A Medieval History Lesson in a Dublin Grocery Store

When I travel to a new city, like most tourists, I want to see the top attractions; after all, the must-see locations, history, and experiences draw millions of tourists annually. When I visited Dublin last year, I knew attractions such as Trinity College and Dublin Castle would be at the top of my list. Still, I also like going off the beaten path to find the treasure rarely discussed in popular travel publications. While in Dublin, I was fortunate enough to schedule a private tour guide; after all, who better to show me their city and history than a Dubliner?

My guide Dominic was kind enough to meet me at my hotel near St. Stephen’s Green. Dominic and I spent some time getting to know one another and discussing what I envisioned for our time together. I explained that I was naturally curious and hoped we could get away from the top tourist attractions as I wanted to learn about the parts of Dublin I hadn’t been able to discover online or in books. I was relieved to find out that Dominic was delighted by my requests. Dominic was a bit eccentric and quite the entertainer; during my time with him, I realized that he was one of the many treasures Dublin has to offer tourists. I’ve been on city tours where it was clear that the guide didn’t necessarily enjoy what they were doing. Dominic was the extreme opposite, and it was easy to see that he enjoyed sharing his city with tourists; he even introduced me to some of his friends along the way.

Now that Dominic had an idea of my interests, he set the intention for our day, and we were off. As we walked through the streets of Dublin, talking about the city and its history, I was left excited about what was ahead of us. As we approached the South-East inner city and stepped on Aungier Street, Dominic asked me if I would mind stopping by Lidl, a local grocery store. At first, I thought it was an odd request, and I wondered why I had spent money on a private tour if I would accompany him as he ran errands. As we entered Lidl, I could only think about why he was wasting our time together. To my surprise, entering the grocery store, we stepped back into Dublin’s medieval history. Inside the Lidl on Aungier Street is an archeological site dating back to 1050 AD.

As the site for Lidl was being prepared, archaeologists were consulted; given the location, they had anticipated the discovery of medieval ruins. The Vikings traveled to Ireland and other parts of Europe by longboat. Hiberno-Norse was the name given to the descendants of Vikings who settled in Ireland. When I say settled, I mean that once the Vikings conquered specific territories by raiding and destroying existing settlements, they claimed them as their own and settled in. When the Vikings settled in Dublin, they called it Dyflin, derived from Dubhlinn, which means black pool in Gaelic.

Black pool certainly isn’t how one would describe any part of Dublin today; however, during medieval times, the River Poddle joined the Liffey; when the two mixed, it created a black smudge-like pool. Today, the black pool is nonexistent; the River Poddle now runs underground, and the once black pool is now a beautiful green space at the rear of Dublin Castle.

As archaeologists anticipated, they found several archaeological sites; the oldest find was the foundation of St. Peter’s Parish Church, which was constructed in 1050 AD and served the city and parishioners for 600 years. It’s important to note that while other notable sites are viewable from inside Lidl, the church foundation is unavailable for public view.

My trip with Dominic to Lidl was one of the most fantastic experiences. I could not have imagined that stepping inside a Dublin grocery store would take me on a history tour from medieval times. The sites are viewable to the public through plexiglass windows on the floor. I could see the remains of a sunken structure estimated to have been constructed in 1070 AD; it was likely part of a suburb established south of walled medieval Dublin during the Middle Ages.

Another fascinating piece of history was the site of a “pit-trap,” the remains from an 18th-century theatre known as the Aungier Street Theatre. During the 18th century, Dublin was second only to London in the number of theatres. Construction began on the Aungier Street Theatre on May 8, 1733, and their doors opened on March 19, 1734, with the comedy “The Recruiting Officer” by Farquhar. After twelve years of delighting Dubliners, including members of Royalty, the Theatre-Royal closed its doors in 1746.

Lidl was one of many stops that Dominic and I made during our time together; I learned many curious things about Dublin that I look forward to sharing in future blogs.