Street art adorns a wall in Dublin’s Merrion Square.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
The Clarke train station in Dundalk, a town in Ireland’s County Meath, includes a museum of the train station’s history.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
An improvised memorial on O’Connell Street in Dublin on Feb. 26 honors Alexei Navalny, critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and who died Feb. 16 in an Arctic prison.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
The Brigid of Faughart Mural on Bridge Street in Dundalk, a city in County Meath, was created as part of the SEEK Visual Arts Festival in August 2020. It has since become an attraction for visitors and depicts Brigid, an Irish saint and goddess.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Novelist James Joyce’s desk is on display at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
James Joyce’s bedroom, with his trunk and walking stick, is on view at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
“Dracula” author Bram Stoker lived for a time at a house at Killarney and Buckingham Streets in Dublin. The exterior of the house is decorated with murals and passages from the book.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Refreshments such as cake and tea are available on some train rides in Ireland.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Toadflax grows in the wall of Castle Lismore in County Waterford, Ireland.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
There are many grottos honoring Our Lady of Lourdes throughout Ireland. This one is in County Waterford.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
The older portion of the Midleton Distillery, in Midleton, County Cork, is now a museum.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
An Gorta Mor, the Great Hunger, began with a blighted potato crop in 1845 and continued through 1852. This period of mass-starvation claimed the lives of about 1 million Irish people. Many memorials stand throughout Ireland, including this one in Fermoy, County Cork.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Charity shops such as this one in Dublin draw many bargain hunters.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
My mother grew up in Midleton, a town in County Cork, Ireland.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Inside the sanctuary of the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Midleton, in County Cork, Ireland.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Murals adorn one of the homes where Irish-born writer Bram Stoker, author of “Dracula,” lived in Dublin.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine
Crows fly over the Hill of Tara in Ireland’s Boyne Valley. Tara is associated with Ireland’s ancient kings, and several stories from Irish mythology, legend and history.
Margaret Smith/Worcester Magazine