We travelled to the Cliffs of Moher in northwestern Ireland, the tallest in Europe. Rugged and impressive, they remained formidable to drive up and to look down. The sheer audacity of Kinbane castle in Northern Ireland built down a very steep hill right on the promontory of the North Sea kept it impenetrable for years. Out near Kinvara and in the Burren were the Ailwee Caves, great underground caverns carved millennia ago by a subterranean river, fossils and minerals sparkling like the realm of Hades. Cool, pitch black except when they turned on the lights, and a den for extinct European brown bears, their might was in their endurance and solidity.
The Burren was as impressive in its way as the Giants Causeway. At some point in the ancient past a mountain or volcano erupted, spewing tons of flowing mud down mountain and hill. Eventually it solidified into grey rock but still has that look of a mud flow. Smooth in spots, rippled in others, there are dips that are treacherous to walk over but where wind and rain have blown deposits of soil over the centuries. There in those protected trenches are a myriad of plant life, some unique to that area.
The Burren butts up to a rugged shoreline near Kinvara, but on the higher hills it is barren stone, short shrubs and the tiny plants that grow in their coves. Everywhere through this area are stone walls and hill forts that were stacked by hand centuries ago. In fact the stone walls are abundant throughout Ireland but rule supreme in the Burren. The stones might be stacked on their edges, resting against each other, placed flat on top of each other, or made with their widest sides facing out. Some are mortared, and they are ageless. They could have been built a week ago or a thousand years ago. They were used as natural boundaries, pens for cattle and sheep and as fortifications. I’ve been told that they now work at protecting species of flora and fauna throughout the emerald isle, working as borders where invasive species don’t encroach.
Upon the Burren with its hard, alien looking surface, unable to really support any crop, somehow people eked out a life, for centuries. And topping it was Poulnabrone Dolmen, a passage tomb made of four giant slabs of stone with a fifth resting atop them like a table. You can look through beneath the table stone, from one world perhaps to the next. It has stood for over 5,000 years, a part of every person’s life who lived upon the Burren.
All lands have stone in one form or another. Rock is the foundation of our world from its magma core to the volcanic eruptions and tectonic shifts that show our planet is alive. From sand and pebble to rock and boulder, stones have always been there to support and shelter. The Irish reuse the stones from any old building torn down, reworking it into something new.
The strong sense of the history of the stones, from the monasteries and castles to the cemetery tombs and headstones, to the walls and hill forts, they all spoke of a true Irish intimacy with stone. There is history, life and death. There is art, utilitarian purpose and mystery. And most of all, there is community; thousand of years of life with each person using what had come before, the ruins or the dead not forgotten but integrated into continuing family rituals. Ireland truly taught me the endurance of time and of stories shown in its stone, its very foundation.
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Stones of Ireland: I
In October, 2007 I travelled to Ireland, a place I had wanted to visit for years. I’m not sure why exactly as there is no Irish in my blood and other countries have more and bigger castles. It was more the sense of rolling green hills and the land of faery, a romantic notion perhaps.
We circumnavigated Ireland in two weeks, going north, then west, then south and east, starting and ending in Dublin. There were some key sites we wanted to see but then let ourselves be guided by road signs and guide books.
This was a mostly outdoor expedition involving trips to old castles and monasteries and some cemeteries, as well as driving through the changing landscape. The history of the architecture and how it had changed over time was fascinating, small enclosures and Viking settlements built over with increasingly sophisticated fortifications or ecclesiastical buildings.
Newgrange and Knowth were amazing in that these structures were built over 5,000 years ago and are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Some of the passage tombs fell apart or were scavenged for stones for other buildings and roads. Many of these barrows have a corridor or an interior built with slabs of stone, then dirt is mounded over. Newgrange's corbeled stone roof has never leaked in 5,000 years. The hummocked hills gave rise to the tales of the homes of the sidhe and the Tuatha de Danan.
Other barrows were built over with time, dirt being added, and villages or cattle settling upon them. Some of their original use is a mystery but some contain bones or human ashes. Others may have been ceremonial or religious structures. Newgrange is the most impressive as it was built upon a hill and the outer wall lined with white quartz (this was rebuilt in more recent times and there is argument as to how it may actually have been placed), which would be striking in the bright sun and visible for miles around.
Giants Causeway on the north coat of Northern Ireland was a natural structure of basalt rock that had been rapidly heated and cooled millennia ago causing large octagonal pillars to form. They break apart in slabs, maintaining their structure and can be walked over like steps. Some form natural seats or chairs. There is a section called the organ because it looks like a giant pipe organ in the hill. There seems to only be that one area in Ireland that has such unique stones.
The castles and monasteries abounded as well as the very old cemetery of Monasterboice with the millennium old tower (imagine Rapunzel) that they believe was used for storage, sanctuary and watch for marauders. Some of the carvings on pillars still showed wonderful detail; leaves, faces both animal and human, various designs. Some of the blocks of stone seemed to have been placed with a sense of tone, dark and light stones alternating, or smaller pebbles placed in the mortar between larger stones.
Over the centuries many of these castles and churches fell into ruin but they were not abandoned. Tombs and graves pepper every place. The oldest monastery floors are nothing but tomb after tomb. There is nothing to do but walk over the bones of the past. Even walls have been taken over, a person interred into the very foundation and a plaque sealing them in. The oldest readable stones go to the 1700s. Older than that, the words become too worn away, by feet and weather. There are graves dating over a thousand years in some cases, right up to months of the current date.
Some graveyards have been held by the ruling families or clans and there might be dozens of McDonnells buried in one area such as Ballycastle. Other graves are family plots and in the more modern ones, configured by a low fence, a bar, about six inches from the ground. These more modern plots have pebbled glass or stone in different combinations of colour and some flowers, real or not. Some are very individual. Headstones often denote many generations entombed in the plot, going back a century or more. At one Benedictine monastery there was a family of four cleaning and smoothing the stones of their family’s plot on a sunny day.
Continued tomorrow (images of Ireland can be seen by going back through my posts. If you can't find them, let me know.)
We circumnavigated Ireland in two weeks, going north, then west, then south and east, starting and ending in Dublin. There were some key sites we wanted to see but then let ourselves be guided by road signs and guide books.
This was a mostly outdoor expedition involving trips to old castles and monasteries and some cemeteries, as well as driving through the changing landscape. The history of the architecture and how it had changed over time was fascinating, small enclosures and Viking settlements built over with increasingly sophisticated fortifications or ecclesiastical buildings.
Newgrange and Knowth were amazing in that these structures were built over 5,000 years ago and are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Some of the passage tombs fell apart or were scavenged for stones for other buildings and roads. Many of these barrows have a corridor or an interior built with slabs of stone, then dirt is mounded over. Newgrange's corbeled stone roof has never leaked in 5,000 years. The hummocked hills gave rise to the tales of the homes of the sidhe and the Tuatha de Danan.
Other barrows were built over with time, dirt being added, and villages or cattle settling upon them. Some of their original use is a mystery but some contain bones or human ashes. Others may have been ceremonial or religious structures. Newgrange is the most impressive as it was built upon a hill and the outer wall lined with white quartz (this was rebuilt in more recent times and there is argument as to how it may actually have been placed), which would be striking in the bright sun and visible for miles around.
