NORTHWESTERN AND WESTERN IRELAND

September 15, 2013

We woke up to wind and rain this morning—lots of both!

Mount Royd Country Home is known for its award-winning breakfasts and it didn’t disappoint.  The breakfast was something to behold!  I don’t remember the total number of fresh fruits carefully prepared by our hostess, Josephine, but it was at least a dozen.  I had smoked salmon for the entre.  After the VERY nice breakfast, we decided we just had to stay here another night!  (After-trip note:  The china used for meals at Mount Royd was the only china that was not white during the entire trip!)

 

 

Breakfast at Mount Royd

 

We drove north to a nearby ring fort named Grianan Ailligh that dates back to around the birth of Christ.  The walls are 4.5 meters thick and about 5 meters high with three terraces, or walkways, on the inside.  Two long passageways, which were blocked off, are contained inside the wall. The fort was the Royal Citadel for this area between the 5^th and 12^th centuries and was built on a high mound that may have been a sacred mound, or prehistoric burial place, possibly dating back to the Neolithic period (about 3000 B.C.)  Three small mounds, about which not much is known, circle the fort.  Speculation is that they may have been part of a smaller Bronze Age or Iron Age hillfort.  Essie and I decided to climb up to the top walkway for a view of the countryside.  The wind was blowing hard—I would estimate it at 50 mph plus—so we did not stay up there long.  Coming back down on the narrow, wet, stone steps was a challenge.



 

 

 

 

Grianan Ailligh Ring Fort

 

Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal (Below)

 Thatched roof cottage with out-buildings 

 A "Good" Country Road (Speed Limit = 50 MPH)

Countryside-Inishowen Peninsula

 



We continued to drive north on the Inishowen Peninsula to Doagh Famine Village.  We toured the site which was restored by a man that had grown up in one of the thatched homes.  He had assembled a lot of very old tools and equipment and he had produced dioramas showing life during various periods of time.  His talk was spiced with political perspectives before, during, and since the famine of the 1840’s which were quite interesting to hear.  Some of the exhibits, as well as his talk, contained interesting comparisons between the Great Famine (1845-1850) and famine-stricken countries today.  We were all surprised at the number of common sayings which we take for granted that originated in Ireland.  He shared many here and we heard others throughout the trip.  This location is well off the beaten path, is very remote, and has a harsh environment.  We were glad our hosts recommended it to us.

Doagh Famine Village

Instead of driving another 20 minutes to the northeast to reach the northern-most point of Ireland, we turned southeastward and drove through the center of the peninsula passing a few thatched cottages, which are still in use, along the way.
The weather today was VERY windy with many passing rain showers.  Gale force winds were forecast and they were certainly present in some areas along our route.

FAST FACTS:  The current government is a coalition of the center-right Fine Gael and center-left Labour parties who rose out of the ashes of the devastating 2008 financial melt-down.  They are not able to institute their policies because of the €85 billion (Euro) bailout by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank, which has to be repaid at what has been described as a prohibitively high interest rate.  As one writer said, in a few short years Ireland went from a poster-child of economic success to a terminal patient on financial life support.

Times are tough.  Unemployment is up, pay is down, and tourism (one of Ireland’s main sources of revenue) fell by approximately 30% between 2008 and 2011.  In spite of these adversities, the Irish have not taken to the streets, as has been done in Greece and elsewhere.

September 16, 2013

We were up early and headed south, driving through County Sligo to Galway in wind and rain most of the day.  The first sight we saw along Sligo’s north coast was Benbulben (also written Ben Bulben), a high plateau which was “home” to Nobel laureate poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats.  Much of his poetry is set in the area and he is buried at the churchyard in Drumcliff at the foot of the plateau.  It was a very pretty area.

Our only stop of the day was Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery which is a Neolithic era monument.  This is Ireland’s largest megalithic cemetery (and one of the largest Stone Age cemeteries in Europe) with over 60 monuments/tombs, some of which are among the oldest in the country.  Most of the activity took place here between 3000 and 4000 B.C.; however, two monuments date from 5400 and 4600 B.C.  The monuments include stone circles, passage tombs, and dolmens (a prehistoric monument consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone slab) that are set in rolling countryside. Some burial tombs were large mounds with the large central tomb containing remains of seven people--the oldest was about 58 and the youngest about 7 years of age.  They were buried as skeletons, not cremated like in other similar tombs.  This particular tomb has a reconstructed cairn surrounding it now, giving visitors some insight into the materials and methods of construction used during the period. 

