Fourteen
years ago I attended a foreign exchange program with the University of Limerick
in Limerick, Ireland. Since then I have always yearned to return to
Ireland but never imagined my dream would come to fruition. Studying
abroad in Ireland opened my eyes to a new world of different cultures,
traditions, and attitudes. It was one of my most intense formative
experiences. Somehow the world seems a smaller place when one studies
abroad.
Fast
forward and here I was boarding the plane from Frankfurt, Germany to Dublin
with my three children, Ansley 6, Evan 4, and Colin 2. We met another
couple with two small children also flying to Ireland. The mother was
Irish and the father was German. All four of the family members were
perfectly bilingual and rolled back and forth from German to English. Hearing
the mother's lovely Irish accent was a prelude of our yet to come Irish family
experience. After a short weather delay and a two-hour flight we arrived
late in Dublin.
Neil
was forced to drive late at night on the left side of the road. We both
kept chanting to ourselves “look right and stay on the left.” In Ireland
every car renter is mandated to buy local car insurance. As Neil
proceeded onto the street from the rental car parking lot, looking left instead
of right, he proceeded into a supposed clear path. Instead a car appeared
out of nowhere on the wrong side of the road (that is for right side of the
road for Irish drivers but the wrong side of the road for the rest of us).
We luckily just missed colliding with the oncoming car. There is
noting quite like fear and the school of hard knocks to teach one the local
driving customs. With a hope and a prayer we made it to our hotel safely and
checked into our cozy room.
In the
morning we were treated to a buffet Irish breakfast including yogurt, fruit,
sausage, blood sausage, mushrooms, grilled tomato, fried potatoes, baked beans,
toast and croissant rolls. Colin finished an impressive adult sized
portion of breakfast. We then tried to burn off the breakfast calories
with a walk through Saint Stephen's Green. St. Stephen's Green is to
Dublin as Central Park is to New York City. Evan and Colin proceeded to
chase all the seagulls and pigeons. We even spotted a resident birdman feeding
a gaggle of pigeons. Every city needs to have an eccentric person who
does not mind being crapped on to feed the birds. During our meandering
stroll we found a playground filled with young Irish families. Mostly the Dads
were attending to their toddlers while the Moms stayed home and slept in.
This is a proper Saturday tradition.
After
our Saint Stephen's Green traverse we proceeded to the town center of Dublin
and specifically to Grafton Street. The unemployment rate in Ireland is
currently at 14% so many people take matters in their own hands to earn extra
money by street performing. One man was carving a dog out of sand, groups
of students played traditional Irish tunes in a mini orchestra of stringed
instruments. I even caught a group of entertainers in the bathroom at
Bewley’s cafe dumping out a violin case of the spoils and counting the change.
One entertainer pronounced, "Old people are the most generous."
Later at the pub Ansley and Evan put out their empty food basket and
turned their silverware into a violin and a flute and asked us to contribute
money to their baskets. Ansley asked if she could play her tin whistle
for money on the streets in Germany.
Our
next stop after Grafton Street was the Temple Bar district of Ireland in hopes
of some live music. Music does not usually start till 9:30p, a little
late for the children but we ere able to find a pub with live music at the
Oliver Street John Gogarty pub during the day. Some other tourists had
the same idea and the pub was packed. The waitress quickly escorted our
motley crew upstairs, away from the crowds and the music. Shamefully we could
hear the music through a pathetic speaker. I guess a family with three
small children gets the cheap seats in the pub. We finished off Dublin
with yet another traditional Irish breakfast. and I forced myself to sample the
black sausage aka blood pudding.
Next we
drove to the Ring of Kerry and to our next B and B on a secluded lake.
The children were thrilled to be out of the car and ran straight to the
lake to throw stones in the water. That night we put the kids to bed
early, watched the Olympics, and our Irish hostess brought us tea and cookies
as we marveled at the view of the lake. The B and B owner was complaining
that tourism in Ireland had been down in numbers since the recession and so
many houses were still for sale. She said it did not matter the guest,
they all complained about the economy and no matter the language they all
understood the word bank.
During
our trip Colin discovered how to escape the pack and play. We were
watching TV in the living room of our bed and breakfast as the children were
supposedly sleeping. Ansley came down to report, "Colin is out of
his crib. We are in room six and everyone is alive. Evan spanked
Colin and put him back in his crib."