Giants Causeway on the north coat of Northern Ireland was a natural structure of basalt rock that had been rapidly heated and cooled millennia ago causing large octagonal pillars to form. They break apart in slabs, maintaining their structure and can be walked over like steps. Some form natural seats or chairs. There is a section called the organ because it looks like a giant pipe organ in the hill. There seems to only be that one area in Ireland that has such unique stones.
The castles and monasteries abounded as well as the very old cemetery of Monasterboice with the millennium old tower (imagine Rapunzel) that they believe was used for storage, sanctuary and watch for marauders. Some of the carvings on pillars still showed wonderful detail; leaves, faces both animal and human, various designs. Some of the blocks of stone seemed to have been placed with a sense of tone, dark and light stones alternating, or smaller pebbles placed in the mortar between larger stones.
Over the centuries many of these castles and churches fell into ruin but they were not abandoned. Tombs and graves pepper every place. The oldest monastery floors are nothing but tomb after tomb. There is nothing to do but walk over the bones of the past. Even walls have been taken over, a person interred into the very foundation and a plaque sealing them in. The oldest readable stones go to the 1700s. Older than that, the words become too worn away, by feet and weather. There are graves dating over a thousand years in some cases, right up to months of the current date.
Some graveyards have been held by the ruling families or clans and there might be dozens of McDonnells buried in one area such as Ballycastle. Other graves are family plots and in the more modern ones, configured by a low fence, a bar, about six inches from the ground. These more modern plots have pebbled glass or stone in different combinations of colour and some flowers, real or not. Some are very individual. Headstones often denote many generations entombed in the plot, going back a century or more. At one Benedictine monastery there was a family of four cleaning and smoothing the stones of their family’s plot on a sunny day.
Continued tomorrow (images of Ireland can be seen by going back through my posts. If you can't find them, let me know.)
Sunday, February 3, 2008
New Sales
I have sold my flash fiction piece "Amuse-Bouche" to Shroud Magazine. http://www.shroudmagazine.com/home It should be out in issue #2.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
I have also received confirmation that my story "Strict Management" will come out in the Cleis Press anthology Open for Business.
I'm still awaiting contracts for both of these so I have no more details as of yet.
December slowed down my posting to this site for several reasons. It took far longer to get my Ireland pictures up than I intended. I was behind on reading through the slush pile for Aberrant Dreams. As well it was the usual end of year season with parties and get togethers and shopping. On top of that my place was broken into before Christmas and my new camera with which I took the Ireland photos was stolen, along with two necklaces. I cannot afford at this time to replace my camera and I was hoping to become more proficient in digital and put my old Photography degree to work and start getting some of my pictures into the stock photo market.
That's on hold for now. And then my dear friend Bear, who had been in the hospital for fourteen months, died on Dec. 18th. It was a hard time and I'm still grieving. I broke a molar over the holidays, which I still must get the money for first before I can get it crowned. So December was a hard month in an otherwise good year. For me it was a productive year with more fiction/poetry sales than ever before and therefore the most money I've made in a year on publishing. As well it was the most money I made in nonfiction writing as well and let me buy the camera, a carpet, get some dental work done and go to Ireland.
I hope I can beat some my last year's records. Two confirmed sales for January is a good start.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Glasgow & the End of a Journey
Our last day in Glasgow started with the museum and then we went off to St. Mungo's religious museum. Housed in the oldest standing building in Glasgow, it was a fairly bland exhibition and the building wasn't that interesting. So we walked up the street and over to the Glasgow Cathedral, but it was late in the day and it turned out it closed at 4:00. The guy was really just locking up so he said you have five minutes.
I zoomed around taking pictures, without actually really looking at the place. The Cathedral is supposed to be one of the few gothic cathedrals in Scotland, especially one that is whole and still used. It was built in 1471 and really is a fine example of gothic architecture. I wished I'd had more time to actually look.
After that we tried to find our way back to Will and Erin's. Unfortunately I'd forgotten their phone number. We also got lost because a helpful lady had told us what bus to catch back but it turned out there were two buses with the same name and a different ending, thus splitting and going varying routes. Which meant backtracking.
My sister was done. We had to walk about three blocks to catch another bus, after doing a partial return route. She thought we'd been walking for hours when it was less than ten minutes. :) A very drunk Scotsmen chatted with us (we had to catch a bus outside a pub, of course) and it turned out it was the other bus stop across the street from the pub. So he was a very drunk, yet helpful Scotsman.
So we finally made it back, with Will and Erin wondering what had happened to us. The next morning we flew out on Air Transat but not without issues. My sister had called them several times before she'd left and confirmed how many bags she could take on the plane, and on carry-on. She confirmed with the person on the phone and asked about leaving from Scotland. He confirmed with his supervisor that yes, she could take a bag and her camera bag as well.
Well, it turns out they have their own rules. My sister ended up paying overweight baggage because of it and was rightfully furious because she had to pack one back into everything else. My recommendations: don't fly Air Transat if you're flying more than two hours. The seats are small even for someone 5'4". If you need a special diet, they'll lose it or muck it up badly. And someone travelling with you will probably get a special diet they didn't order, as I did. They'll tell you one thing and do another and not be the least helpful or apologetic for it. The seats cost extra so that super cheap flight turns out not that cheap in the end.
Europe and Great Britain especially have tighter baggage allowances and the airline won't always know what it is or get the info confused. The attendants on Air Transat were very nice and helpful but everything else convinced me I won't be flying with them again.
At least the return trip was more pleasant. The plane wasn't completely full so I went and chatted with this Scottsman, Ian MacIntosh who lived in Calgray. That way, my sister and I both had extra room.
Over all, Ireland was a great trip. The trip was from Sept. 26-Oct. 16 and it's taken me this long to post my pictures. I want to go back and explore more of western Ireland and some of the south. I think I'd fly into Wales and then from Wales to the west of Ireland. Of course I'll have to buy a camera again, but that's a tale for tomorrow...
I zoomed around taking pictures, without actually really looking at the place. The Cathedral is supposed to be one of the few gothic cathedrals in Scotland, especially one that is whole and still used. It was built in 1471 and really is a fine example of gothic architecture. I wished I'd had more time to actually look.
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| Ireland 2007--Glas |
After that we tried to find our way back to Will and Erin's. Unfortunately I'd forgotten their phone number. We also got lost because a helpful lady had told us what bus to catch back but it turned out there were two buses with the same name and a different ending, thus splitting and going varying routes. Which meant backtracking.
My sister was done. We had to walk about three blocks to catch another bus, after doing a partial return route. She thought we'd been walking for hours when it was less than ten minutes. :) A very drunk Scotsmen chatted with us (we had to catch a bus outside a pub, of course) and it turned out it was the other bus stop across the street from the pub. So he was a very drunk, yet helpful Scotsman.