Below:   Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery

Central Tomb 

 

 Satellite Burial Site

Entrance to the central tomb (above)

 Central Tomb gravesite inside the cairn

The wind was blowing so hard as we toured the cemetery that the rain drops felt like ice hitting my face.  We did not linger long at this location!

We spent the night in Galway, on the west coast, and it is a picturesque town.  I would love to spend more time in the city and surrounding area since we only skimmed the surface so to speak.  We didn’t have any luck getting into a B&B, so we stayed at the Galway Arms Inn located along a canal in the downtown area.  This suited me just fine because it meant we could park the car and I didn’t have to drive us to and from dinner!  We spent a leisurely evening strolling the streets, listening to some good music in a pub, and eating traditional Irish dishes for dinner.  All in all, it was a very nice evening with good friends in a nice city!

The night out in Galway



FAST FACT:  Irish (Gaeilge) is the official language of the country and all official documents, street and road signs, and official titles must be either in Irish or in both Irish and English.  The language is really only used in the rural areas of Counties Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, and Mayo--which are mostly western and southwestern counties.

IRELAND'S NORTH COAST

September 14, 2013

We got an early start this morning and headed along the northern coastline of the island of Ireland.  A few miles up the road, we stopped and Richard and I bagged our first geocache of the trip (my first of three for the day).  It was an absolutely beautiful location in the Antrim Glens area where we could see 4 of the 9 glens from the geocache site.  Heather covered the hillsides and sheep grazed around us.  It was a stunning sight!

 

CUKEDUDE AND ZIASMOM'S FIRST GEOCACHE IN IRELAND

 

 

THE ANTRIM GLENS

We drove further along the coast to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge.  This bridge was first built by salmon fishermen over 350 years ago to enable them to string nets.  The bridge was raised each summer to cross a 100 foot deep chasm that was 60 feet wide.  The foot bridge is now open to tourists so, of course, Essie and I had to cross it for a look around the small island on the opposite end.  This, too, was a very pretty area with the emerald green fields on the cliffs above the rolling waves below.  What a sight to behold!

 

Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge

 

 

Carol, Essie, Richard, Deb 



We continued along the coast to the Giants Causeway which is touted as the main stop to make in this part of North Ireland.  It is a UNESCO site and I was looking forward to seeing it since I have enjoyed other UNESCO sites.  We were all very disappointed and didn’t stay long.  From a geological standpoint, it is impressive—featuring large tubes of vertical volcanic rock spread over a rather large area right on the shoreline.  And that’s about it, folks!  We all agreed it wasn’t worth the price of admission—or fighting the crowds there.

 

 

Giants Causeway

 

Today’s drive along the coast on the Coastal Causeway was very scenic.  Emerging from the Antrim Glens with the sheep grazing in the heather-covered hillsides to the emerald green fields on the coastal bluffs that dropped abruptly down to the ocean below—it was all breathtaking!

 

Northern Ireland coastline



Leaving the coast, we went inland and paid a visit to the Bushmills Distillery (est. in 1608) in Bushmills, County Antrim.  We toured the facility and learned how they make Bushmills Irish Whiskey.  Of course, the tour ended in their tasting room where you could sample the products and decide which one(s) you would like to buy.  This is a large plant which has 9 storage buildings with 22,000 casks of whiskey in each building—and more storage buildings are under construction.

 

 

Bushmills Distillery 

We drove on to a small town south of Derry called Carrigans where we stayed in another B&B.  The B&B is located in The Republic of Ireland while Derry is in North Ireland.  Our weather was good for sightseeing today with lots of sunshine and occasional light rain showers.

BELFAST, NORTH IRELAND

September 13, 2013

We drove into Belfast this morning and the McCloskeys went to the Titanic Museum.  I only got about 2 hours of sleep last night so I elected to catch some sleep in the car while they toured.  I also called Verizon to work out an issue I was having with my cell phone.

