Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an island of amazing beauty and color. Even in winter (or almost winter), as the saying goes, Ireland has 40 shades of green.
We began our voyage in Dublin, where we rented a car, got used to driving on the left side of the road (and shifting with the left hand). Our first stop was to the National Museum. This provided a stunning overview of the land we were about to tour. I thought the most impressive section was the gold work from the Bronze Age. These works of art would be impressive in any age, but the fact that these are 4,000 years old made them amazing. Equally amazing are the human remains and clothing that has been found in the peat bogs throughout the country. The environmental conditions are perfect to preserve delicate textiles (or bodies) from centuries gone by. It seemed to be a clearer view into a bygone time than the preserved bodies of ancient Egypt.
In fact, the clothes were the key. They were ordinary woolen garments used in everyday life. They weren’t regal or special (and therefore warrant preservation), but simply the clothes that people from the time wore.
After our improved understanding of Ireland and its history, we headed out to the countryside.
Across the island are the breath-taking Cliffs of Moher. Rising sharply out of the ocean to a height of 700 feet (or 214 meters), they make a dramatic point to behold.

We walked for a significant portion of the 8 kilometers (OK, not the whole length, but a long way nonetheless).


We looked over the edge, just to see what butterflies would appear…


We stayed there so long that the sun began to set.

Then, we turned south and headed for the Dingle Peninsula.

Since the peninsula is pretty small, and the most scenic route only about 30 miles (50 kilometers)long, we decided to rent a couple bikes and ride the route to feel a little closer to the land.

The architecture and landscape were both very rugged. Built to last harsh conditions for hundreds or thousands of year (which in some cases has already happened).

Although not as famous or sheer as the Cliffs of Moher, this coastline was very scenic as well.

While there weren’t many people on the ride, there were lots of sheep. Here’s an interesting fact about the mountain on which this sheep is standing. On May 20th, 1927, at about 3PM local, this was the first land Charles Lindbergh saw on his historic transatlantic flight.
Of course, the sheep could care less…


On this, the far western edge of Europe, the landscape got more and more rugged.

The three peaks in the background are fittingly named the Three Sisters.

Another highlight of the trip was our stay at the Kinnitty Castle. Back in 2004 when Anna visited Ireland with her Mom, my Mom and my sister, they stayed at this ancient castle. She fell in love with it, so this time, we decided to stay there together. It was my first time staying in a castle and it was quite an experience.
The castle was originally built in 1209, but has been highly modified over the centuries. But, in 1811 it took on the form that it is today (well, mostly at least) and sits on 10,000 acres of land.
As a bit of a break from the norm, here are a few images from our room.



This is truly a “bath”room.

Even the bar is romantic. It’s set in a library with candles to add to the atmosphere.

The dinner was one of the best we’ve had. Everything in the castle was perfect. Exactly what we expected. If you happen to be in the Irish midlands, we highly recommend staying at this magnificent location.

The next destination was the Burren. It’s renowned for being rather desolate. However, it’s full of archaeological sites. In fact, this one is a portal dolmen and grave site used by people of the region approximately 5-6,000 years ago (the Neolithic era). When it was excavated in the 1980’s, they found about 30 bodies from that time period. The also found a woman from the Bronze Age (4,000 years ago) buried just outside the entrance.


This is the weather we expected to see our whole time. Although it’s not as pleasant to be walking in, it is certainly very pretty.

This mountain road in Dingle may give you some idea of the roads and climate. I’ve already mentioned the weather a couple times, but the roads were … a little small. This one is barely wide enough for a single car, let alone 2 buses passing next to each other. The road is very much a shared commodity. Drivers were very courteous and would pull over to let another driver pass by. So, once you are accustomed to driving on the left with little or no room between you, the rock wall and the cars zipping along, driving in Ireland is a breeze. Oh, and did I mention the road conditions are usually somewhere between fair and poor?

OK OK, so the driving wasn’t that bad (there are many places it is much worse).
This was another great adventure for us. We loved the people, landscape and history of this island. We look forward to returning.
So, until then…
–Jim