMARY CITY FOR MOST OF THE ISLAND’S HISTORY. DUBLINERS (THE PEOPLE OF DUBLIN) ARE FAMOUS FOR THEIR FRIENDLINESS AND SENSE OF HUMOUR. A FAVOURITE PASTIME IS GOING TO PUBS TO MEET FRIENDS, TALK AND DRINK GUINNESS. TEMPLE BAR IS LOCATED ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE RIVER LIFFEY. IT IS KNOWN AS DUBLIN’S ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE. TEMPLE BAR HAS LOTS OF PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND SHOPS. TEMPLE BAR IS SO POPULAR, EVEN THE ROCK BAND, U2, OWN A HOTEL HERE CALLED THE CLARENCE HOTEL.

VOCABULARYWhat can you see in Dublin? Match the pictures to the words.

Temple Bar Clarence Hotel River Liffey Guinness

LONG, LONG AGOThe River Liffey has always been a very important part of Dublin. Long ago, the river was used to transport barrels of Guinness and other cargo. In 1816, a man called William Walsh built a bridge over the River Liffey. The bridge is commonly known as the Ha’penny Bridge because people had to pay a ‘ha’penny’ (half a penny) to cross it. This was a bridge for people to walk on and replaced the ferries that had crossed the river. William Walsh had been in charge of the ferries and these ferries were old. So he was told that he had to either fix the ferries or build a bridge. He decided to build the bridge and was able to charge people to cross the bridge. People had to pay to cross the bridge for 100 years. People no longer have to pay to walk across the bridge.

WITH MY OWN EYES1 Draw the Ha’penny Bridge.

2 Imagine you lived in Dublin in 1816. Write a short description of what you think life was like. Did you cross the Ha’penny Bridge?

Did you transport Guinness down the River Liffey?

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Answer the following questions in pairs or small groups.

1 What do most people call the bridge across the River Liffey?

2 Why did William Walsh build the bridge?

3 Who used the bridge and what for?

4 Why is the bridge known as the Ha’penny Bridge?

© Signum International S.à.r.l. Luxembourg, Luzern Branch, Luzern, 2012 www.ef.com

Culture File: Ireland4

irelandTRINITY COLLEGE IS THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY IN IRELAND. IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1582 BY QUEEN ELIZABETH I. IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD. IT WAS THE FIRST UNIVERSITY TO OFFER A DEGREE IN LANGUAGES! THE COLLEGE CAMPUS COVERS 47 ACRES AND HAS MANY BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS ARRANGED AROUND COURTS, KNOWN AS SQUARES. THE GROUNDS ARE VERY GREEN, WITH LOTS OF TREES. THE MAIN CAMPUS IS A VERY BUSY PLACE. THIS IS WHERE MANY STUDENTS LIVE.

Trinity College

VOCABULARYTrinity College is visited by many tourists. What might you see if you visit the campus?

buskers library

students Latin

THE BOOK OF KELLSOne of the buildings in Trinity College is the Old Library. In the Old Library, you can find the famous Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is one of the oldest and most beautiful books in the world. It was produced by monks in AD 800. It contains text written in Latin, which is very old. However, it is the pictures that make this book stand out. They are amazingly complex drawings, which are very beautiful. The Book of Kells is seen by many tourists every day.

AROUND TRINITY COLLEGESouth of Trinity College is Grafton Street. This is Dublin’s most elegant shopping street. Buskers including musicians, poets and mime artists perform while people shop. The street runs up to the main entrance of St Stephen’s Green. St Stephen’s Green (pronounced Saint Stephen’s Green) is a beautiful inner-city public park. There is a lake in the park with ducks on it. One of the more unusual things in the park is a garden for blind people. It has plants that smell and that can be touched. The plants are labelled in Braille.

Discuss these questions in small groups.

1 Would you like to be a student at Trinity College? Why? / Why not?

2 Would you like to walk down Grafton Street? Why? / Why not?

3 Can you read Braille?

4 What other things might be good for blind people to experience in Dublin? Think about smells and sounds.

WITH MY OWN EYES1 Walk along Grafton Street from Trinity College to St Stephen’s

Green. Write a list of the shops you can see on Grafton Street.

2 Draw pictures of Trinity College and what’s around it.

3 Have you seen the Book of Kells? Describe it in five sentences.

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© Signum International S.à.r.l. Luxembourg, Luzern Branch, Luzern, 2012

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