Doors

One might think the first thing to draw my attention once we arrived in Ireland would be the beautiful green landscape.  The landscape is indeed lovely and it most certainly is green, but as our driver drove through the streets of Dublin and into the surrounding villages the thing I first noticed was the colorful doors.   Passing blocks of row houses and single homes I could not help but notice no two adjoining homes sported the same color door.

I never ask nor did anyone offer up if neighbors planned with one another on the chosen color or if somehow it was mandated that this door be blue, this one yellow with a white or brown door on either end.  I did however come to the conclusion I was not the only one to think this was something special when after days of taking pictures of the doors I happened upon a poster titled "Doors of Dublin".  

via google

The blues, reds, yellows and whites were not limited to the boundries of Dublin.  I found them in Enniskerry, Dun Laoghaire, and Monkstown as well. 

There are a few different stories of why the doors are painted in a rainbow of colors.  One is the wives painted the doors so their husbands when returning from a night at the Pubs would be able to find their own home.   Another states when Queen Elizabeth passed away it was ordered all doors in the United Kingdom be painted black and in rebellion the folks of Ireland painted their doors in the vibrant colors they are today.  Personally I like the first.

I met so many welcoming people along the narrow winding village roads, in the shops and pubs, on the trains, standing in queue to catch the bus and in the busy streets of Dublin.  They were always willing to stop and show me the way, answer a question or share a story.  They enjoy a good story and a laugh as much as I.

And so I begin my tale with the doors, the perfect metaphor of the warmness and generosity I received from the people who live behind those doors of many colors.

The people, my most vivid memory.