So we finally made it back, with Will and Erin wondering what had happened to us. The next morning we flew out on Air Transat but not without issues. My sister had called them several times before she'd left and confirmed how many bags she could take on the plane, and on carry-on. She confirmed with the person on the phone and asked about leaving from Scotland. He confirmed with his supervisor that yes, she could take a bag and her camera bag as well.
Well, it turns out they have their own rules. My sister ended up paying overweight baggage because of it and was rightfully furious because she had to pack one back into everything else. My recommendations: don't fly Air Transat if you're flying more than two hours. The seats are small even for someone 5'4". If you need a special diet, they'll lose it or muck it up badly. And someone travelling with you will probably get a special diet they didn't order, as I did. They'll tell you one thing and do another and not be the least helpful or apologetic for it. The seats cost extra so that super cheap flight turns out not that cheap in the end.
Europe and Great Britain especially have tighter baggage allowances and the airline won't always know what it is or get the info confused. The attendants on Air Transat were very nice and helpful but everything else convinced me I won't be flying with them again.
At least the return trip was more pleasant. The plane wasn't completely full so I went and chatted with this Scottsman, Ian MacIntosh who lived in Calgray. That way, my sister and I both had extra room.
Over all, Ireland was a great trip. The trip was from Sept. 26-Oct. 16 and it's taken me this long to post my pictures. I want to go back and explore more of western Ireland and some of the south. I think I'd fly into Wales and then from Wales to the west of Ireland. Of course I'll have to buy a camera again, but that's a tale for tomorrow...
Monday, January 21, 2008
Dublin & Keating's Bar
Sunday October 14, nearing the end of our trip and our last night in Ireland. We had come back to Dublin a day earlier hoping to have some time to see a few more sights but what with getting lost over and over again, we really had time only to pack, drop off the car and get something to eat. We were downtown on a Sunday and couldn't find much. So we ate at a diner with unremarkable food.
We then caught a taxi (turns out it was only a few blocks away) to Keating's Bar because my friend Will in Glasgow had said check it out. It turns out the be an old church that fell into disrepair. Eventually it was bought by a local restaruateur and restored, keeping both the history of the place preserved and opening an establishment that has more parishioners of food than anything else. The crypt in the basement (with tombs in the floor) is the wine bar. The large open space bathrooms are down there where you walk in and go right if you're a man and left if you're a woman. When you're at the sinks you can see men and women.
The main floor has a loong loval bar down the middle and the top floor, overlooking the main floor is the dining area. If we had known there'd be food we would have eaten there and had a better meal.
We had an early flight the next day so we caught a taxi back to the B&B and that was that. There are about two days left of pictures from Glasgow and then it will be back to regular writing.
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| Ireland 2007--Keat |
We then caught a taxi (turns out it was only a few blocks away) to Keating's Bar because my friend Will in Glasgow had said check it out. It turns out the be an old church that fell into disrepair. Eventually it was bought by a local restaruateur and restored, keeping both the history of the place preserved and opening an establishment that has more parishioners of food than anything else. The crypt in the basement (with tombs in the floor) is the wine bar. The large open space bathrooms are down there where you walk in and go right if you're a man and left if you're a woman. When you're at the sinks you can see men and women.
The main floor has a loong loval bar down the middle and the top floor, overlooking the main floor is the dining area. If we had known there'd be food we would have eaten there and had a better meal.
We had an early flight the next day so we caught a taxi back to the B&B and that was that. There are about two days left of pictures from Glasgow and then it will be back to regular writing.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Kilkenny
As I said, Kilkenny was a college town and we arrived on a Saturday. After we'd settled in at our B&B we went to find dinner. Everything was packed because it was Saturday but we managed to get into an Italian restaurant. It was fairly nice and my sister managed to get a gluten-free meal in an Italian restaurant. Amazing.
While we were there I noticed this man eating his pasta and skewering something from a bowl. I finally figured out he was eating French fries. Then two women came in and one ordered pasta and another pizza. They had a bowl of boiled potatoes brought to go with their meal. How do the Irish manage to stay so thin? Probably the fuel to keep them warm considering the price of heating.
Afterward we were told there was live music as a couple of places. We hunted them down but it turned out to be mostly discos with security guards standing outside. Yeesh. I didn't want that so we popped into a quieter pub. Well, it was so quiet I mentioned it was downright funereal. We were finishing up our last drink when these guys sent over some drinks.
It turned out the three of them were from Belfast and down for the races. They were very nice, didn't hide that two of them were married and bought us drinks. I was talking to the cop from Belfast but as the pub closed he said let's go dancing. I said sure so we left. But it turned out the whole town was closing up, and it was very very foggy, and I had over two pints of cider sitting in my bladder. Since none of us knew the town enough to know what was open we said goodbye.
My sister and I found the car (with burgeoning bladders) and tried to find our way back uphill in the fog. It was so thick we drove past our B&B and really were only a block away when I had to pull the car over, run up someone's lawn and piss by the bushes. It was like Austin Powers, with the stream never ending. Sorry folks, it was the less embarassing option and the fog hid the dirty deed. Then I found our place and my sister ran up the stairs while I parked. She made it just in time too. :)
The next day we took in Kilkenny castle. No pictures are allowed and they make you check your camera. The castle was sold off by some descendant of the Butlers who held it for centuries, early in the 1900s I think. It's been renovated and refurbished and some orginal pieces bought back. Many were auctioned off and the Irish OPW keeps hoping to find some of the original piecies. There was a very long drawing room, filled with paintings on the walls. They said it was only about a third of how many were in there. Overall, they've redone the castle in a Baroque/Rococco style when it was probably at the last of its opulence.
It was a good tour and I wished I'd recorded it. There's so much that you forget. After Kilkenny we headed back to Dublin. It was a bit longer of a drive and we got into the city okay but true to Dublin, promptly got lost several times. Finally, after asking directions often we got to our B&B and then took the car back downtown to where we had to drop it off. Yeesh, none of the directions matched what we were told so we had to drive around three times to find the drop-off point. And of course that meant going some very long blocks out of our way. I don't relish ever driving in Dublin.
While we were there I noticed this man eating his pasta and skewering something from a bowl. I finally figured out he was eating French fries. Then two women came in and one ordered pasta and another pizza. They had a bowl of boiled potatoes brought to go with their meal. How do the Irish manage to stay so thin? Probably the fuel to keep them warm considering the price of heating.
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| Ireland 2007--Kilk |
Afterward we were told there was live music as a couple of places. We hunted them down but it turned out to be mostly discos with security guards standing outside. Yeesh. I didn't want that so we popped into a quieter pub. Well, it was so quiet I mentioned it was downright funereal. We were finishing up our last drink when these guys sent over some drinks.
It turned out the three of them were from Belfast and down for the races. They were very nice, didn't hide that two of them were married and bought us drinks. I was talking to the cop from Belfast but as the pub closed he said let's go dancing. I said sure so we left. But it turned out the whole town was closing up, and it was very very foggy, and I had over two pints of cider sitting in my bladder. Since none of us knew the town enough to know what was open we said goodbye.
