Ireland

                                                       FALL 2018

 THE LAND OF RAINBOWS, WIND, AND RAIN

We arrived in Ireland on September 16 with our daughter to wind and light rain. After a good night's sleep, we started the adventure putting 2000 mile on the rental car. Our maps indicate, with yellow stars, all of the places we either visited or stayed the night.  A generous amount of the island was covered in 19 days, but I will just tell you about a few of our favorites.  Our treasured places are marked with a red heart. 


WESTPORT  ( in the northwest) is a Tidy Town award recipient meaning it achieved the highest standards for the environment, cleanliness, and all around great place to live.  The small downtown was lively, housing is well kept, boasts low to no crime, and displays beautiful scenery.  The population is 7,000 with 1,000 of those working at Allergan Pharmaceuticals producing Botox for the world!  Our guide told us he was turning 149 years old the following week!!

                  Our walking tour guide who is so proud of his city.

We climbed Croagh Patrick,  a short drive outside of Westport. It  is an important holy site since St. Patrick climbed the mountain to meditate and banish the "snakes" from Ireland.  Pilgrimages are made every year with Mass said at the very top.  We found it challenging, however the views were worth it.  If a traveler is searching for  additional exercise, a greenway runs along the bay for biking or jogging.  I could spend a week here just playing.

Climbing this mountain is like ascending 185 floors of a building.

 It took us about 2 hours to find the top.

The views  are spectacular and the bay encircles several islands.

DINGLE PENNINSULA

The travel writer, Rick Steves, advised if you wanted to navigate only one peninsula, make it Dingle. With blue skies, we started out and found some beautiful scenery, divided green pastures with stone fences and sheep everywhere.

The one surprise was finding a heritage museum devoted to Blasket Island and the lives of those who lived there until the 1950s.  Blasket is located off the western coast of the Dingle Peninsula.

The small dots of houses now show where a settlement of a few hundred Irish people lived, speaking Irish , or Gaelic, which is still spoken by many today and taught in the schools.  They lived off the land and the ocean and several generations ago, off the salvage of storm-wrecked ships.  Linguists engaged the islanders in the last 19th century and encouraged them to write about their lives and living conditions on the island. These books are still in print with the most comprehensive titled, The Islandman by Tomas O'Crohan.  I have a copy and it is indeed a page turner. With so few left, inhabitants left in the winter of 1953 due to a particularly vicious storm, never to return.

Kinsale

At the southern end of Ireland is another Tidy Town called Kinsale,  famous for two major historical events.  The first was in 1601 at the Battle of Kinsale between the Irish and Spain, against and their mutual enemy, England.  The English victory gave them a strong foothold in Ireland which influences Irish history to this day.

                                                                      Market day.

A rare moment for a picture without cars traveling this 2 way street.

The second event was the sinking of the Lusitania a few miles off the Kinsale coast.  Those who survived were cared for by the villagers and many of those who didn't are buried at the church cemetery.  Currently, there are plans to explore the ship further to determine if there were explosives onboard which caused a second explosion. The UK is fighting this because, even after 70 years, the government fears law suits by descendants if it is proved that the luxury liner was transporting explosives. The historical investigation is the current topic of discussion in the town.  History is the expertise of our guide, Berry (another Rick Steves recommendation) and he recommended Dead Wake by Erik Larson for a interesting look at the disaster.

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The town has 55 restaurants, 25 pubs and 5 churches and the usual  narrow streets.  Foodies love this place.

The view of Kinsale from Fort Charles.  Such an idyllic town.

GLENDALAUGH NATIONAL PARK

Cars traveling to the Wixlow Mountains have to pass this guy and his many friends who roam the area.  Nearly every county of Ireland is inhabited with sheep, even though it is not a profitable business.

Just 90 minutes south of Dublin is this remarkable park and historic  ecclesiastical community founded by St. Kevin in the 7th century.

Finally reaching the historic site of St. Kevin, we found the ruins of the community.  I heard one guide explain the growth of  monasteries like this...peoples' lives were so difficult that the monastery offered a little more comfort, at least food and a warm fire.  Another guide elaborated that politics and birth right were always part of the decision, and in small measure, one's religious calling.

The circle around the cross, or the Celtic Cross, helped the monks explain the new religion linking it with the old.  Many other theories don't mention this connection, but most scholars believe the cross originated in Ireland.

Circle towers populated Ireland, but only about 60 remain.

                                            One of the many small church ruins of the community.

Hiking attracts many people to the National Park.

NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE GIANTS CAUSEWAY

The Antrim coastline has spectacular and dramatic views.  This is Dunluce Castle, built in the 13th century.

Ownership was determined by the victor so it passed onto many families.  Still,  think how amazing it is that the castle could be built on a cliff in the first place!

                    The winds were wild on the day we visited.


                                                              GIANTS CAUSEWAY

 Giants Causeway is a popular rock destination in Ireland.  I won't try to explain the scientific explanation of why the rock are hexagons and some are in columns.  As a World Heritage site, I was surprised  that people were allowed such access! Hiking the coastline is a favorite outing for locals and I wished we could have stayed longer.

Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland has as many dramatic views as the more famous Dingle and Kerry coastlines.

Pillars of rocks dot the paths. If the winds are too strong, hikes could be dangerous.  

THE COUSINS

the red heart in the middle of Ireland

Our paths started to cross a few weeks prior to leaving for Ireland.  Denny's nephew was able to get contact information through a DNA testing site.  Just before returning home to the States, we were able to connect with Denny's second cousins.... his grandfather's sister's grandchildren!!  What a treat to be invited to Kevin Coyle's home and have so many relatives stop in to meet us.

RUINS OF THE OLD HOMESTEAD 
near Roscommon, Ireland

KEVIN COYLE ESCORTED US TO THE CEMETERY

What a delightful time we had getting to know one another and exchanging stories from the past.

RANDOM PICTURES FROM IRELAN

 THE BED AND BREAKFAST ANIMALS

GAME ORGANIZERS...THE COWS WERE JUST NOT INTERESTED IN RUNNING THE FENCE WITH THE LITTLE TERRIORS

THE ENTERTAINER

THE GREETER

INDOOR SECURITY

LANDSCAPERS

                                     CASTLES, CASTLES AND CASTLES

This was in the family until Brian O'Rourke lost it about 800 years ago.  Denny would like to claim it back, perhaps not using a sword but his credit card.

 Some are big, some small, most are in ruins, but a few are  intact.  Ireland is full of them.  Many are open to the public while others are isolated, visited only by sheep.  All claim a list of owners, wars, and invasions to their credit too numerous to count and well as heartache and glory days.

BUT THAT'S IRELAND