Dublin Day Two: Bram Stoker, walking art and a quick rework of Oedipus and Dublin by Night

Dublin Day Two: Bram Stoker, walking art and a quick rework of Oedipus and Dublin by Night by Ann Treacy

November 2, 2025, 4:46 pm
Filed under: Dublin

Day Two of Dublin was pretty darned good. We had a great walk all around the city center. My pedometer says 11 miles but I am dealing to technology not fully understanding a trip to a new country so who knows but it has to be close.

We did some charity shop shopping. (I got a new-to-me dress.) We saw some art – first at the Project Arts Centre, where we saw Vague Symptoms Clinic, a very modern art exhibit. It included some subtle movement, so I, of course, loved it. Later in the day, we walked by the Hugh Lane gallery. The gallery was closed, and while I love their collection, that was OK because my favorite work is the walking video by Julian Opie. At one point, they had walking videos scattered all of Dublin, now it’s just the one.

We tracked down Bram Stoker’s temporary residence in Dublin. As you can see from the photos, there’s no question which house was his. Last night we could see fireworks in distance. Today we could see the remnants of the fireworks around the Stoker estate in the North East Inner City.

We were walking back to the South Side of the Liffey and about a block away from the Abbey Theatre. We stopped by with the intention of doing research for possible activities throughout the week. Turns out there was a show by one of my favorite Irish playwrights (Marina Carr) with one of my favorite Irish actors, Eileen Walsh on right then and closing today. It was The Boy, a two-part retelling of Oedipus Rex. If we hustled, we would only be a few minutes late for part one. So we did and I was so glad. It was amazing. It was funny, sinister, and macabre in equal parts. Only Irish sensibilities and dry wit could get a laugh from the horrendously violent and evil deeds of a Greek Tragedy. Not that it was a comedy. It was moving and thought-provoking but the humor took the edge off the brutality. Worth giving up a few hours of Irish sunshine for sure!

The we ambled back to our place to gear up an evening festival. We walked up Grafton Street through Stephen’s Green. And I bought some new Doc Martens.

At night we went to the Dublin by Night Festival. They closed off Dame Street on the south side of the Liffey and Capel Street on the North. Huge crowds, lots of music and other performances. It was fun but a reminder of how many people come out for an event like that.