My sister and I found the car (with burgeoning bladders) and tried to find our way back uphill in the fog. It was so thick we drove past our B&B and really were only a block away when I had to pull the car over, run up someone's lawn and piss by the bushes. It was like Austin Powers, with the stream never ending. Sorry folks, it was the less embarassing option and the fog hid the dirty deed. Then I found our place and my sister ran up the stairs while I parked. She made it just in time too. :)
The next day we took in Kilkenny castle. No pictures are allowed and they make you check your camera. The castle was sold off by some descendant of the Butlers who held it for centuries, early in the 1900s I think. It's been renovated and refurbished and some orginal pieces bought back. Many were auctioned off and the Irish OPW keeps hoping to find some of the original piecies. There was a very long drawing room, filled with paintings on the walls. They said it was only about a third of how many were in there. Overall, they've redone the castle in a Baroque/Rococco style when it was probably at the last of its opulence.
It was a good tour and I wished I'd recorded it. There's so much that you forget. After Kilkenny we headed back to Dublin. It was a bit longer of a drive and we got into the city okay but true to Dublin, promptly got lost several times. Finally, after asking directions often we got to our B&B and then took the car back downtown to where we had to drop it off. Yeesh, none of the directions matched what we were told so we had to drive around three times to find the drop-off point. And of course that meant going some very long blocks out of our way. I don't relish ever driving in Dublin.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Waterford
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| Ireland 2007--Wate |
Waterford was one of the last stops on the Irish trip on a Saturday. We didn't know if the cyrstal factory was open as some guidebooks and maps said no and others said yes. It turned out it was so we zipped in after the Lismore adventures and a short stop at Carrick on Suir to see the disappointing and locked (and fenced) supposed Castle Ormonde. Previous incarnations were probably a real castle but this was nothing more than a manor house. Booo!
So we made it to Waterford with enough time to browse the shops and go on the hour tour. I have a fair number of friends who are glass artists so it was quite amazing to see a glassblowing factory of this size. There were several buildings and although it was a Saturday there was at least one, or more people working in each section.
There was the special section for one of a kind molds, then the assembly line building for blowers blowing into molds. There was a large are with row on row of cutters and another smaller room for engravers. As well there was a quality inspection area. Every piece is inspected and must pass high standards. Every piece is hand blown or molded and hand cut or engraved. Then these pieces of crystal are put through a hydrochloric acid bath that takes off the sharp edges and white brushed look to the glass. I remember some older pieces of crystal goblets my mother had, having sharp edges. obviously the acid baths are of a new era.
I ran into a glass artist here in Vancouver who said they did an order for Waterford. Waterford Crystal's Q&A team came over and the studio only had a 50% acceptance rate, the controls were so stringent. It was quite amazing to watch the cutting and engraving and the sheer size of the factory. I was curious how they got the rounded edges on the cuts. Now I know but I still don't find crystal that appealing. Meh.
We drove on that evening to Kilkenny, home of the beer, of course. We almost lost our luck for B&Bs. We tried two pubs for asking and were told everything was full. It was always better to ask where there were older people serving as the younger ones weren't that friendly or helpful. We drove to three B&Bs that were all full and finally found a nice little house with a very friendly couple. Turns out Kilkenny is a college town where everyone comes on the weekend to party. And yes, it was the weekend.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Dungarvin, Lismore and the Benedictine Abbey
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| Ireland 2007--Dung |
After Cashel, we went on to Dungarvin, a cute little coastal town in the south of Ireland. It was warm here and the accents on some people, like one fisherman, were very thick. We drove up to Bridie Dees, with its colourful front of black and red and had a drink. There was a little fireplace at the back with a pot of coal and a shovel to take the chill off. I don't even know if this place had any other type of heat but it was pleasant at this time of year. I believe we were on to Friday night by now, though I've lost track in this journey.
We asked the bartender if there were any B&Bs and he suggested a place two doors down. We called around a few places but they seemed to be a little more expensive and 40 Euros each was about our top limit. I couldn't find the place (because he'd given me the name of another one) so he walked me down the two doors. There were many many stairs as this was more like a small hotel above a pub. Any place that has a pub underneath is less personal and more hotelly in all.
I carted my sister's suitcase up the stairs so that it would minimize how many times her now sore knee would have to deal with them. I think we went back to Bridies and had another drink. I don't remember at all where we ate but we went to another pub. (is this where we met Dungarvin Dan?) There was this older farmer fellow (tweed jacket and cap, baggy worn corduroy trousers and wellies) in one place who was barely decipherable. He bought us a drink and talked about Irish hospitality, which was about all we could understand.
We then went to another pub that had live music and listened to a group called the Rogues. They were rather good and played some fast paced music, so that I couldn't stand it anymore and just got up and danced. Unfortunately they were out of CDs or I would have bought one.
The next day, Saturday we scooted out of Dungarvin, then went to Lismore but the castle is still occupied (and very spiff overlooking the river) so we couldn't go in. There was supposed to be an abbey but either the lads thought it closed or they thought we meant the Benedictine abbey which was down a winding road but not in Lismore. It was all right but not particularly old. The little winding roads can take a long while at times.
It was a pleasant and warm drive. Our next stop, Waterford.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Blarney Castle
It turns out my pictures are a bit in the wrong order. There was the day that included Limerick and King John's castle (getting there in the nick of time) and then driving to Blarney and finding we just had enough time to get to the castle. So Blarney was the end of our day and thenwe did Cashel the next day. I think.
The weather was so warm this day and we got there just before the sun was setting. They said, you have about a half hour for the castle but the grounds are open longer. The grounds were very peaceful and evocative. The castle itself was impressive for it height (destroyed in 1446 and never reconstructed from the looks of it. It was here that the Blarney Stone kissed me when I was snooping in dark and narrow passageways.
After the stars stopped spinning about me I went into the castle. There were only a couple of other people and at one point this guy yelled down, Are you going up or down? I said up and he said, hurry because I'm closing. So up and up and up and up I went. My sister had wandered off, having both a bum knee and a fear of heights, she couldn't have done Blarney.
I have to say the view was spectacular the the grounds exquisiste. I love some of the pictures from the top in my faves of Ireland. I didn't kiss the stone at the top, where you lay over this open grate to the grounds hundreds of feet below. I said to the guy, I hear the local lads do other things on the stone. He said not since he'd been there and since the grounds (and later the castle) were locked I could see that it's probably not done anymore.
A couple of women completed the ritual as I wandered and took pictures and started down. I didn't realize it but everyone had left except for the Blarney guy and me. He accidentally found me on the way down and said, you better hurry, I almost locked you in. So I trundled down and spent another 20 minutes on the grounds.
It was starting to get cold and dark and it was time to go. My sister might have thought I'd been locked in but I eventually found her outside the property gates. As we walked back to the car the Blarney guy drove by and beeped his horn, then turned around and went back the other way, beeping his horn at me again. Friendly fellow. We then drove on to Cashel and found a place to stay.
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| Ireland 2007--Blar |
The weather was so warm this day and we got there just before the sun was setting. They said, you have about a half hour for the castle but the grounds are open longer. The grounds were very peaceful and evocative. The castle itself was impressive for it height (destroyed in 1446 and never reconstructed from the looks of it. It was here that the Blarney Stone kissed me when I was snooping in dark and narrow passageways.