The
next day we drove a portion of the Ring of Kerry and thought the most
spectacular part was the Coomakista Pass whereby the ocean, cliffs, and rolling
hills all serenade together. We took a short, steep, albeit rainy hike up
one of the hillsides in the Ring of Kerry to try and get the wiggles out of the
children. During our drive we actually saw a ring fort and I came to
understand these were the bottom half of peoples houses. The bottom half was
a stone circle and the top half was made out of thatched roof, not really that
different from the thatched cottages that still exist in Ireland. The fort that
we saw was called the Staigue Fort and it dates back to 2500 years ago.
On the
drive we saw a sign for the only beach pub in all of Ireland. Of course
we had indulge in a Guinness at this fine establishment. Neil and I drank
our Guinness as the children ran, played and dug in the sand on the beach.
We found several tide pools with barnacles, sea anemone, and whelks.
Some brave vacationers had their wet suits on and were swimming in the
ocean. I opted to sip my pint in dry clothes instead.
The
next day we drove to Dingle Peninsula and bought wool sweaters at a store in
Dingle. Now our car smelled like a sheep barn from the sweaters. We drove
the Dingle Peninsula loop but the weather was so dreary we couldn't glean or
decipher any of the spectacular views. I convinced Neil the next day to
make a second attempt at the Dingle Peninsula drive. I told him it would
be worth it as it was the most beautiful place in the world.
The
weather held and the peninsula shone like a bright star. Our first stop
on the loop was Sleigh Head and the view of the beach down below where the
movie Ryan's Daughter's was filmed. We tried to peer through the trees to
find the former temporary lodging house of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise (long
before the mayhem with Katie Holmes) when they filmed Far and Away. We
scarcely caught a glimpse of the cottage from the road. From this most
spectacular vantage point we were able to see the Blasket Islands and Dunmore
Head, the Western most point in Europe. Our favorite stop was yet to come
at km 24.9. When we piled out of the car we could hear the sound of a
bagpipe. A woman was playing her heart out and proclaimed this was
the first sunny day on the peninsula in two months. We encouraged Ansley
to do an impromptu Irish jig on the rock next to the bagpipe player. She
enthusiastically agreed as Neil recorded her dance on our camera. Then we climbed to
the top of the rock-studded hill before us. Sea gulls were flying in
every direction. A set of hills called the three sisters expanded to the
right and behind us. We traversed a sheep field and then scaled up small
piece of land jutting out into the ocean. Below we could see a cozy
cove/beach, ocean on both sides, a sheep beside us, and large green hills
lopping straight into the ocean.
Next we
drove to the Gallarus Oratory. It is a primitive church built in the
500’s-800’s and is made solely out of stone without mortar. It is a quite the
architectural wonder. The Oratory protrudes upward the same as an upside
down-bow of a ship. Last we visited the ruins of the Church of
Kilmalkedar. It was a Norman church built by the English as an attempt to
centralize their rule and it replaced an older monastic settlement. In
front of the church stands an early Christian cross made of stone. Many
of the graves have the traditional Celtic cross. The Celtic cross is a
marriage between the former Celtic pagan worship of the Sun God with the new
Christian faith. The circle on top of the cross is the sun because Christ
is the one who brings the light to the world. An intriguing Ogram stone
dating back to the 300's also stood in the ground before the church. It
has the mysterious Ogram writing and there is a hole through it whereby two
people can touch thumbs and confirm a commitment such as marriage. Neil and I
confirmed ours by touching thumbs through the Ogram stone. The church finally
met its ruin in the early 1800's when the Catholic Church had to go underground
due to the English control. Many of the stone tombs were mere remnants of
their former glory. They have been worn down with time and weather and
are now blank tablets. The ruins of the church concluded our drive and we
headed to Doolin for our nights' stay.
When we
arrived in Doolin we came down an especially narrow road (more like a one way
road whereby if two cars meet one car has to back up). The streets were lined
with hedges and many of the hedges are fuchsia with bright red flowers that
bloom in the summer time. Fuchsias were imported from South America but
they have taken a strong hold in the Irish countryside. Coming awkwardly
down the country road our Ford rental came to a large hill with a castle to the
right, the moor above, an overgrown cottage to the left and cliffs with ocean
out in the distance. I made Neil re drive this route because it was so
lovely. I also convinced him to eat dinner in the town of Lahinch. My
former Irish boyfriend was from this beach town in the days of yore when I
studied abroad at the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland. Neil
and I had a good laugh about this topic and actually had some scrumptious pizza
at the restaurant as well.
