On day nine of our family trip to Ireland, three of us awoke very early for a brisk and challenging hike up Croagh Patrick in Mayo County, considered by many the holiest mountain in Ireland. Sundance wasn’t feeling good (several of us had a cold in Ireland) and Craig stayed with the kids while Terry, Amanda and I made the trek. We followed the route pilgrims take each year to pay homage to St. Patrick who fasted and prayed on this mountain in the year 441. There’s been a chapel on the summit since the fifth century, (although the current one was rebuilt in 1905 after discovering the foundation of an earlier chapel). When we started our climb, it was still dark out (7:00am), and the car park wasn’t even opened yet. We located off-street parking nearby and found the trailhead, starting early because we had to check out and get down the road for a 1:30pm sheep dog demonstration. As we made our way up the steep lower trail, water came down the path making things a bit slippery. Fog enveloped Clew Bay below us but gradually lifted, and we could see sheep grazing on the hillsides. The hike up is strenuous to the 2500’ summit, and while Terry scurried up in front, Amanda and I were slower, stopping to catch our breath ever so often. (When Terry and I hike, he’s always faster going up than me, and I’m faster coming down.) Since we were pressed for time, we told him to go ahead so that we might all finish in time to make our next appointment. When Terry reached the summit, he had a brief moment of sunshine and could take in the fabulous view of the bay and surrounding area. By the time Amanda and I arrived, things were socked in. But we were glad we summited, and since we took only 3.5 hours, we had plenty of time to shower and get on the road to the sheep farm. The drive to Connemara is gorgeous, and on the narrow road to the farm, we stopped for sheep in the road...not the huge herd crossing the road I always thought I’d see in Ireland, but sheep in the road nonetheless! Connemara is a region in County Galway, containing the second highest population of sheep by County. Tim Killary’s sheep farm has about 200 ewes and lambs roaming freely on the mountain overlooking the beautiful Killary Fjord on the Wild Atlantic Way. (Just down the road, there are tour boats that take tourists on 1.5 hour tours on the water.). We were delighted to discover that not only were we to see sheep dog Sylvie work some blackhead horny sheep around the hillside and into the pen, BUT also we were to meet her litter of puppies! There were 4 of them and we all got to hold at least one. We watched Sylvie respond to Tom’s verbal commands even though she was a half mile away down in the ravine. She deftly worked in large circles around the sheep moving them through stone gated areas, up and down the hill and back, finally bringing the sheep into a pen near the platform where we were observing. Tom says the only practical way to work with these dogs is using verbal commands as opposed to hand signals, and we could see why. Often the dog is out of visual contact with the shepherd and even when Sylvie could see Tom, she needed to keep her eyes focused on the sheep. After about 20 minutes of maneuvering the sheep and keeping them in control in the open air pen, Sylvie was panting heavily with no signs of changing her focus. As the group of us asked questions of Tom, she maintained a watchful eye on the sheep, darting in and nudging any who appeared to have thoughts of leaving the pen. She was very, very focused and diligent about her job. After the demonstration, Tom said we were welcome to take a pup out of the pen to cuddle, and while the next tour group watched his other dog, Roy, work some sheep, we all took turns photographing and holding the pups. Claire and Jake also enjoyed petting the sheep that were in a side pen beside the viewing platform. We were probably there no more than an hour, but it was my favorite stop of our entire trip! Of course we all missed our dogs while away - Terry and I particularly thought of our Border Collie Rocket while here, the Douglass family missed their dogs Duke & Sandy, and Sundance missed his Border Collie Zappa also. If you’re in Connemara and want to see an outstanding sheep dog at work, here’s more about the farm. http://www.killarysheepfarm.com Revenue from tourism is much needed as the wool from the sheep is only worth 25 cents/pound these days, and most of the lambs are sold for meat. Interestingly enough however, the hand made and factory made wool sweaters here are still quite pricey...but I had to buy one at the nearby Sheep and Wool Center in Leenane! We next drove a couple of hours towards Ballyvaughan in County Claire. Here we had rented the Stone House from Air B&B. What a fabulous find this was!!!! We all loved the stone house with a view of the Atlantic. It was centrally located for the places we