Beyond being known for Waterford crystal, Guinness and Harp Lager, Ireland has other interesting information. For instance, Count Dracula (a derivation of an Irish word) was written by Bram Stoker...an Irishman. The story comes from an old legend about an evil chieftain who was slain and rose from the grave every night to drink the blood of his subjects.
- Ireland is snake free--but not because of St. Patrick but because of its isolation. (explain that to the snakiest island in the world, The Philippines!) Also free of polecats, weasels and moles.
- Is home to the oldest working lighthouse in the world (Hook Head in Count Wexford)
- John Tyndall (1820-1893) was a physicist and the the first to discover why the sky is blue and to prove the greenhouse effect. Also, the first person to be called a physicist.
- William Parsons (1800-1867) build the Leviathon of Parsontown, a reflection telescope of huge dimensions for the time. His son, named Algernon (a favorite name of mine) invented the steam turbine that powered the first battleship and passenger ship and his brother created a water wheel that provided electricity to Birr Castle and the town, making it the first town in the world to be lit by electricity.
I had wanted to go to Ireland for more than 35 years (Mother's maiden name: Kelley) and it just kept not happening. So, this time, Scott and I planned our first real vacation that wasn't going to DisneyWorld or adding some fun onto a conference or barbershop competition. A 7-day driving tour was a great idea until I hit week 3 of London and thought I might not have planned that well.
When we started the Ireland trip I was exhausted and had a cold. But it all got much better. We arrived in Dublin and after almost an hour wait for the rental car headed off for your big adventure. The company I found for this trip gave us a gigantic pile of driving notes to go along with our trip plans which included: a trip to Kilkenny, a trip to Kilarney and the Dingle Peninsula, then to Gallway and the Aran Islands and finally ending up in Dublin again.
Our first outing was to Kilkenny where we found out hotel and saw our first game of Hurling being played. Once we rested, the trip to Cahir was a really beautiful stop.
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| 1st site of Ireland from the plane |
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| weird view I had on the left |
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| Driving was...interesting but no one died. |
We made it out of Dublin and began our first attempts at driving...well, Scott drove. I've never driven a stick so it was all on him. He, our Driver and me the Navigator.
Our first hotel was in Kilkenny. It was lovely and modern.
Our first day trip was to Cahir Castle. My first castle tour and my it was grand! |
| Cahir Castle |
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| Just a pic for scale |
We learned lots of castle trivia and a great deal about the architecture. The arrow slits and the chevalier where people would pour down hot sand...gets stuck in the chain mail really nicely I hear.
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| A cannon ball stuck in the castle wall. Can you find it? |
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| More than a 6 feet span |
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| Mind your head! |
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| The operations for the portcullis |
If you look closely you will see another old cannon ball stuck in the wall.
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| This view is spectacular! Cue the geese! |
The parks and grounds by the castle are really nice including lots of beautiful wood carvings all from downed ancient trees.
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| poppies! |
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The next stop was the drive to Killarney. A very cute town that is filled with Americans. We arrived in the middle of the planning a 4th of July celebration complete with Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty! Our first outing was to explore the town.
The next day we rode in a bus/coach with driver Morris to the Dingle Peninsula with a first stop on Inch Beach...where a famous movie was filmed there in the 70's. Ryan's Daughter. The beach is pretty remote but surfers do show up there with some hope.
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| Florida girl HAS to be barefoot near a shore. The water wasn't that cold. |
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| Rock walls everywhere |
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| Our driver Morris, left us a gift |
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The Dingle Peninsula is located near the southwestern edge of Ireland.
This area recently hosted the making of an important part of Kerry, the peninsula is the remains of a monastic colony. At one point over 400 dry stone huts existed here to provide refuge from the weather and possibly the Normans as they invaded the area.
Also, in the most recent Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, the remote island that Skywalker was hanging out on was here! And the locals have definitely played up to the Star Wars fans--both at small roadside opportunities where the beehive huts are and in the town.
Dingle is a definite tourist town. Of all the Buskers I have seen in the UK, this guy was my favorite with is gigantic terriers and cute donkey. He sat and played the
Irish whistle and generally had a great commitment to being a conversation piece.
