Ireland: An overview of what we saw and did there

Is that a pompous enough title? :)

We were given two weeks in Ireland, for which we were both thankful. Having never been there, our list of "must-sees" was ambitious and lengthy and our days were full. I'm not complaining (much) but it did make for some long days-- not to mention the fact that, because: a) I cannot read a map, and b) my husband is the reincarnation of St. Brendan the Navigator, I did all of the driving and was therefore on edge for the first several days. Ok, so I was a nervous wreck and spent a lot of quality time with the Lord, invoking not only His protection but that of the Holy Family, and that of every other saint whose name I could remember.

So, here's an overview of our two weeks:

Day 1: Arrived blinking and stumbling at the Shannon airport. Picked up rental car. Drove like it was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride to our very nice B&B. Rested for an hour. Went to the Bunratty Folk Park. Ate dinner at Durty Nelly's-- failed to see what the guidebook raved about, but the bartender was nice. Returned to b&b and slept like the dead.

Day 2: Drove in the direction of Gort, stopping for a glorious while at Coole Park (amazing grounds, and excellent exhibits); stopped at Thor Ballylee (it was closed until the end of the month, but I paid homage to Yeats in my own quiet way); visited Aughnanure Castle (tower fort, built in the 15th century-- met some nice dogs); drove to Clifden; went to Dan O' Hara's Farm (disappointment-- no ponies!); spent the night at Abbyglen Castle.

Day 3: Driving day. From Clifden we drove to Lisdoonvarna and on to Doolin. Saw the Cliffs of Moher (absolutely incredible); ate a horrible dinner at a pub where the Eurovision song contest was on the tv and were completely bewildered by Ireland's entry for the contest: Dustin the Turkey (they're druids, no wait! They're Las Vegas showgirls-- nope, Native American dancers... errr, no. Can-can girls?? Oh, and is that REALLY an animatronic turkey??). Stayed in a horrible b&b. These experiences (excepting the Cliffs) caused us to adopt a new phrase, "Can anything good come from Doolin?".

Day 4: Visited Ailwee Cave ("Ireland's premier show cave!"-- it was fascinating, though I did keep expecting to see bears dancing around in tutus each time I saw that phrase); stumbled onto the ruins of a 12th century church and explored it in the mist (totally amazing); visited the ruins of a ringfort; went to Poul na Brane (portal tomb-- awesome); visited the Burren Perfumery and had lunch in the tearoom (I decided that I'm going to live there-- in the Perfumery, specifically); spent the night in Kinvarra.

Day 5: Started off the day with a visit to Dungaire Castle; drove to Kilmacduagh, the ruins of a 7th century monastery that Chris had heard about in one of his Irish history classes (awesome); drove into Galway... and drove out again fairly quickly (another of our futile attempts to find a christening gown); drove to Athlone, where we encountered horrible traffic and found that the b&b's were booked up for a wedding. Drove all the way to Roscommon before we found a b&b (super nice family-- one of our best experiences).

Day 6: Drove from Roscommon to Clanmacnoise (monastic city first established in 545 AD by Saint Ciaran-- loved it); went to Strokestown Park, and visited the Famine Museum; drove to Sligo.

Day 7: Visited Drumcliff Church, and the grave of W.B. Yeats; looked at the statue of Countess Markievicz; went on a tour of Parkes Castle; experienced the ruins of Creevelea Friary (this was one of my most favourite things); visited Tobernalt Holy Well (said prayers, lit candles, and tied a scrap of fabric to the rag tree); went to Carrowmore megalithic cemetary (totally cool).

Day 8: Drove to Donegal; visited Dongegal Castle; visited the ruins of Donegal Friary (lots of beer bottles and trash-- made me sad); drove through the Glendowan Mountains and on to Coleraine (stayed in an awesome b&b, met the nicest guy who worked there, and had a Horrible Laundry Experience of Epic Proportions and Duration).

Day 9: Saw the Giant's Causeway (one of the coolest things I've ever seen-- sort of the same feeling I had when I stood on the Great Wall of China); drove to Emyvale (stayed in a lovely b&b, whose owner was equally lovely).

Day 10: Visited the Ulster American Folk Park (this is VERY well done... though they could benefit from the presence of more farm animals-- but the pigs were nice); stopped in Carrickmacross in another failed attempt to find a christening gown (we met Padraic here-- more on him in another post); drove to Navan (stayed in a nice b&b, but the owner only turned the heat on for one hour a day... and even then it didn't get very warm).

Day 11: Went to Trim Castle (largest Norman castle in Ireland); visited the Hill of Tara (a bit overwhelming, not because of what's actually there today, but because of the weight of myth and history); visited Newgrange (one of the most mystical experiences I've ever had).

Day 12: Drove to Dublin (not as simple as it sounds: a horrible accident clogged up everything and it took us three hours to go 30 miles); dropped off the rental car and got a cab to our hotel; dropped off our bags, and went to finish our shopping-- found the christening gown! Ate dinner, returned to hotel. I began passing a kidney stone...

Day 13: Me: agonizing pain and non-stop vomiting; Chris: worry for me and then, when forced, the 1916 Uprising Tour, an exhibit at the National Library, and a visit to the Irish National Museum. We finally ask the hotel to call a doctor, who comes and makes sure that the baby is ok, gives me a shot and some pain pills.

Day 14: Me: more pain (all the vomiting had caused me to pull a muscle in my stomach) and a tad more vomiting; also, extreme weakness due to the fact that I'd not eaten. Chris: a bus tour of Dublin, one stop for which was a destination he'd longed to see for years: Kilmainham Jail.

Day 15: Go to the airport in the cab of an extremely nice man who also gets kidney stones. We commiserate with each other about how awful they are. I feel better about my ordeal ;) Almost collapse in line at the airport and we are rushed through the ticketing line. Head to Immigration, and have no time for the duty free shop. Fly to JFK. Fly to Atlanta. Collapse gratefully into the embrace of Tallulah House.

Here's another picture that Chris took. It's a cross at Drumcliffe Church in Sligo:



In my next post, I'll go into detail about some of my favourite places/experiences and include pictures.

For now, reliving it all has tired me out, so I'm going to sleep :)
Kimberley