wanted to visit the next couple of days: Burren National Park, the Doolin Cliff Walk and Cliffs of Moher and nearby parks for the kids, plus the ocean short blocks away. We particularly liked that there were two dogs that roamed the neighborhood and came daily to our door for attention and playtime. Rosie and Buster were our newfound friends and followed us down to the ocean where they chased mice in the rocks onshore and sticks we threw. Rosie was a tenacious fetcher, like most terriers and Buster who chased cars was present and playful until cars came down the road. The house had a big kitchen where we cooked dinner several nights and a wood stove that burned peat from a bog their owner’s daughter and her father cut. That was a great way to heat the house and we particularly enjoyed the living room heated one night while we introduced the kids to the game of Charades. The Stone House has two lower floor bedrooms which can sleep 4 and two upper bedrooms (with baths attached to both) which can sleep 4. The house also has laundry facilities and a downstairs bath. The next morning, Craig dropped Terry, Sundance and I at a pub to meet up with Pat Sweeney’s son for a guided walk along the cliffs in Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher. The walk was made possible when Mr. Sweeney pushed the local government to approve of a walk that got the permission and collaboration of over 30 farmers to agree to allow a path to be maintained along their farmlands and the Cliffs which overlook the Atlantic Ocean. Anyone can use the path, free of charge, or pay for a guided tour liked we did. As we were assembling our group, a deluge forced us into the pub. Luckily the downpour was short, and we began the 3-hour walk with two guides and about 12 tourists. We passed a renovated castle, sheep and cattle, nice natural swimming holes where rock walls protected swimmers from an angry sea, and beautiful springs running off the farmlands and tumbling down the cliffs and into the ocean. Within about 2.5 hours, after passing the “little cliffs” we approached the cliffs of Moher from the north with great views and no rain. Soon we arrived at the visitor center for the Cliffs of Moher and we were fortunate to spot a double rainbow from one of the popular photo spots above the sea stack...the same sea stack Dumbledore was placed on using CGI in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie. The Cliffs are one of the most famous filming locations in Ireland, and also filmed here were scenes from Princess Bride and Into the West as well as scenes from the last Star Wars movie. We met the Douglass family at the visitor center and had our lunch. Afterwards the kids went off to the park, and I went down to the ocean to watch my crazy husband and Sundance take a very, cold dip in the Northern Atlantic! Even the dogs Rosie and Buster didn’t jump in the water, but Terry and Sundance had to try it out (maybe that explains why Terry’s cold took longer to get rid of). The next day was cool and cloudy with off and on rain - a bit of what folks expect from Ireland. We explored Clare County by car and drove into the Burren National Park. We stopped to visit the 5000 year old Poulnabrone tomb, and then a castle ruin. In late afternoon we spent over an hour watching the effect of Hurricane Michael all the way here as crazy massive waves crashed into the rocks. Sundance took my camera and photographed the waves while Jake, Terry and Craig looked on with fascination at the angry surf. The next day we drove to Dublin for an overnight stay before our very early 6:15am flight to Amsterdam. We had spent 11 days in Ireland and enjoyed it immensely. Or as the Irish like to say, we had a great “craic” - a word used to describe having a good time. There are plenty of sights we didn’t get to, leaving something to do for another trip to this beautiful island. In my next blog, I’ll share what awaited us in Amsterdam...
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After a four-day visit in Dublin, Terry, Sundance, and I along with the Douglass family (Claire, Jake, Amanda & Craig) headed north for a Celtic day tour in the Boyne Valley. We rented a 9-passenger van and Terry & Craig split the driving for the next 10 days of the manual transmission van on the left side of the road – thankfully I didn’t have to drive on the “wrong” side of the road, and Craig an Aussie who learned to drive on that side, did the lion share of the driving. The kids were great travelers as we motored about Ireland, and the trip was broken into segments that gave us time to stop and see things when we wanted and not feel rushed. This was a nice contrast to the pace of Dublin with its busy, narrow streets filled with buses and trolleys. On our first day, we drove to Trim Castle, the largest remaining Norman castle in Europe, a site featured in the movie Braveheart.