After the stars stopped spinning about me I went into the castle. There were only a couple of other people and at one point this guy yelled down, Are you going up or down? I said up and he said, hurry because I'm closing. So up and up and up and up I went. My sister had wandered off, having both a bum knee and a fear of heights, she couldn't have done Blarney.
I have to say the view was spectacular the the grounds exquisiste. I love some of the pictures from the top in my faves of Ireland. I didn't kiss the stone at the top, where you lay over this open grate to the grounds hundreds of feet below. I said to the guy, I hear the local lads do other things on the stone. He said not since he'd been there and since the grounds (and later the castle) were locked I could see that it's probably not done anymore.
A couple of women completed the ritual as I wandered and took pictures and started down. I didn't realize it but everyone had left except for the Blarney guy and me. He accidentally found me on the way down and said, you better hurry, I almost locked you in. So I trundled down and spent another 20 minutes on the grounds.
It was starting to get cold and dark and it was time to go. My sister might have thought I'd been locked in but I eventually found her outside the property gates. As we walked back to the car the Blarney guy drove by and beeped his horn, then turned around and went back the other way, beeping his horn at me again. Friendly fellow. We then drove on to Cashel and found a place to stay.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Limerick
I seem to have got myself out of order. Limerick was before Cashel and Blarney was after Limerick. I'll probably fudge the dates in a day or two to get these right. So without further ado, here's King John's Castle. We were in and out of Limerick in about two hours. The pictures (and the captions) speak for themselves.
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| Ireland 2007--King John's Castle |
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Rock of Cashel
Cashel was a lovely town (I've now officially lost track of the days). The Rock of Cashel is the mound on which the castle is built. It's suffered some weather damage over the years from wind (parts blown down) and rain. It's a sprawling place and cold. It was a windy enough day there but we could see from all sides, overlooking the town or the country. I didn't do as well a job of editing these photos so there are a lot of pictures of fresco details and pillars.
Viewing over the cemetery, the distant hills show a dip. We were told that the tale goes that one day the devil was walking along, in a foul mood and took a big bite out of the hills. That dip is called the Devil's Bite and when the devil spit out the chomp he took, it made the Rock of Cashel.
Brian Boru, and his grandson were some of the Munster kings that ruled from here. But his grandson gave the castle over to the Bishop of Limerick. The town itself was fairly small and we were hardpressed to find a place to eat that night, but ate at the Town Hall a higher end but very good restaurant.
We'd had a drink in one of local pubs earlier and many of the pubs in this area of Ireland have little hearths and some that burn coal still. We spent several hours at Cashel and then moved on to Limerick.
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| Ireland 2007--Cash |
Viewing over the cemetery, the distant hills show a dip. We were told that the tale goes that one day the devil was walking along, in a foul mood and took a big bite out of the hills. That dip is called the Devil's Bite and when the devil spit out the chomp he took, it made the Rock of Cashel.
Brian Boru, and his grandson were some of the Munster kings that ruled from here. But his grandson gave the castle over to the Bishop of Limerick. The town itself was fairly small and we were hardpressed to find a place to eat that night, but ate at the Town Hall a higher end but very good restaurant.
We'd had a drink in one of local pubs earlier and many of the pubs in this area of Ireland have little hearths and some that burn coal still. We spent several hours at Cashel and then moved on to Limerick.
Delays, Death and Life
Unfortunately I hoped to get all of the pictures of Ireland up before the end of the year. But first my place was broken into and my camera stolen (I had it for all of four months). I did have all the Ireland photos uploaded so I didn't lose them but I did lose the Nikon D80 and two lenses.
The next week a good friend died and then it was the holidays. It's been a bit of a tumultous winter with everything. But I'm going to endeavour to get the pictures up and then on to other matters.
The next week a good friend died and then it was the holidays. It's been a bit of a tumultous winter with everything. But I'm going to endeavour to get the pictures up and then on to other matters.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Slieve League and Carrowmore
On Tuesday Oct. 2 we bopped around Donegal for part of the day, using an internet cafe, seeing Donegal castle (which we drove around three times because we couldn't find it behind the trees and the wall, and then couldn't find the parking), and doing a wee bit of shopping.
I tried to call a woman near Carrick on Shannon. I'd been given her name by a friend but the one thing we never mastered were the phones. It was a phone booth on the street. I tried punching the number. I tried putting money in. I tried various buttons on the phone and only got the long distance operator who I couldn't hear anyways for all of the traffic.So we never did see Bee, but then we didn't pass through her area.
Slieve League was past Killybegs, west of Donegal. We drove out and it was a meandering drive along or near part of the coast. This was tweed country, lots of sheeps and a few tweed shops that we stopped in, partially for directions. So we drove and drove and weren't sure if we there so we asked a man, dressed in that classic old Irish attire of cap, tweed jacket, baggy pants and wellies. In Ireland the standard greetings is "How are you doing?" This man was walking along the small village road. I believe there might have been a total of 20 cottages at most and it was at the end of nowhere.
He said we were on the right road for Slieve League and as it turned out it was only about five minutes past that village, and dead ended there. We were high on cliffs and below was a long reddish sand beach. It was a long hike down the stairs and would have been a long sweat up. We didn't go down as it was getting late in the day.
As we drove back we found the sign to the Bunglass cliffs (which I think really were higher than the others). Since the guy at the tweed shop had mentioned them we decided to go check them out. I'm sure if my sister realized what we were getting into she would have said, skip it.
We drove through a village as tiny as the one at Slieve League, passing dogs, goats and chickens all running about the road. We rounded a corner where the family working in their yard kind of stared at us like we were mad. Then began the ascent.
At first it wasn't too bad but then it wound higher and higher. And then we were on a hairpin where you looked across to the other side of the hairpin with nothing but cliffs done the curve. My sister, who is terrifed of heights, said not a word, breathing heavily and grasp the car door handle so tight I thought she'd take it off.
It was in fact fairly treacherous. I was only going about 5km and if we'd met someone coming the other direction, I'm not sure what we would have done as it wasn't big enough for two. Plus there were the two spots where the car pointed straight at the sky and I had to take it on faith that there was road on the other side. It was easier going down and a pretty good view.
We then started beetling south to outside of Sligo. We wanted to do the Carrowmore passage tombs and thought we go that far for the night and have a head start in the morning. Regrettfully I saw nothing of Galway. We made an error this night by being far too late in travelling. It was dark by the time we ended up in the vicinity and I think we were near Lough Arrow because there was coast on one side. But it was so dark we couldn't see a B&B anywhere and finally found a small pub/tavern with rooms upstairs. It was dirty but it was cold (no heat), the shower didn't work in my sister's room and the rooms were so small we had to lift our suitcases over the bed. We did find a little restaurant farther in (if we'd known we could have checked that area for rooms) that had fairly good food. Many places did a combo course of appetizer and/or dessert plus a main course, so for 25 euros it was okay.