Back to Doolin, it is famous for its Irish pub
music scene. It is situated right next to the Cliffs of Moher. The
countryside around Doolin embodies the Irish standard beaming with stone
cottages, rolling gentle hills, stone bridges, hedges, streams, cliff sides,
and of course an Irish pub or two. The next morning we made a point to go
straight to the Cliffs of Moher. The wind was cutting through our new wool
sweaters and it felt as if it was a fall day not July. We hiked up the
trail that the Irish had just recently made safer. One used to be able to
just walk up to the 600-foot cliffs but now sheets of stone and a walkway back
from the cliffs kept visitors safe. However true to European
philosophy there was a small rock you could climb over to go on private
property to hike the trail right on the ledge of the cliffs. When I say
true to European philosophy, I mean Europeans don't believe in saving people
from themselves. It is a natural selection of sorts. If one is so inclined
to hike on the edge of a cliff then that person must be held accountable for
the consequences. The cliffs are slowly eroding and the ground is
unstable on the edge of the cliffs. Yet several tourists were sitting
with their legs dangling over the edge despite the signs that warned extreme
danger. Can I just say, not for a million dollars would I dangle my legs over that cliff.
In the
afternoon we made a drive through the Burren, an area of Ireland that
looks as if it is a separate planet with all the soil worn away and mostly rocks exposed on the
hillsides. We pulled into the drive of an old abandoned stone church in
the middle of a Farmer's field. Neil went first to check it out. Pretty
soon a tractor came up behind our car trying to enter the land and into the
field.
Of
course, Neil was down by the church now. I explained to the tractor
driver and pointed to my husband and took off running to get the keys to the
car. Tractor man didn't want to wait for us. He just removed a piece of the fencing and drove through the
field. Our next stop was Pounabrone Dolmen. It is that famous stone
table, portal tomb. People used to think it was a Druid altar and weird, modern want to be Druid people would arrive to have worship ceremonies at such
artifacts as this one. The ironic part is that it is not Druid at all.
It is from a time way before the Druids 4000 years ago and it is much
older than the Egyptian pyramids. It is theorized that people were able
to move these large stones into place on rollers. Human remains were indeed
found below the portal. Colin enjoyed improving his balance and agility
as he bounded between the ground and the boulders surrounding the portal.
This is
a good time to reflect on Neil and his driving abilities in Ireland and my
experience as a passenger of the car he so kindly drove for our family. Let's
just say I am so blessed to have all my limbs in tact. Our car trimmed
many of the roadside hedges for free. I silently cringed as I heard the
branches scrape up against the car. Every time there was a stone fence on
the side of the road I held my breath. When there were puddles on the
side of the road we would slide into the hedges and Neil would laugh his head
off. I love him but he is crazy. I would tell him to slow down and
he would say, "Oh honey, I’m not even driving the speed limit." Mind
you the speed limits are generic 70km out of town and 50km in town or something
like that. The authorities expect drivers to proceed with caution.
Ireland has the second most dangerous roads next to Portugal in Europe.
You have to buy compulsory in-country insurance as if they expect you to
wreck. One lady was coming down the road of our apartment on the wrong
side of the road right at us and Neil was again laughing his head off.
“Come on honey this is so funny. She is obviously a tourist.”
The good news is Neil has a clean driving record in Ireland and we all
made it back to Germany alive.
That
day after the Burren we decided to all take a nap so we could stay up late for
the Irish music at 9pm in the pub. We headed for dinner at 8:30 at the
pub and ordered Irish stew for ourselves and fish sticks for the children. Then
the Irish band began to tune their instruments and our anticipation was
growing. Soon enough the band broke out in a reveling Irish jig with a
fiddle, accordion, flute, and vocalist. The acoustics and the band were
first rate. The children started doing their jig, and Neil and I grinned
from ear to ear. One can’t help but be mesmerized by Irish music.