Next we drove about an hour south to Loughcrew Cairns to visit another hill with burial chambers and cairns constructed 3,500 BC. This site predates both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid of Giza and is the site of one of four main passage tombs in Ireland. We were running late and missed meeting our guide to the tomb, but we were instructed that we could pick up the gate key at the café Loughcrew Gardens, a few miles down the street. With key in hand, we parked at the site and hiked to the top of the hill enjoying more vistas of lush valleys and farms below, passing sheep grazing near the path. We unlocked the gate to the tomb and were able to glimpse petroglyphs on the stones behind bars that protect these ancient scenes. Apparently the stones at the tomb were set so that during spring and autumnal equinox, beams from the rising sun illuminate the artwork on the stones. We went from the peaceful countryside to the busy city on our next day…from a tranquil scene with a somewhat troubling scene. We drove north to Belfast where we had arranged a private tour of the Peace Wall and murals of the city. Our guide took us first to a mural with several different scenes painted along a building. This nationalist mural on the Catholic side of the wall indicated support for the separatists in Catalonia, the Palestinian people, and memorialized quite a few IRA members, one (Brendan Hughes) who was our guide’s cousin. It was clear as we traveled to the guide’s Catholic church and the Clonard Martyrs memorial garden at the site of the Bombay Street riot and burnings of 1969, that our guide is Catholic and believes in a unified Ireland hoping Great Britain will relinquish Belfast and Northern Ireland to be ruled by the Irish. The Union Jack flag flies over many parts of the city, and of course particularly over the protestant neighborhoods on the other side of the Peace Wall. The Irish refer to this feud and the subsequent violence as “The Troubles.” From 1968-1998 loyalists of Great Britain clashed with Republicans in Belfast with bombings, killings, and rioting over a fight for independence from Great Britain and the formation of a united Ireland. Approximately 3,500 people died during these years, and while the Belfast Agreement brought a ceasefire and end to much bloodshed, violence continues on a small-scale basis still today. In fact, our guide informed us that while we could get out of his van in the protestant neighborhoods on the other side of the peace wall when he drove us there, he would not, for fear of retribution. It’s a complicated city with its stone wall of peace fringed with razor wire on top. The houses on Bombay Street that were burned in 1968 and later rebuilt, now have cages of wire tilting down from their roofs to the wire on the wall because trash, bottles and tools are thrown over the wall at them,and the wire prevents broken windows. And while I understand the desire for independence and the nationalism that makes citizens want to be part of the island of Ireland and assert their heritage, I don’t understand how the Protestants and Catholics – all Christians - can take up arms against each other. It was a sobering experience seeing this Peace Wall and the gate doors that slam each night at 10:30pm and don’t reopen until 6am…the doors which according to our guide, you best be on the right side of by 10:30pm or plan to drive a long way around to safely sleep in your own neighborhood In contrast to the “troubles” education we received in Belfast, we also went to the dockyards and learned about the Titanic Experience. This museum is located at the birthplace of the famed ship and includes full scale reconstructions of the ship’s hull and quarters, has a ride that takes you on a journey of what it was like working on welding and forging this massive ship, has interactive exhibits and dramatic special effects, and narratives of the ship’s survivors. It’s a fantastic museum well worth the 18.50 euros each. Just a few facts about the Titanic, it took 2 years to build, had a gross registered tonnage weight of 46,328, was 92’6” wide, 3 million rivets were used in construction, at her fastest she traveled 26.75 miles/hour, and her lifespan was 5 days, 77% of the crew perished…more sobering facts we discovered in Belfast. The next day brought countryside traveling along the coast north from Belfast to Larne and ultimately to Derry (aka Londonderry). This was a drive through beautiful land and seascapes; however, we had some spitting rain and clouds at times. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a hike at the Giants Causeway, a walk across the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, and a visit to two Game of Thrones filming sites (the Dark Hedges & harbor at Carnlough). It was a packed sightseeing day, but it was wonderful to be enjoying some of Ireland’s natural beauty. The rope bridge was an exhilarating walk across the ocean’s inlet about 60’ high and connects the mainland to Sheep Island. When we crossed the bridge, the trail further along Sheep Island was closed (I think because of high winds), and I had hoped to search for foxes, stoats, and glimpses of dolphins and sea birds. While we couldn’t hike the island, we were fortunate to see about 8 dolphins frolicking around the island as we waited to cross back over the bridge. It’s a one-way crossing, and only 7 people are allowed to cross at a time. At the Giant’s Causeway, Terry, Sundance & I took the long hike while listening to an audio recording about the evolution of this unique area of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns which resulted from a volcanic eruption 50-60 million years ago. The audio also explains the ancient myth of Finn McCool, the giant who threw stones across the sea toward Scotland and then followed them to confront another giant who had threatened Ireland. There’s more to the story which you can learn in the visitor center (site is run by the National Trust) by watching an animated film. The Douglass family enjoyed learning about the giants and taking photos on the giants’ stones, and we all finished our tour without the rain interfering, in spite of the gloomy clouds.
