Paddy's Day at the Cliffs of Moher

Full disclosure, I do not have a drop of Irish blood running through my body.  Also, I don't really drink alcohol.  Which is to say that my history with St. Patrick's Day is relatively inconsequential.  I could never honestly wear those funny pins that say "Kiss me, I'm Irish" because I'm not, and I've never used the day as an excuse to hit up every bar selling Guinness for the excessive consumption of alcohol.  I'm not Catholic, so my knowledge pertaining to the Saints is quite limited.  Before this year I didn't know very much about St. Patrick, who is accredited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the latter half of the 5th century.  In previous years, the 17th of March came and went much like any other ordinary day for me.  But from this point forward, I will think of St. Patrick's Day with fondness when I recall the memories from this trip to Ireland. 

On March 16th, we took a picturesque bus ride through the Irish countryside (as you can see from the picture of grazing sheep in a green field with limestone fences) to the quaint town of Ennis.  We stayed at the Old Ground Hotel which conveniently had a terrific, traditional Irish pub on the first floor. 

The hotel overlooked a most beautiful church...

...which had this more modern sculpture on its grounds. 

After unloading at the hotel, we wandered the streets of Ennis and eventually found a spot for a picnic lunch of brown bread, wine, olives and cheese along the River Fergus. 

On March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day, we piled into a van headed for the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's greatest treasures.  

We hit the road for a full-day adventure through the Irish countryside. 

Frank drove the van and was a terrific guide.  He had everything a good tour guide needs: extensive historical knowledge of every castle, pub and sheep field we passed, a clever mind full of great jokes to keep us giggling along the way, lots of patience for picture taking, and a cheery Irish accent.  His van company is based in Limerick, Ireland so he entertained us with the only clean limerick he knew:

Once there was a birdie flying high up in the sky,

who dropped a bit of whitewash into my little eye.

I did not laugh, and I did not cry,

I just thanked the Lord that cows don't fly.

Frank took the scenic route on the way out to the cliffs and let us stop at a few historic sites including this very old church in the town of Killinaboy (which sounds like a funny name but it's Irish for "church of Baoth's daughter").  If you look closely at the picture, you might notice that the stones are arranged to form a cross in the middle of the church wall.

We also stopped at Leamaneh Castle, which was built around 1480 and is now in ruins.  Frank told us the story of Máire Rúa (Red Mary), an infamous woman with flaming red hair who did everything she could to keep the castle in her possession.  She even placed advertisements stating her desire to marry a Cromwellian officer after her 2nd husband died to ensure the estate would not be taken from her.  This girl seriously loved her castle. 

One of my favorite things about Ireland was the expansive fields of green spotted with grazing sheep and bordered by limestone walls.  Truly beautiful!

The Poulnabrone dolmen is an ancient, and I mean ancient, burial site dating back to the Neolithic period (between 4200 and 2900 BC). 

Here is one of my "Amanda Artistic Pictures," as Ellen describes them.  

I propped the camera up on a boulder to get this group shot. 

We also spotted plenty of cows in addition to sheep as we drove along.  If you look closely, you might notice that the brown one is smiling for the photo. 

Fritz gazing out on the great Atlantic.

Before getting to the Cliffs of Moher, Frank let us hop off the van for a photo shoot at these baby cliffs.  This was just a sneak preview of the views to come!  Nothing like standing at the edge of the world to help put life in perspective. 

A contemplative Mitchel.

The weather was absolutely unbelievable.  I'm surprised Frank didn't try to charge us extra for scheduling the blue skies.  

The Cliffs of Moher are located at the southwest edge of County Clare, Ireland.  They are 702 feet above sea level with a straight drop down to the ocean.  They are made primarily of shale and sandstone rocks which have been cut away over millions of years to create the breath-taking views seen today.  There are more than 20 different species of birds living in the cliffs including Atlantic puffins.  Unfortunately, we didn't spot any during our visit.  Maybe next time puffins.  

The Cliffs have appeared in several movies including The Princess Bride (as "The Cliffs of Insanity") and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  

There is a substantial stone wall preventing visitors from getting too close to the edge of the cliff, but in the event of crazy risk-takers, these caution signs say it all. 

Standing on top of those cliffs and looking out over the Atlantic Ocean was truly a breathtaking experience.  One of Ellen's friends once described the Cliffs of Moher as a place where one could see God.

O'Brien's Tower built by Sir Cornelius O'Brien in 1835. 

This was a St. Patrick's Day unlike any other.  Over the past year, I have frequently found myself reflecting on how fortunate I have been in my life.  I was born into a wonderful, thoughtful, generous, loving family and now I am marrying into a wonderful, thoughtful, generous, loving family.  Thank you Mike, Ellen, Mitch and of course Fritz for inviting me to be a part of this unforgettable adventure.  I am truly grateful. 

