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 5th
or 6th 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.
