The 2007 Samsung Super League with FEI series this week arrives in Dublin, Ireland - home to writers Joyce, Shaw and Wilde, to the pint of Guinness, to magnificent Georgian buildings and to what many believe to be the birthplace of the sport of show jumping.
The city's beginnings date back to a Viking settlement established at the mouth of the River Liffey in 841 which lasted until 902 when the native Irish sent the visitors packing, but the Vikings returned in 917 to build an enclosed town which flourished until the Anglo-Normans arrived in the 12th Century. There is extensive evidence of trade links between Ireland and Europe from the very earliest times.
Today's Dublin is a cosmopolitan place with a great deal of new development, but if you dig deep enough and in the right places you will still find much of the old, along with the unique wisdom and sense of humour which epitomises its inhabitants.
There is much to see - like the world-famous Book of Kells which is on display at Trinity College. The richly-decorated copy of the four gospels was written around 800 AD in a Latin text. It is one of the reasons why 500,000 visitors annually flock to Dublin's oldest and finest university campus which was founded in 1592 and which lies in 40 acres of cobbled squares and open spaces surrounded by buildings that have stood for almost 300 years.
The College is located in the city centre just south of the River Liffey and is only a short walk from the trendy Temple Bar area which was the location for the premier of Handel's Messiah. The German-born composer first performed his great work before an Irish audience in April 1742 at the Music Hall in Fishamble Street, but the sounds now emanating from the surrounding clubs, bars and restaurants have a different kind of appeal.
Under British rule, Dublin was once considered the second city of the Empire, much admired for its glorious Georgian architecture which continues to be treasured today. A short distance from Trinity College lies the Georgian Merrion Square in which stands, or rather lies, a statue of Oscar Wilde who once famously said that "the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about". The renowned dramatist, poet and wit who was born in 1854 lived at No. 1 Merrion Square and was a popular guest at parties of the Dublin social elite. It's not difficult to imagine that a man whose plays included classic lines like -"I can resist everything except temptation", "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast", and “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing” - was in great demand, but like many Irish literary talents he died in poverty having tragically fallen into bad health during imprisonment for homosexuality.
Around the corner from Merrion Square is where the Duke of Wellington - yes the man who routed Napoleon's army at the Battle of Waterloo - was born. His attachment to his city of birth however may not have been all that strong. When asked about his Dublin origins he is said to have replied "just because you are born in a stable doesn't make you a horse" !!
Speaking of horses however, it was across the road from Wellington's birthplace that the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), established in 1731, staged its first horse show at Leinster House, now the Irish Houses of Parliament, on 28 July 1868 when the challenges included the High Leap, the Wide Leap and the Stone Wall. The Society moved to a 15-acre site in the leafy suburb of nearby Ballsbridge in 1879 and the same venue plays host to this week's prestigious Samsung Super League with FEI competition.
It has been a tough series so far, with the eight participating nations enjoying varying fortunes, but there is still time for those lingering in the relegation zone to evade disaster. The Irish team was demoted from the series last season but is battling back with grim determination and will be joining the elite nations in Friday's clash, hoping to show their home crowd that the country often known as "The Land of the Horse" is well-deserving of a return to the premier level of the sport. Justifiably proud of their long and distinguished tradition in the hallowed RDS arena they, along with the 32 riders representing Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Sweden, The Netherlands, France, Belgium and the USA will be acting out the words of George Bernard Shaw who declared - "you'll never have a quiet world until you knock the patriotism out of the human race".
As the Samsung Super League motto says, the series is all about "National Pride, International Passion." Dubliners will be showing plenty of both as they roar on their side this Friday afternoon.
Campus