We stayed until the children started to act silly and tired. The
next morning we went on a cliff side hike that eventually meets up with the
Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs in Doolin are the smaller cliffs that begin
the Cliffs of Moher. The hike was suited for our family because it was
far enough away from the cliffs for safety's sake yet we could still see the
cliffs, view the birds, and watch the streams eroding and water falling right
off the cliffs. We walked maybe a half-mile and the trail started to get
closer to the cliffs and the rain really started to pour. We decided it
was time to turn around but if Neil and I ever get the privilege of going back
to Ireland, we are going to hike this trail to trails end. Hopefully it
won't be washed away by then.
The
next day we left for the south east part of Ireland to see a few more sights
and start heading back to our departure city of Dublin. I randomly chose
our B and B because I thought it was by Kilkenny and the Rock of Cashel where
St. Patrick converted the Druid King to the Catholic Faith. I was wrong
on all accounts. The B and B was closer to the Kennedy Homestead,
Wexford, and Waterford. Waterford by the way has been sold to an American
company and the crystal is mostly made in Eastern Europe but some of the custom
pieces are still made in Ireland. Our B and B turned out to be cozy with
two large furry dogs in the driveway, a farmyard with chicken eggs to collect
and sheep to watch in the pasture. The cottage had stain glass and
antiques and a winter garden glass room perfect for reading books while
watching the sun set. Our hostess suggested that we go to the Irish
Heritage museum just outside of Wexford as well as a replica of a famine
ship.
The
next day we headed off to both destinations and on the famine ship we were
assigned a name of someone who did indeed board such a ship in the mid 1800's.
Characters dressed in time period clothes acted out life on the ship.
Ship patrons were aboard the ship for two months. Most of the
second-class passengers were let up for fresh air only a half hour per day.
Each passenger was given water, salted meat, and flour rations to make
his or her own bread. The second-class quarters were cramped and four
people both slept and congregated in a single bed with four on the top and four
on the bottom bunk. The top bunk was better because the bodily fluids
could not run down. Only half of the passengers usually survived on the
ship. The actress that was acting for us was a mother of five and in the
end her and her husband both died and left five children including a baby
orphaned. No one knows what happened to the children once the ship reached
its destination. Once the ship reached its port, the passengers had be quarantined and many did not
survive quarantine as well. These stories gave me a whole new
appreciation of the sacrifices my ancestors made to come to America. So
many people were starving in Ireland during the potato famine that many people
were desperate to board these ships for a new life in America or Canada.
Life
was difficult for new immigrants and the first immigrants that arrived were
expected to save money and send it back to Ireland to get the rest of the
family over to America. Most of the immigrants worked menial jobs or
helped build the railroads. The Kennedy family left during the famine out
of southeast Ireland. It took 100 years to rebuild the family until JFK
became president.
The
next and last place we visited in Ireland was the Irish National Heritage
Museum near Wexford. It has a 35-acre campus and recreates replicas of
living quarters and life style during all the separate stages in the history of
Ireland. The first exhibit showed the start of Irish civilization between
7,000 and 6,000 BC. The exhibit showed a large grass hut as well as
gathered eggs and fish. Then the next exhibit was displaying the time
period of 3000 BC during the Stone Age and showed farming wheat and making rustic
bread stone ground bread. It showed that the stones used to build the
burial mounds famous in Ireland were built by moving stones on rollers. Next
the stone huts or ring forts were shown with thatched roofs and this exhibit
centered on the Bronze Age. We saw the original domestic animals such as
the Kerry cow and the older varietals of sheep and pigs.
About
750 BC the Celts arrived from modern day Austria. They brought iron
tools and weapons. They liked to fight according the Roman writings. The
priests of the Celts were called Druids and they worshipped many Gods.
The society had kings and aristocrats at the top, then free men, and then
slaves. Then we walked through a water mill that greatly advanced
processing wheat. Now bread could be made that wouldn't grind down the
teeth.
The
last segment of Irish history represented the climax of Irish society with the
introduction of Monastic communities and Christianity. In 432 Saint
Patrick arrived in Ireland. Monasteries and abbots organized the church.
In 500-800 AD was the golden age of the Irish Catholic church. Irish
monks kept Greek and Roman learning alive in the Dark ages. The huts now
evolved into cottages that looked like the modern thatched roof cottages.
One room had a coloring exhibit for the children with pictures to color
from the Book of Kells. A stone Celtic cross that was painted in bright
colors was the center of the settlement.
After a
long day we drove back to Dublin and stayed the night by the airport. We
flew out in the morning and were so glad to be back in our own beds that night.