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| Look at those natural caves! |
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| Beehive huts--medieval |
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| I wonder if Nessie knows her tail is here in Ireland? |
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| Fushia grows wild all over Ireland and especially in these seaside places. |
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| The Basket Islands |
The next day we set off to a boat trip through the 3 lakes and ended with a Jaunting Car (pony and trap ride) through the Gap of Dunlo. It was the most beautiful place I think I have ever seen...even beat out Scotland!
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Map of the 3 lakes--we started in the large one
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| This little guy hangs out here often on the rocks waiting for the boaters to come by |
I am sorry, but I just can't stop looking at these pictures and think you should too!
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| our boat captain |
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| Just a man having a pint. |
After a few days in Killarney--then decided to be complete and total tourists and visit Blarney Castle and stand in line to "kiss" the Blarney Stone.
Next we were off to Galway. We explored the downtown and saw the jewelry shop that claims to have made the first Claddagh ring. Galway has lots of lovely graffiti that is used to cover the electrical boxes. Many of those can be seen in my odds and ends post.
Early the next morning we drove to Rossaveal to catch the ferry to Inis More (Innishmore), the largest of the Aran Islands. The ferry confirms that you are out there in the big blue Atlantic heading toward a glaciated set of rocks and islands that have fewer than 900 inhabitants on the largest island.
The Seven Churches--aren't really 8 churches but two churches and other buildings built in the 7th and 8th centuries and various church buildings up through the 13th century. St. Breacon was here and a Roman influence amongst the Celtic crosses is an interesting mix.
The cliffs are definitely worth a long stay and possibly a picnic.
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| The beach sand is a lovely mix of black and tan sand. |
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| Cute businesses--just a very small, isolated town with lots of rocks. |
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| Gorgeous blue sky as we headed back to the mainland |
Then we headed back to Dublin to enjoy the sites for 2 days. Before we arrived, we stopped in to visit Dr. Barry, my dissertation chair. He lives in Ireland 6 months out of the year and it had been nearly 20 years since I had seen him.
We made it to Dublin and just walked around getting a feel for the city.
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| That small building on the water is the recording studio |
A day of exploring included checking out the Guinness Storehouse and Viking Splash Tour showed us where U2 first recorded their albums, and we got a nice overview of the city.
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| We love being tourists...Duck tour...well, Viking... |
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| Georgian buildings exist with their straight lines and smaller windows a the top to avoid glass tax, |
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| Millennium Needle--doesn't do anything...just is |
A few other Irish facts:
- Ireland has had it own Olympics since the Bronze Age.
- Was one of the last countries in Europe to adopt the feudal system and preserved their traditional Celtic tribe and clans but absence of feudalism means they had slaves and not serfs and were the last EU nation to abolish slavery of its own people.
- The Rotunda hospital in Dublin is the longest working maternity hospital in history.
- The word "Boycott" comes from Captain Charles Boycott, an absentee landlord from Ulster who was basically horrible...
- Google, Facebook and LinkedIn have headquarters in Dublin (along with other big company EU headquarters like Microsoft, Apple, Lotus, etc)
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My favorite playwright but overcast skies make me look in pain |
At the Guinness Storehouse, Scott took a class in pint pouring and we enjoyed the well-laid out tour.
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| The pint on the right has waited the 1 minute needed before the 2nd pour |
Seeing the history of the advertisements that Guinness used was very entertaining.
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| From the "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" ad |
It was a lovely trip. I'll wrap up with some Irish lessons:
Pog Mo Thoin (Pogue Mahon)...kiss my ass
Slainte-cheers (slahn chai)
Sloan’s—-goodbye
Céad Míle Fáilte (pronounced Kayd MEE-lu FAHL-cheh)
Slainte-cheers (slahn chai)
Sloan’s—-goodbye
Céad Míle Fáilte (pronounced Kayd MEE-lu FAHL-cheh)
A thousand welcomes or "You are welcome a thousand times wherever you come from, whosoever you be."