We then drove to the city centre where we signed up for a Black Taxi Tour which was recommended by all our guidebooks.  This proved to be very interesting since our driver had been involved with the IRA beginning when he was about 15.  The tour takes you to various sites where large murals depict various people and events that occurred during “The Troubles”.  This period between the 1960’s and 2000 saw a lot of fighting in Derry and West Belfast.  The underlying issues were religion and English rule:  the Irish Catholics (IRA) wanted out from under English Rule   and the Unionists of Northern Belfast (Protestants) wanted to keep the status quo with continued ties to London and the UK.  Many civilians were killed during this time and one definitely has the feeling that, although the street fighting is over for now, there is still a strong undercurrent of distrust between the two sides.  I had that feeling not only in Belfast, but in other areas of North Ireland.  Today, in Catholic schools, only Catholic history (and its perspective) is taught; while in Protestant schools only English history (and its perspective) is taught.  This disparity includes the events of The Troubles.  Our guide and his wife were “on the run” in southern Ireland for 19 years, returning only three years ago after getting his amnesty papers.  He took us to see murals on both sides of the wall which separates north and west Belfast and he explained the northern perspective quite well.  However, one could readily feel the “fire in his belly” when he described the events from the IRA’s perspective because he “lived” them for so many years.

 

MURALS IN WEST BELFAST (IRA SIDE OF THE WALL)

 

MURAL IN NORTH BELFAST (LOYALIST SIDE OF THE WALL)

NOTE: OTHER MURALS WERE TOO FAR AWAY TO GET GOOD PHOTOS

The 30 foot high wall runs for 17 miles through the city and has 23 gates for access.  Only one gate is open 24/7and it can be closed immediately if there is a problem.  Homes along the south side of the wall have wire cages between the homes and the wall to protect people in their back yards (and their windows) from objects thrown over the wall from the Loyalist side.  The north side of the wall (Loyalist or Unionist) was very different from the south side in that it was generally run down--almost to the point of making me feel like I had gone into a slum area of a city.  On the south side of the wall a considerable amount of urban redevelopment had occurred and it was much cleaner.

 

THE WALL

 

BACK YARD IN WEST BELFAST SHOWING THE CAGE USED FOR PROTECTION FROM FLYING OBJECTS



ON TO NORTHERN IRELAND

September 12, 2013

 

 

The B&B we stayed in last night

 

We drove to Cushendall, Northern Ireland, located about 50 miles northeast of Belfast today.  The B&B we selected was located on a high hill looking out on the sea with vast bluffs and pastures between us and the water.  The decision to go to Northern Ireland was made a few weeks before I left, so I did not have time for much research.  We stopped at a small town in the Republic (South Ireland) for coffee and two gentlemen there said crossing the border wasn’t a problem, but be careful where we went, and parked, in Belfast.  It was pretty clear to us that they were still “fighting” the “Troubles” that ended  during the last decade.  Crossing the border, the only way we knew we were crossing was a small sign indicating the border and an information sign saying they use miles and mph for driving.  We continued on and, although I had not planned to drive in Belfast at all, we ended up in downtown Belfast at rush hour enroute to Cushendall.  (Definitely not a good idea!)  It was dark when we finally arrived at the B&B.

Driving along the coastline during the early part of the drive was in reduced visibility and off-and-on rain.  I was still trying to figure out all the knobs and handles in the car plus getting used to driving on the left side of the road. 

 

 

Driving in the rain in a typical city street

 

 

They drive very fast here and speed limits on roads we took were about 20-30 mph faster (or more) than what we would see in the U.S.—even in the West!  For instance a very narrow (normal) roadway with NO shoulders would have a speed limit of 60 mph—it would be 30-45 in the States.  This was true in both countries.  Additionally, we saw people stopped at various locations along roads.  They didn’t pull off—they just stopped in the middle of the lane and, in one case, he was facing us on a hill in our lane!  We didn’t do any stopping for sightseeing today—the one place we planned to stop was closed by the time we arrived.