In the morning, Wednesday, we trotted off to Carrowmore and with the customary few wrong turns (though not many) found Carrowmore just as it was opening. And it rained quite heavily while we were walking through the fields. Not as impressive of Newgrange, still I found it interesting and the number of graves brought such a sense of time and history. We finished in under two hours, soaked to our knees, so we changed in the bathroom and then drove on. (I forgot to remove my duplicats so a few pictures will look the same.)
I tried to call a woman near Carrick on Shannon. I'd been given her name by a friend but the one thing we never mastered were the phones. It was a phone booth on the street. I tried punching the number. I tried putting money in. I tried various buttons on the phone and only got the long distance operator who I couldn't hear anyways for all of the traffic.So we never did see Bee, but then we didn't pass through her area.
Slieve League was past Killybegs, west of Donegal. We drove out and it was a meandering drive along or near part of the coast. This was tweed country, lots of sheeps and a few tweed shops that we stopped in, partially for directions. So we drove and drove and weren't sure if we there so we asked a man, dressed in that classic old Irish attire of cap, tweed jacket, baggy pants and wellies. In Ireland the standard greetings is "How are you doing?" This man was walking along the small village road. I believe there might have been a total of 20 cottages at most and it was at the end of nowhere.
He said we were on the right road for Slieve League and as it turned out it was only about five minutes past that village, and dead ended there. We were high on cliffs and below was a long reddish sand beach. It was a long hike down the stairs and would have been a long sweat up. We didn't go down as it was getting late in the day.
As we drove back we found the sign to the Bunglass cliffs (which I think really were higher than the others). Since the guy at the tweed shop had mentioned them we decided to go check them out. I'm sure if my sister realized what we were getting into she would have said, skip it.
We drove through a village as tiny as the one at Slieve League, passing dogs, goats and chickens all running about the road. We rounded a corner where the family working in their yard kind of stared at us like we were mad. Then began the ascent.
At first it wasn't too bad but then it wound higher and higher. And then we were on a hairpin where you looked across to the other side of the hairpin with nothing but cliffs done the curve. My sister, who is terrifed of heights, said not a word, breathing heavily and grasp the car door handle so tight I thought she'd take it off.
It was in fact fairly treacherous. I was only going about 5km and if we'd met someone coming the other direction, I'm not sure what we would have done as it wasn't big enough for two. Plus there were the two spots where the car pointed straight at the sky and I had to take it on faith that there was road on the other side. It was easier going down and a pretty good view.
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| Ireland 2007--Slie |
We then started beetling south to outside of Sligo. We wanted to do the Carrowmore passage tombs and thought we go that far for the night and have a head start in the morning. Regrettfully I saw nothing of Galway. We made an error this night by being far too late in travelling. It was dark by the time we ended up in the vicinity and I think we were near Lough Arrow because there was coast on one side. But it was so dark we couldn't see a B&B anywhere and finally found a small pub/tavern with rooms upstairs. It was dirty but it was cold (no heat), the shower didn't work in my sister's room and the rooms were so small we had to lift our suitcases over the bed. We did find a little restaurant farther in (if we'd known we could have checked that area for rooms) that had fairly good food. Many places did a combo course of appetizer and/or dessert plus a main course, so for 25 euros it was okay.
In the morning, Wednesday, we trotted off to Carrowmore and with the customary few wrong turns (though not many) found Carrowmore just as it was opening. And it rained quite heavily while we were walking through the fields. Not as impressive of Newgrange, still I found it interesting and the number of graves brought such a sense of time and history. We finished in under two hours, soaked to our knees, so we changed in the bathroom and then drove on. (I forgot to remove my duplicats so a few pictures will look the same.)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Bushmills, Dunluce and Donegal, Ireland
Our day started with Kinbane, then Carrick-a-Rede, Giants Causeway and somehow we went on to Bushmills (the town & factory) for a tour. Why? I don't care for whiskey (Scotch is different), my sister's a celiac and can't touch any wheat product.
Although they've been making whiskey since 1675 and it was interesting on how they use bourbon, port and errr, one other type of barrel to age the stuff, and although we got a shot at the end of the tour (I also got my sister's)it was still kind of a waste of time. There really was nothing to take a picture of unless I wanted to do an article on whiskey making (and maybe I should have taken more). But I took no pictures and had my sister shoot this only picture of me in Ireland with the mega bottle of booze.
So we did the tour, and now it's getting late in the day, about 4:00 and we find our way to Dunluce Castle... to see them locking it up. It was perhaps our biggest regret. If we'd missed the Bushmills tour that we weren't that enthused about we would have had time to explore the castle. And this castle had a cave. How cool is that? Alas we could only peer from the locked gates.
Our last stop was driving on to Donegal town. The pictures of Donegal and the castle are actually from the next day as we arrived with enough time to do our usual. We popped into the Reel Inn, had a drink and asked the bartender to suggest some B&Bs. It also turned out they had live music that night. So we crossed the bridge right outside the door and not believing everything was so close, continued driving up the road, to realize we'd gone too far. We turned around and then found several B&Bs just down the road. We stayed at the Bridges.
These B&Bs are nothing fancy on the outside but quite large houses inside with usually 3-5 bedrooms and a large dining room. Bernie, our host, had two cute little kids (never met the husband) and there was only a common bathroom though many B&Bs have ensuites. My sister and I each had our own room which gave me a reprieve from her snoring. (It's funny that whenever I had to wake her in the middle of the night to try and get her to stop snoring, the first thing out of her mouth, even half asleep, was "I am not." Like I had nothing better to do in the dark of night.)Bernie also washed our clothes for a few Euros each. A very nice place to stay.
So that night we went off to find dinner (quiet on a Monday). Many pubs have dining rooms upstairs. We began to notice that service in Ireland is different than here. They'll serve you but never come back and you have to hunt down the waiter to get your bill or they'll literally let you sit forever. I don't remember the name of the place but I had a mediocre chicken curry with not a speck of vegetables. but true to form it was a huge portion on rice. I ate it all and then they brought me a megasize bowl of French fries! I didn't eat any, being quite full. But there was that Irish thing of potatoes.
We then wandered back to the Reel Inn for the music though we never got farther than a few feet inside the door. I won't relate the tale here again as you'll find it if you go back to the Oct. 2 entry. We staggered into bed, a short walk of a couple minutes from pub to B&B, at 3 am.
Although they've been making whiskey since 1675 and it was interesting on how they use bourbon, port and errr, one other type of barrel to age the stuff, and although we got a shot at the end of the tour (I also got my sister's)it was still kind of a waste of time. There really was nothing to take a picture of unless I wanted to do an article on whiskey making (and maybe I should have taken more). But I took no pictures and had my sister shoot this only picture of me in Ireland with the mega bottle of booze.
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| Ireland 2007--Bush |
So we did the tour, and now it's getting late in the day, about 4:00 and we find our way to Dunluce Castle... to see them locking it up. It was perhaps our biggest regret. If we'd missed the Bushmills tour that we weren't that enthused about we would have had time to explore the castle. And this castle had a cave. How cool is that? Alas we could only peer from the locked gates.
