Real Vikings!

When I first started at Dublinia I thought, Vikings wouldn't be something I know much about. But over the last 5 months I have learned so much about Vikings and their trades, crafts and culture. And I can now proudly say I know a little about them.

Never in a million years did I think I would ever get to meet one. I thought they were all in the past and in history books. But over the August bank holiday weekend I am getting to meet not just 1 Viking but 4 Vikings!

The Gathering is all about welcoming home our loved ones who are abroad and I guess working in Dublinia, our ‘loved’ ones abroad are the Vikings! They are coming from a small town in Norway called Gudvangen where they practice trades and crafts of their ancestors including a form of wresting called Glima.

Maire Brünhilde Ravens daughter - or Marie Candito of Viking Valley
Photo by Georg O. R. Hansen

As silly as it sounds, last week I asked ‘do they have real jobs?’, only to be told that being a Viking is their ‘real job’ as I had put it. It’s their way of life. So I searched Gudvangen on FaceBook. Just by scrolling down their timeline and taking a glimpse at their photo’s I have learned so much about their means of life.

I for one can not wait to meet them and interact with them over the weekend! 

Gudvangen in Norway, from where our Vikings are making the long trip back!

Learning English

We are in the middle of one of our busiest months of the year, and we have just had our busiest day so far!

Walking through the exhibition, I can quite clearly see that we are exploding with excited language students from Spain, Italy and even further a field like Brazil! While some of Dublin see the language schools as annoying and in the way, we look at them in a different perspective. They are students in a foreign country, learning English. And while we hope they are learning some English, we also hope that they are learning a bit about Ireland’s history and enjoying the different sites they visit on each trip or day out.

When I’m scrolling through the twitter account, it shows just how much fun the language students have at Dublinia, trying on the different costumes and hats and how excited they are to be in Dublin. I not only see this activity on twitter, going through the exhibition I watch them as they try on the costumes or pretend they live in the Viking house enjoying every bit of their experience.

June time

During my time at Dublinia so far, I have seen many an excited child and adult, but we are in June now.

In June each year, Irish Primary schools set out on the annual school tour! This is a big day out and one of the most anticipated and thought about days from what I remember from my primary school days. The school tour for teachers, pupils and parents brings such pleasure to each individual that it makes us feel so special to be a part of that pleasure.

Yesterday, I witnessed kids jumping from busses with excitement, parents and teachers following them with the same look of excitement and joy on their faces. From lining up before they went in to meet their costumed Viking/Medieval guide the excitement never left them. The look of awe on the parents and teachers faces when the guide got the sugar-rushed children settled down and quiet was of clear amazement.

Credit to: 
St Mary's Boys National School Maynooth

In the Viking exhibition, they see a Viking house and get to try on clothes and helmets that the Vikings really wore. The children get to draw their names in ancient runes and learn were certain words come from such as egg and ice! In the medieval exhibition they get to see what the cure is for a headache or a sore tooth. Also why people can be put into the stocks! Follow on to History Hunter’s; they can see a skeleton of a Viking Warrior and a Medieval Lady!

So far we are only half way through June and while we have lots more school tours, we cannot wait to see the enthusiasm that arrives off the busses first thing each morning and have quiet descend each afternoon!

Credit to:
St Mary's Boys National School Maynooth

Celebration Time

Last Tuesday, May 14th, we celebrated the anniversary of one of our longest employees, Gerry, who is working for Dublinia 20 years.

Gerry was presented with framed pictures of his time here, tickets and a card to mark the occasion. I noticed everyone that wrote one the card mentioned his funny humour and jokes. Gerry, who would always have a joke at the tip of his tongue, could not manage a joke on the night, he was that overwhelmed with surprise.

The staff had gathered in secret, in the Coffee shop along with his wife, who he met while she completed the Heritage course we run here, to welcome and surprise Gerry!

Asking Gerry a few questions on his 20 years at Dublinia, this is what he said:

What is you most treasured memory/ funniest moment from Dublinia?

Most Treasured Memory: I met Giovanna, my wife.

Funniest Moment: I was working in the shop during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger. A very distressed visitor came in and asked if we had or knew where they could buy a picture or postcard of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger.

What for you has been the biggest change in Dublinia since you started?

The big increase in the number of visitors from so many different countries all over the world. When we first opened domestic tourist’s made up the majority of our visitor number’s.

What’s your favourite part of the exhibition?

The Scale Model, a reconstruction of what Medieval Dublin would have looked like.

Tell us a joke.

A man is walking down a street with a monkey on a lead. Another man stops him and asks: ‘Where did you get the monkey?’ The first man says ‘I found him in my garden this morning’. Second man says, ‘do you not think you should bring him to the zoo?’ The first man then says ‘I brought him to the zoo this morning, now I’m bringing him to the cinema’! 

A Little Day Trip

This is our first blog ever and of the summer!

Will it be good, that’s anyone’s guess? But what I do know everything’s worth a try at least once!

A blog about ALL things Viking, Medieval and Archaeological. A blog about the daily/weekly happenings at Dublinia.

For instance, this morning Sheila (our curator) and I (Dympna, marketing intern) went down to the National Museum at Collins Barracks to collect the molecular sieves from their Conservation Lab that keep our artefacts in the cases, regulated at the relative humidity levels and temperature.

What I seen was little smooth stones and what looked like tiny jewels.

 

Molecular Sieves

 

But that is what they really look like. Sheila who used to be an archaeologist, informed me and Aaron, another staff member, when questioned about what they do for the artefacts, that they take all the moisture out of the air and help to protect the artefacts.

I found it astonishing, that artefact’s hundreds of thousands years old would need, what I thought was a small process, such a small amount of effort to keep them the way they are.  Although there is other parts to the ‘equation’ as some might call it like keeping the outside temperature balanced with the temperature inside the glass case and having the little ‘clocks’ to show to demonstrate this.

Not all artefacts are the same and they all require a different ‘treatment’ as such. And sometimes it’s as simple as making sure the air is not too dry or there is enough moisture in the air.

I hope you enjoy my first little blog and somehow may have interested you!

Please feel free to comment and any feedback or idea would be greatly appreciated!