We rented a GPS for the trip and it was a good move.  Fortunately, by the time we arrived in Belfast, Deb had pretty well figured it out.  However, we drove in more than one circle to get to a street going in the direction we wanted to go.  I told the folks about a saying we used in Scotland in 2003:  “Flexibility, not senility.”  It is evident I will be thinking those words a lot as I drive these roads.

We had a wonderful dinner tonight; mine was smoked haddock topped with cod.



FAST FACTS:  Northern Ireland (Ulster) is part of the United Kingdom while Southern Ireland (The Republic of Ireland) is independent.

Belief systems:  Ireland today is 88% Roman Catholic, 3% Church of Ireland, 2% Unspecified, 4% None.  Although the Catholic faith is in the majority, it no longer wields the weight in people’s daily lives that it used to.

I HAVE LANDED IN IRELAND!

September 11, 2013

I landed at the Dublin airport on schedule after an uneventful flight.  I met up with Richard, Esther, and Deb McCloskey at Baggage Claim and we were off to rent our car—a Volvo.  Then, we began our adventure into Ireland after a couple of hours getting through the red tape and renting the car.  Immigration was a “piece of cake” as was Customs, who didn’t even bother to check us—they just waved us through.

We drove a short distance north where we visited Monasterboice, a very old monastic site with a cemetery, two ancient church ruins, a tall round tower, and (reputedly) two of the best high Celtic crosses in existence.  The monastery is said to date back to the 5^th or 6^th century and Celtic crosses were found throughout the cemetery.  The three high crosses that are considered fine examples of ancient Celtic art.  The two that were especially impressive had carvings telling biblical stories which, it is believed, were done to bring the gospels alive for the uneducated.  The third, and simplest, high cross was probably smashed by Cromwell’s forces and only has a few remaining carvings.  It is believed that the carvings on the crosses were painted originally to help bring the stories alive for the people.

 

 

 

 

Monasterboice

We then went on to the Bed and Breakfast (B&B) at Dundalk that Essie had found online and checked in.  It was beautiful—absolutely spotless, with old style furnishings and charm, and flowers all around!  The hostess gave us directions to a nearby town, Carlingford, which had numerous medieval buildings.  We enjoyed a walk through town taking in the sights and soaking in the atmosphere.  The town is on Carlingford Lough (pronounced Lock), which is a long narrow inlet from the sea.  After dinner at a pub, it was time to return to the B&B.  We were all very tired after our trip, as well as the day’s sightseeing.

 

 

Carlingford

A note about the driving.  It has been 10 years since I have done much driving “on the wrong side” of the road, which was in Scotland.  Then, I did a little in New Zealand a couple of years later.  Needless to say, my comfort level wasn’t real high today; however, I muddled through it and hope I didn’t scare the others too bad too many times.  J  After the first day in the Volvo, I will readily admit it would not be my first choice for a car to buy.  I hope it gets more comfortable as time goes on, but I am going to have to get some cushions to make that happen because the seat won’t go up high enough.

FAST FACT:  More than 40 million Americans have Irish ancestry.  16 of the 42 Presidents are of Irish descent.

INDUCTION INTO THE SD AVIATION HALL OF FAME

September 7, 2013, was a special day as several members of my family and friends gathered in Spearfish, SD (in the northern Black Hills) to see me inducted into the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame.  My brothers and wives Don and Lila, Dick and Helen, Steve and Jan all traveled to Spearfish from southeast SD as did my niece Heather.  Nephew Paul drove up from the Denver area, and niece Carmen with husband Luke and children from Hot Springs, SD were all there.  College friends Pam and Vern Fritz and Gary Simmons live in the area and came also.  As I said at the end of my acceptance talk, I am truly proud and humbled to be honored in this manner.  And I feel blessed that so many family and friends made it to the event.  Unfortunately, Mom was not able to attend, but I showed her photos that were taken the next day so she could see what went on.

 

 

 

South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame Induction

I had one day between my return from Spearfish and the beginning of my trip to Ireland—and it was a busy one! I am on a plane headed east as I write this and I am wondering what I have forgotten.  I just hope whatever it is, that it is not too important!  That is all for now.  The next post will come to you from Ireland.