'Tis Like A Morn In Spring

Ireland... 40 shades of green, thatched cottages, quaint villages, pubs, St. Patrick, leprechauns,   friendly, ruddy-faced people, sheep, a pint of Guinness and a dram of good Irish whiskey.  All those things pop to my mind when I picture Ireland.  But it's all that and so much more!

My wife and I and two of our closest friends, Hal and Harriette, just returned from two weeks in Ireland.  Hal and Harriette had visited several times before, but this was the first trip for Jean and me.  Although we've lived and worked and traveled all over the world, we'd never made it to Ireland.  We're so happy we finally got there!

The first part of October is a great time to go.  The tourist season is almost over so the crowds are gone.  The weather is still comfortable... upper 40's at night, lower 60's during the day. Just look for rain at any minute.  And if it doesn't rain at that minute, look for it the next minute.  We had a total of four rainless days during the 14 days we were there. 

Months ago, Jean and Harriette read a book called "Last of the Donkey Pilgrims" by Kevin O'Hara.  O'Hara was a Viet Nam vet who set out in the late seventies to pull his life back together by walking the entire perimeter of Ireland with nothing but a donkey and a cart, like Irish pilgrims hundreds of years ago.  One year, and a book full of adventures later, O'Hara made it back to his starting point, and so impressed Jean and Harriette that we set out to follow most of his route around the Emerald Isle.

After a couple of days in Dublin visiting Trinity College to see The Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol (jail) to learn some Irish history, Guinness brewery to down a few pints, and Jameson distillery to get my certification as an official Irish whiskey taster, we set out on our trek in a rented van on the "wrong side" of the road.

There's no way I can show all the 400+ photos I took.  And it would take days to explain all we saw and experienced.  But here are a few highpoints.

We headed north to Newgrange to see the passage tombs built by Neolithic Stone Age Irish inhabitants.  The tombs, huge mounds of dirt and stones, are older than the pyramids.  Once each year, on the summer solstice, the rising sun shines through the passage into the tomb lighting the interior chamber for exactly 17 minutes, offering the promise of summer and another season of growth.  It's hard to comprehend the age of these monuments and the primitive intelligence required to build them.

We visited more passage tombs at Knowth before coming to the Hill of Slane where St. Patrick angered the Irish King of Tara by lighting a huge bonfire which, by tradition, could only be lit by the King.  The Hill is now site of an old cemetery filled with Celtic High Crosses, the ruins of an ancient monastery, and a memorial to St. Patrick.

Still traveling north, we saw more castle and monastic ruins, Celtic High Crosses and round towers.  Ireland is an ancient land, inhabited for millennia by Celts and invaded periodically by Vikings, Normans and Anglo-Saxons.  The remains of castles and the round towers of Irish Chieftains dot the entire countryside, sharing space with sheep, dairy cattle and thatched or tile roofed cottages, all nestled among those 40 shades of green.

On the northern coast is the Giant's Causeway, an amazing formation of hexagonal columns rising from the earth with a volcanic eruption over six million years ago.  Legend has it that the columns once reached across the channel and were the stepping stones over which giants traveled between Ireland and Scotland.

Further along the donkey pilgrim's path are the spectacular Cliffs of Mohr, the Dingle Peninsula, ancient stone "beehive huts"  where Irish monks "saved civilization" by copying the bible and ancient books smuggled off the European continent, and the ruins of countless castles and abbeys.  Two castles not to be missed are Bunratty Castle, with its medieval banquet and Irish folk village, and Blarney Castle where you too can kiss the blarney stone and receive the gift of "eloquence" - or, as my wife calls it, "bulls**t", which she swears I already possessed!

Our final "sightseeing" sight was the Waterford crystal factory in Waterford.  Watching the glass blowing, etching and cutting was fascinating.  But unless you purchase a piece that is exclusive to Ireland, don't buy your crystal at the factory.  It's actually less expensive in the U.S.

If you intend to drive through Ireland, consider taking along a GPS system.  It makes the trip much more enjoyable not having to pre-plan every route.  There are few "motorways" in Ireland, so it takes longer to get wherever you're going.  But the drive is worth it.   Most roads are narrow two-lane passages between quaint rock wall fences and beautiful fuchsia hedges.  I thought fuchsia only grew in pots on my patio, but in Ireland it grows in tall, lush hedgerows defining walking paths and roadways.

The Irish economy is flourishing - as much as it can be during the current economic crisis.  But, the Irish culture is changing.  Thatched cottages are disappearing due to the lack of craftsmen who know how to "thatch" roofs.  Communities of summer homes are springing up in the countryside for more affluent and retired families moving out of the cities.  And over 1500 pubs have closed, not because of the "off premise" sale of alcohol, but because of recent "no smoking" ordinances.  Most Irish now had rather buy their Guinness and drink it at home where they don't have to go outside to smoke.  Funny - and rather sad - how such small things can affect changes in an entire culture.

The Ireland experience was fantastic... beautiful, educational, and inspiring.  But, I must admit, my favorite place was Sean's Bar, a small pub in the old village of Athlone.  Sean's is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest pub in the world.  Its original reed and wattle walls have been carbon dated to 900 A.D. 

The weekend we were there, Sean's was chock-a-block with happy locals.  An impromptu group of musicians, tucked into a corner of the pub beside the peat-burning fireplace, played authentic Irish tunes nonstop.  We could have spent all night listening and singing and sipping Guinness and fine Irish whiskey.  In fact, I think we might have!

Ahhh... ‘tis like a morn in spring!