Galway and the West Coast of Ireland

You know you are off to a good day in Galway when you are eating this otherworldly brown bread at Anton's Restaurant.  This stuff is so good we had breakfast here two days in a row.  We have learned that Irish brown bread is a staple of almost every meal in Ireland, in addition to potatoes of course.  But not all brown breads are created equal, and Anton's bread is exceptionally delicious!  We begged the staff for the recipe, but their lips were sealed. They did seem very appreciative of our emphatic praise of the bread and sent us off after the second day with an entire loaf on the house.  So very kind!

We took a day trip over to Spiddal, a coastal town about 45 minutes up the winding scenic road from Galway.  On our way, we spotted houses with real thatched rooves!  Apparently they provide very good insulation, but it can be difficult to insure a house with a thatched roof as they are highly flammable. 

The drive along the Atlantic was absolutely beautiful and as you can see, Ireland had quite a rocky coastline. 

Spiddal has a small craft village that we explored.  All the crafts are authentically made in Ireland, if not right in the town of Spiddal.  Here is a loom used to weeve Irish wool.  

The rocky shoreline was gorgeous, I had to take photos!

Old rock walls are all over Ireland.  We passed a bunch of them on our train ride from Dublin to Galway and here they are again on the coast.  

Everyone keeps telling us that the weather is never this good.  They had a terrible winter with tons of rain and serious flooding.  It's often cold and foggy if not raining, so it is probably reasonable to state that it was the five of us that brought the blue skies.

Dublin to Galway

Monday morning's soft light passing through our diamond-paned bedroom window as we began another perfectly sunny day in Ireland.  

On our agenda for the day included a trip to the historic Kilmainham Gaol (or Kilmainham Jail in English), and taking a train ride out of Dublin to the west coast.  Fortunately, the jail was a short walk from the train station, situated right next to the pretty canal pictured above.  We were able to leave all of our luggage at a hostel by the train station and tour the jail unencumbered by our bags.  

The Kilmainham was built in the late 1700s and was intended to replace the old prison system.  Instead of a horrible dungeon in which groups of prisoners were thrown into large rooms full of violence and disease, Kilmainham had individual jail cells. 

Kilmainham Gaol played a big role in the 1916 Easter Rising and it is one of the most important Irish monuments related to the struggle for Irish independence.  After the Rising, Kilmainham held many of the Irish revolutionaries including the 14 leaders of the Rising who were each sentenced to death by a firing squad in the enclosed courtyard of the jail.  

They were each held in individual cells until it was time for their execution.

"Beware of the risen people that have harried and held ye that have bullied and bribed."  Written by prisoners from one of the many uprisings in the 1800s.

The main section of the prison incorporates a more modern layout where a guard standing in the middle is able to see every cell.  Our tour guide reminded us that this is also the most common layout for shopping malls.  Due to Kilmainham's unique yet traditional look, it has been used in many movies over the years, famously including "The Italian Job." 

One woman jailed here was an artist, imprisoned for her satirical cartoons around the time of the 1916 Easter Rising.  On her cell wall, she painted the Virgin Mary, which has been preserved.  I was able to take a picture of it through the peephole in her door. 

Along this wall is where the 14 leaders of the Easter Rising were executed by a 12-person firing squad. 

The Irish people were fighting for their independence from the English for nearly 600 years and it wasn't until 1922 that they were granted their independence.  

After leaving the jail, we walked through the courtyard of the Ireland Museum of Modern Art.

This was a picturesque shortcut to get to the train station.  We left Dublin and headed straight west for the city of Galway.  On our train ride to the coast, we were fortunate enough to sit next to an Irish man named Wayne, who has been living on one of the islands off the west coast of Ireland for the past year.  He gave us a little lesson on the history, culture and lifestyle of the people living in the "true" Ireland.  

Wayne said the people from Dublin are much more English since the British had so much control of that part of Ireland for such a long time.  In fact, for years the people of Ireland were forbidden to speak their own language and as Gaelic speakers passed away, the language began to disappear.  Fortunately for the Irish culture, the English had little interest in the hard, rocky, infertile land in the western part of the country.  Because the West had such insufficient resources, the English ignored them completely and the people living there when on speaking Gaelic even though it was strictly forbidden throughout the rest of the country.  For this reason, Irish culture on the coast was able to remain intact.  Wayne said all the people on his island speak Gaelic and he had to work hard to establish his place as a member of their community having come from Dublin, the "English" East. 

We hopped off the train in Galway, a much smaller, quainter city when compared to Dublin.  

We bumped our rolling suitcases down the bustling pedestrian street lined with shops and Irish pubs. 

There are several canals passing through Galway which empty into the River Corrib, whose rapids eventually flow into the Atlantic Ocean. 

It's just a short walk from our Airbnb into town. 

We walked through the festive streets in search of a bite to eat and some authentic Irish music. 

Which we found!  This trio played jig after jig.  The guy in the middle had at least 5 different flutes he kept switching between.  It was simply impossible to sit still while these guys were playing. 

Good food, good drink, good music, and good company.  It doesn't get much better than this, boys!