Our last stop was driving on to Donegal town. The pictures of Donegal and the castle are actually from the next day as we arrived with enough time to do our usual. We popped into the Reel Inn, had a drink and asked the bartender to suggest some B&Bs. It also turned out they had live music that night. So we crossed the bridge right outside the door and not believing everything was so close, continued driving up the road, to realize we'd gone too far. We turned around and then found several B&Bs just down the road. We stayed at the Bridges.
These B&Bs are nothing fancy on the outside but quite large houses inside with usually 3-5 bedrooms and a large dining room. Bernie, our host, had two cute little kids (never met the husband) and there was only a common bathroom though many B&Bs have ensuites. My sister and I each had our own room which gave me a reprieve from her snoring. (It's funny that whenever I had to wake her in the middle of the night to try and get her to stop snoring, the first thing out of her mouth, even half asleep, was "I am not." Like I had nothing better to do in the dark of night.)Bernie also washed our clothes for a few Euros each. A very nice place to stay.
So that night we went off to find dinner (quiet on a Monday). Many pubs have dining rooms upstairs. We began to notice that service in Ireland is different than here. They'll serve you but never come back and you have to hunt down the waiter to get your bill or they'll literally let you sit forever. I don't remember the name of the place but I had a mediocre chicken curry with not a speck of vegetables. but true to form it was a huge portion on rice. I ate it all and then they brought me a megasize bowl of French fries! I didn't eat any, being quite full. But there was that Irish thing of potatoes.
We then wandered back to the Reel Inn for the music though we never got farther than a few feet inside the door. I won't relate the tale here again as you'll find it if you go back to the Oct. 2 entry. We staggered into bed, a short walk of a couple minutes from pub to B&B, at 3 am.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Giants Causeway, Northern Island
Giants Causeway was just west of Carrick-a-Rede. This is all in the county of Antrim, in Northern Ireland. There were tons of people here. That I even managed pictures without anyone in them is something. They have buses that are loaded up and they drive people down the hill for those who don't want the walk down or the hike up. But it's less than 30 minutes to walk one way.
The Causeway stones are basalt and due to an ancient (65 million years) lava flow as well as hot and humid conditions interspersed with colder air, caused the geometric fracturing of the stones. I believe there is in one area like this in Scottland too.
The pictures are pretty much self-explanatory. Amazing to look out but we didn't do the long hike around to the Chimney and the Organ. Maybe next time. The parts of the Causeway where the stones are pitted reminded me of ancient vertebrae. Definitely worth seeing.
The Causeway stones are basalt and due to an ancient (65 million years) lava flow as well as hot and humid conditions interspersed with colder air, caused the geometric fracturing of the stones. I believe there is in one area like this in Scottland too.
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| Ireland 2007--Gian |
The pictures are pretty much self-explanatory. Amazing to look out but we didn't do the long hike around to the Chimney and the Organ. Maybe next time. The parts of the Causeway where the stones are pitted reminded me of ancient vertebrae. Definitely worth seeing.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Carrick-a-Rede, Ireland
Still on Oct. 1, travelling west along the north coast of Ireland, we went next to Carrick-a-Rede, which means something like big rock. Carrich is the name of the island and it's tiny. It has a rope bridge suspended over a churning passage. Really, the bridge is twisted tensile metal strands and very sturdy. I think it was updated in 2000.
Used by fisherman since the 16th century, it was once just a rope with some wood slats. Down one side, just before the rope bridge is the husk of a building used for the salmon fishery. I believe this closed down in the 80s or 90s as fisheries all over the world have met similar demises. Fishing by boat was somewhat treacherous so the fishermen used Carrick island to fish from. I'm not sure if they trawled as there does seem to be some evidence of pulleys and such but in any case, Carrick like Kinbane, no longer has a fishing industry.
The walk to Carrick was beautiful. We had great weather and although there in the morning it warmed up quite a bit, especially with the stairs on the return visit. The ocean here was absolutely amazing. The colours in the pictures are quite accurate and it reminded of the water around the Bahamas, but wilder and colder. The white cliffs are limestone and the rest is basalt I believe. On Carrick island the beginnings of the fractured basalt that makes up Giants Causeway could be seen.
This was hike two, after Kinbane but really took only about 45 minutes in all to get to the island and back. The island itself was very hummocky and spongy. They have signs requesting that you protect the environment, which I presumed met walk lightly (as there were many people and would be more in the afternoon) and don't pick anything.
It's a rugged coast and I can see any landing, or a storm tossed night probably claimed its share of ships.
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| Ireland 2007--Carr |
Used by fisherman since the 16th century, it was once just a rope with some wood slats. Down one side, just before the rope bridge is the husk of a building used for the salmon fishery. I believe this closed down in the 80s or 90s as fisheries all over the world have met similar demises. Fishing by boat was somewhat treacherous so the fishermen used Carrick island to fish from. I'm not sure if they trawled as there does seem to be some evidence of pulleys and such but in any case, Carrick like Kinbane, no longer has a fishing industry.
The walk to Carrick was beautiful. We had great weather and although there in the morning it warmed up quite a bit, especially with the stairs on the return visit. The ocean here was absolutely amazing. The colours in the pictures are quite accurate and it reminded of the water around the Bahamas, but wilder and colder. The white cliffs are limestone and the rest is basalt I believe. On Carrick island the beginnings of the fractured basalt that makes up Giants Causeway could be seen.
This was hike two, after Kinbane but really took only about 45 minutes in all to get to the island and back. The island itself was very hummocky and spongy. They have signs requesting that you protect the environment, which I presumed met walk lightly (as there were many people and would be more in the afternoon) and don't pick anything.
It's a rugged coast and I can see any landing, or a storm tossed night probably claimed its share of ships.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Kinbane Castle
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| Ireland 2007--Kinb |
On Monday October 1, we left Ballycastle. At our B&B were a family from Seattle. They'd been driving about for two weeks and were on their third week. They said, stop at Kinbane on the way. It's not very far. And it wasn't.
It was down a long hill. They really didn't want people to go to the castle anymore. There were bars across the path but easy to straddle. As I moved around the hill, there was a second barricade just before the beach. I squeezed past that one, and it was obvious many had.
I loved the look of this castle, built in 1544 by Colla MacDonnell (of Balymargy Friary fame). It was shot at and partially destroyed at one point, but one of the MacDonnells lived there till the end of his days. Mostly what is left is one of the towers. It couldn't have been a very big castle but I can see how this would have been a great fortification. Rugged stony cliffs to the sea and steep steps up to the castle by land.
This castle gave me a great appreciation for the hardiness of those people of centuries past. To hike up and down that hill would definitely make one fit. Even though it was a bit breezy, I was quite warm by the time I pantingly reached the top.