From Derry, we headed south to Ulster American Folk Park located just outside the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland. This site has a museum indoors but mostly it’s an open-air museum that tells the story of three centuries of Irish emigration. There are over 30 buildings with exhibits and costumed guides to chat with about traditional crafts and life for those who left Ulster to emigrate to America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The park was developed around the Mellon House, the birthplace of Irish-American banker and lawyer Thomas Mellon, founding father of the Mellon banking dynasty. It’s a wonderful place to stroll and see how life changed from the old world thatched roofs of the 17th century with peat burning fireplaces to the 19th century brick plantation in the new world.
I found it a land of contrasts, a richly colorful land with both bustling city streets overfilled with pedestrians and rolling hillsides populated only by sheep and cows. An emerald isle alive with a nationalistic fervor, filled with friendly people proud of their heritage and excited to share it. But whether in the cities or the countryside, there were contrasts between the old and the new way of life, the politics and lines drawn between the north and the south, the British ruled and the Irish ruled. For two and a half weeks, I traveled around Ireland and fell in love with the people and their lifestyle. We started in Dublin and stayed four nights touring the city on foot, by bus and by car. We even took a duck boat tour into the River Liffey. But the most enjoyable moments for me in the city were in the pubs listening to the traditional Irish music. We wandered through Temple Bar area and heard quite a few acts but found the Cobblestone bar away from the touristy areas and enjoyed the music there most. I love the tradition of a musician’s corner in these pubs where fiddlers, guitarists, flutists and others drop by and join the music swirling around the pub. Mostly the music I heard was instrumental but sometimes singers would break into song or in the countryside of County Mayo a group of women in their 70-80’s pushed the tables into a corner and danced jigs reels. In contrast, I also heard some contemporary acts - a duo in one pub and a band in another where there was a separate stage for the band with a musicians corner on the other side of a door so I could walk back and forth, hearing both the traditional music and then the contemporary. Before coming to Ireland, the allure for me was sheep in the countryside and music in the pubs. I was not disappointed. While in Dublin, we took a walking tour that started at Trinity College. This institution was started by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 when Great Britain still ruled the island. It’s in the center of Dublin making it a starting point and landmark for getting around Dublin. Day 2 of our trip we took a walking tour (Historical Walking Tours of Dublin) that began at the college and learned about the historical significance of Trinity and the evolution of the city from the 17th century. Our guide Sylvie had trouble holding our attention at the tour start as students were gathering for a protest march around the city over a shortage of affordable housing. As Sylvie tried to tell us about how the seeds of revolution were born in this university promoted by the Anglican Church in this most Catholic city, young students picked up their banners and took to the streets. If day two was a bit serious, the day before was more whimsical. We took a Viking Splash boat tour in a duck boat. We rode around Dublin wearing silly Viking horned hats and growling at tourists waiting for the stop lights to change. Our tour guide provided historical commentary about the landmarks we passed (St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church, the Dublin Docklands etc) as well as farcical comments, and then our land cruising vehicle popped out pontoons and headed into the Grand Canal of the River Liffey. Surprisingly we had good weather for this open air bus/boat tour - air temp in the 60’s and no rain.
