Photos

Dust from North Africa mingled with other aerosols in the skies over the United Kingdom (left of center) and Ireland (farther west) on 18 April 2003. In this scene, the dust is more prominent to the north over the Atlantic, where it can be seen as a tan swirl west of Norway. West of Ireland, the haze is grayer, and is more likely pollution. In the United Kingdom, a few bright plumes of white could be associated with fires. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Satellite image of Ireland, Northern Ireland, as well as Great Britain. It is not so easy to get a view of the region without cloud cover, but here we can clearly see the beautiful “40 shades of green” that the island’s countryside is famous for. The skies of Ireland tend to be covered by clouds most of the year, due to its geographical location close to Atlantic low pressure systems that bring humid, cloudy air flows across the area. The country’s sunniest months are May and June, where one may see between 5 and 6.5 hours of sunshine over most of the country each day. Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Constructed in 1729, the Bank of Ireland in Dublin building was the original home of the Irish Parliament. Following the 1801 Act of Union that abolished the Irish Parliament and placed Ireland under the direct rule of London, the building was sold to the Bank of Ireland in 1803.

Christ Church was built on the site of a Viking church that dated back to A.D. 1038. Construction of the current church was begun in 1172 by Strongbow, a Norman baron and conqueror of Dublin for the English crown. It is presently the seat of the Protestant Church of Ireland.

City Hall in Dublin was constructed between 1769 to 1779; it was used as the Royal Exchange during the time of British rule and currently is the seat of the Dublin Corporation, the elected body that governs the city.

Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland for seven centuries until 1922; it is now used mainly for Irish and EU governmental purposes. The Record Tower dates to A.D. 1208.

Leinster House in Dublin was built by the Duke of Leinster in 1745. The building now houses the Irish bicameral Parliament - the Seanad Eireann (Senate) and the Dail Eireann (House of Representatives).

Molly Malone statue on Grafton Street in Dublin. The statue is of a fictional fishmonger in Dublin, who died of a fever. The song, "Molly Malone," is the unofficial anthem of Dublin. The statue was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin in December 1988 as part of the city's millennium celebration.

The General Post Office in Dublin, constructed between 1814 and 1818 by the British as a center of communications, was the scene of the Irish Easter Uprising against British occupation from 24 to 30 April 1916.

The entrance to the massive Kilmainham Gaol (Jail) in Dublin. Built in 1796, it was the site of numerous hangings and deportations in the early 19th century. Many famous Irish revolutionaries were imprisoned there. Leaders of the Easter Uprising from 24 to 30 April 1916 were held there before their execution a short time later.

Plaque with the names of the leaders of the April 1916 Easter Uprising executed at the jail in early May 1916 in the courtyard of the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin.

Interior of a section of the Victorian Wing or East Wing of the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin "modernized" in the mid-19th century to allow more light and space for the inmates.