The castle and rock itself are now made unapproachable, the way securely barricaded. The structure was originally besieged and with time it has become highly unstable. I loved many of the castles for different reasons but Kinbane had the true sense of a fortification of the most austere type. This was only the first of our stops on Monday, and the first of a few hikes.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Monasterboice, Ireland
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| Ireland 2007--Mona |
Monasterboice is now just a cemetery but it has a long history. Founded first in the 4th century by St Buite who died in 521, it has seen many incarnations. It laso had significance to Mellifont Abbey. The tower and the High Crosses date from the tenth century though the tower might be even older. The original abbey is long gone but there are remains of two 14th century abbeys. Over a thousand years of use here and there is still significant detail left. I can only imagine how majestic these crosses were in their virgin state. I did not know before that the reason there is the round circle on the crosses is that the versions made of gold and jewels would start to bend under the weight of the design and the circle was a support structure to hold up the arms of the cross.
The tower, it is believed, was used for protection when the Vikings came by. It is still over 100 feet high and no longer complete. As well, over time, dirt has built up around the base and the once elevated doorway is now about 6-8 feet above ground. Of course this would have been used for storage and for a lookout as well.
Monasterboice was our last stop around the Newgrange area. It wasn't far from the towns of Drogheda, Tara or Slaine.(Pronounced Droda but you'd hear different pronunciations depending on whether the person was saying the Gaelic or the English version.)
We never did get any pictures of Slaine (two weddings booked in the castle and there after dark for dinner the second night), and though we drove through Kells the night before it was too late for the tourist center. As it was now Sunday we would have had to hang around till 2 pm to get in and as it turns out, there are two Kells in Ireland. The other is in the southwest and neither house the Book of Kells, which I regret not seeing.
By this time we were getting a better sense of driving about and learning to just stop and ask directions, especially when we'd be at a corner that had signs pointing east and south at the same time. Signs for touristy things (landmarks, historic sites, beaches) were in brown and helped a lot in finding places. Towns were in white (w/black lettering) or green (w/white lettering). It seems the secondary routes were the white signs. The roundabouts, on the other hand, never really did get easy.
Next, Belfast to Ballycastle.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
St Peter & Paul's Cathedral, and Old Mellifont Abbey
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| Ireland 2007--St. Peter & Paul's Cathedral, Trim and Mellifont Abbey |
I find beauty in stone and architecture, in details and the juxtaposition against sky and flora. St Peter and Paul's Cathedral was in the town of Trim and not far from the castle. Trim was a very important center at one time. We happened upon the cathedral and just stopped. I loved the sense of age, the details still visible, and that the cemetery was still in use.
The days are blurring together but we arrived in the Newgrange/County Meath area on the Friday evening, then spent Saturday and part of Sunday boppign about before we went north. I can't remember if we did Trim on Sunday or if it was one of the last things on Saturday. The time of day and that the castle was nearly closed when we hit it makes me think that the cathedral was the last place on Saturday.
We then wandered back to Slaine (that we never did get pictures of nor see the castle because it was booked for weddings). We ate at "the Old Post Office" but had drinks at the pub across the street first until they had space for us. There was a guy playing music but it was 80s tunes. Alas, N.A. rock made its mark everywhere, when we wanted Irish traditional.
So on Sunday, after saying so long to Irene of the Roughgrange B&B right near Newgrange (she was lovely and very friendly) we moved on to Old Mellifont Abbey, a cistercian monastery first founded in 1142b by ST. Malachy. Of course, it was constructed and expanded over centuries and there were even ruins of one of the old houses on the hill. The rain spittered and spattered but never did more than that.
The detail in the columns were amazing and the sense of age was powerful. I got in trouble at the visitor center for saying we have such little history in Canada. I ameneded it to say architectural and civic history, because we do have history. But the artifacts of the first Nations were mostly of wood and leather and just as all the places no longer have their rooves in Ireland, we have very little (especially in western Canada) that goes back more than two centuries at most.
The sense of people living, adapting, changing through all those years is stunning. Nature is amazing and what humans have done, both good and bad, awe inspiring too.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Hill of Tara and Trim Castle
This is all still part of our very busy Saturday. After we left Newgrange we trotted up to the Hill of Tara. At one point, at a four-way intersection there were two signs at right angles, both saying Tara. Ah those funny Irish. Turns out one was for the town and one for the Hill. Hard to tell though I think we found the "brown" heritage/tourist sign at one point. Not that it point the right way either.
After stopping at a gas station (let me guess, you're lost and looking for the Hill of Tara--only about 100 people have come by) we found our way. The Hill of Tara is...well, a hill, a great big, luscious green hill, with a mound or two, with runnels around it. It's a hill (Cormac's House), a hill fort, a passage tomb (mound of the hostages) and numerous other things. I don't think we saw all of it as it was a murky wet day and wet grass makes things soggy. The Stone of Destiny shown in some of the pictures was supposedly moved in 1798 to commemorate the death of 400 Irishmen who fought the British. It's been the seat of the High Kings of Ireland from the 6-12th centuries and the stone was said to cry out when the true king touched it. (I wonder how they worked that miracle).
There is a little cemetery and church dating back only a couple of hundred years I believe. Or at least the stones we could see. But the age of the Hill of Tara goes back to neolithic times with other parts being of Roman and medieval times. Its significance is still great in Ireland.
We went on to Trim castle which was founded by Hugh de Lacy in the 12th century.Its more recent claim to fame is that it was used in filming Braveheart. But the ruins are quite fabulous. We hit it at the end of the day and didn't get the tour of the inside of the castle. I believe it's only a ruin though, no furniture. The tour would have consisted of talking about its different defenses and construction techniques as the tower has twenty sides.
There was a lovely little wedding going one with the men in coats and tails. Yeah, if I ever got married a castle would definitely be a great setting. We didn't really stick around in Trim, the town, but drove through to an abbey, shown in the next set.
After stopping at a gas station (let me guess, you're lost and looking for the Hill of Tara--only about 100 people have come by) we found our way. The Hill of Tara is...well, a hill, a great big, luscious green hill, with a mound or two, with runnels around it. It's a hill (Cormac's House), a hill fort, a passage tomb (mound of the hostages) and numerous other things. I don't think we saw all of it as it was a murky wet day and wet grass makes things soggy. The Stone of Destiny shown in some of the pictures was supposedly moved in 1798 to commemorate the death of 400 Irishmen who fought the British. It's been the seat of the High Kings of Ireland from the 6-12th centuries and the stone was said to cry out when the true king touched it. (I wonder how they worked that miracle).
There is a little cemetery and church dating back only a couple of hundred years I believe. Or at least the stones we could see. But the age of the Hill of Tara goes back to neolithic times with other parts being of Roman and medieval times. Its significance is still great in Ireland.
We went on to Trim castle which was founded by Hugh de Lacy in the 12th century.Its more recent claim to fame is that it was used in filming Braveheart. But the ruins are quite fabulous. We hit it at the end of the day and didn't get the tour of the inside of the castle. I believe it's only a ruin though, no furniture. The tour would have consisted of talking about its different defenses and construction techniques as the tower has twenty sides.
There was a lovely little wedding going one with the men in coats and tails. Yeah, if I ever got married a castle would definitely be a great setting. We didn't really stick around in Trim, the town, but drove through to an abbey, shown in the next set.
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| Ireland 2007--Hill of Tara & Trim Castle |
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