One day we used a Hop on/Hop off bus ticket which takes you around the city stopping at various sights and you can use your ticket to get on and off at whichever attractions you want to view - then catch another bus in your own pace. These are double decker buses that are open air on part of the top level and enclosed below and just above the driver. It’s a great way to see the city and familiarize yourself with the sites and we like sitting on the top level with fresh air. A warning though, you may be subject to droppings from above (Sundance had a pigeon drop a gift on him on the Duck tour!). We got off of the bus to visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral - the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland - which was a humbling experience. There are engravings in the stone walls and in the floor honoring notables buried below, beautiful stained glass, ornate sculptures, embroidered tapestries, and some encased rare books like the copy of sermons written by a 19th century Reverend opened to the page “A Sermon Upon Sleeping in Church!” The Cathedral was founded in 1191 and has grave slabs from a thousand years ago showing that the site was used long before the Cathedral existed. With massive high ceilings and a long narrow aisle leading to the altar, it’s an awe inspiring sanctuary - a house of prayer, yet there’s a gift shop and ticket counter as soon as you enter (cost is 7 euros for adults). I learned that the cathedral’s denomination changed several times as religious reform swept across Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, ultimately remaining Anglican following William of Orange’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne. There are two daily services sung Matins at (9am) and Choral Evensong (5:30pm) and a communion service without the choir, the Eucharist 11:05am. While St. Patrick’s provided a reverent experience, it’s not the #1 tourist attraction in Dublin. The Guinness Storehouse is. This is a tour of the Guinness Factory where the world famous Guinness beer has been brewing since 1759. And just what makes this powerful brew so attractive? Is it the 30 million bubbles in every pint? Is it the 100,000 tons of Irish grown barley used each year? The water? Or perhaps it’s the hop plants. Hops only grow in two regions of the world as the plants require a specific amount of sunlight only found between 35° and 55° north and south of the equator. The high quality hops in Guinness is found in Australia, the UK, US Germany and Czech Republic. The tour through the storehouse took us several hours. Adults pay 18.50 euros and walk through the building and up 5 floors reading about the Guinness story, tasting expertly poured beers and landing at the top of the building at the rooftop bar for your “free” pint (or soft drink) and a 360° view of Dublin. I opted for my pint to be the Hop House 13 Lager rather than the dark wheat stout. We had lunch at one of the several restaurants in the building and enjoyed the tour which included a floor dedicated to the various advertising campaigns, an electronic harp you can play (Guinness makes the beer Harp) and some very odd exhibits. Terry decided to pass on this tour and walked around the city instead. We spent our evenings doing a variety of things. One night Amanda and I went to see a play - The Full Monty. It was uproariously funny, and quite enjoyable. Another night we all went to Belevedere Irish nights where we were treated to a scrumptious dinner and entertained by Irish musicians and world renowned dancers. The dancers taught some steps to intrepid volunteers, and Craig and Amanda’s daughter Claire, who’s been taking ballet and jazz dance for years, volunteered. When it came time for the men to volunteer, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sundance volunteer to learn the broom dance. Both he and Claire did quite well. And as mentioned above, some of also went to the pubs in Dublin to hear traditional music and hoist a few pints...it was all quite good. While in Dublin we stayed in an apartment rented through Air B&B. It was a two bedroom with pull out sofa and was quite convenient to most attractions and near a laundry, grocery store and restaurants. It was nice to have a place for all of us to congregate and it was priced more affordably than Dublin hotels. But we learned from a local that one of the causes of the affordable housing shortage (protested by the students at Trinity College), was because so many who used to rent long term leases to students and others are now renting to tourists for better money through Air B&B....so our gain was someone else’s loss. Sobering, but we also learned on one of our tours that a lot of global corporations (including Facebook, Google, EBay, Air B&B, etc.) come to Ireland for significant tax breaks (12.5%compared to 21% in US). It’s been a blessing to Ireland’s economy and brought cultural diversity also. If interested, here’s an article with more details about that. https://www.marketplace.org/2018/06/20/world/ireland-multinational-companies-blessing-and-curse After four days in Dublin, we were ready to move to the countryside for contrasts between city life and rural life. In my next blog, Ireland, part 2, I’ll relate more about that experience and just what getting your “Craic on” means...something we all did on the Emerald Isle.
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AuthorFormer documentary film producer, wife and mother of one...I'm taking time off to see the US with my husband Terry. Here's where I'll write about our adventures RVing until the money runs out! Archives
August 2021
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