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AN IRISH BLESSING |
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Dublin, Ireland: Charming Dublin, the capital of the republic of Ireland and Ireland’s largest city with a population of 1.5 million welcomed me with open arms. Dublin is a delight to explore with its youthful pulse, but steeped in ancient history and culture with Medieval, Georgian and modern architecture.
Its history goes back 1,000 years, and its famous for its literary tradition, wonderful shops, restaurants and 1,000 pubs. This lively small cosmopolitan, manageable city has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Dubliners just celebrated the 100th anniversary of James Joyce’s Ulysses, the book that takes place over the course of one summer’s day in Dublin. Other literary greats were Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, Bram Stoker who wrote Dracula and wickedly witty author and playwright, Oscar Wilde.
Most of the city’s main attractions are within walking distance of the city center including: St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse and Merrion Square. www.visitdublin.com
We were on a quest to venture to the Northern part |
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of Ireland, so off we went to Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, which was a few hours ride from Dublin. Here we were in the glorious countryside. Our first stop was an overnight at Manor House Hotel, commanding a magnificent view of Lough Erne is an oasis of peace and tranquility within this beautiful 19th century architecture. www.manor-house-hotel.com
A three-hour cruise down Lough Erne took us to Devenish Monastic Island and Devenish Monastic site of ruins. This is the site of a 12th century ruined Augustinian Monastery and its perfect 12th century tower.
In the county of Fermanagh www.Fermanaghlakelands.com is the Belleek pottery store and factory, famous for translucent porcelain since 1837 after deposits of creamy-lustre fieldspar (a type of clay) was found at Castle Caldwell nearby. www.belleek.ie
We continued to the North West region of Ireland where the landscape has been remarkably unaffected by passage of time and is a striking mixture of coastal beauty, rambling hills, mountains and lovely lakes.
Lunch and afternoon activities were at Glencolmcille, the folk village, where visitors discover life as experienced by the people of south-western Donegal in 18th, 19th and 20th century Ireland.
In Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal, we toured County museum with a fascinating range of artifacts covering all aspects of life in Donegal. The museum charts the history of the county over the last three centuries, from Penal laws to emergency. It is based in the fine old stone building, once part of the Letterkenny Workhouse built in 1846,
Our next visit was to Glenveagh National Park where 16,000 hectares of mountains, lakes, glens, a large herd of red deer are highlighted by a 19th century castle surrounded by the famous Glenveagh Gardens. This is one of the heritage sites of Ireland. www.heritageireland.ie
We continued the next day to Derry, Ireland’s historic walled city, where visitors can walk the one-mile route along the city’s walls. It is best preserved, walled city in Europe. www.derryvisitor.com
One of my most memorable and last images of northern Ireland was the Giant’s Causeway. It is an astonishing landscape of perfectly formed hexagonal rock sections.
In Legend, the Giant’s Causeway was the work of Finn McCool, a giant who commanded the king of Ireland’s armies. He took fancy to a lady giant from Staffa, an island in the Hebrides, and built the Causeway to bring her to live with him in Ulster.
The Causeway is a mass of 40,000 stone columns that form steps leading from the cliff foot and disappearing under the sea. Most of the columns are six-sided and some are 40 feet tall. From the visitor center, a two-mile circular walk takes you down to the Grand causeway, past majestic stone galleries and weird foundations. www.causewaycoastandglens.com or www.northantrim.com
The Irish Blessing watched over me during my travels through Ireland. The road did rise to meet me. The wind was always ever so gently at my back. The sun was shining upon me all the time and if it rained on the fields, it was while I slept cozy and tight. I continuously felt Ireland’s hospitality and was constantly amazed at her beauty.
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The
Donegal Town tour included a visit to the Magees for a tweed demonstration
where we watched a master in action on his spinning wheel.
www.mageeshop.com Following Magees, we visited Donegal Castle, built by
the O’Donnell Chieftain in the 15th century, rebuilt in Jacobean
style in 16th century by Sir Basil-Brooke.
Next
morning, we visited Lifford heritage center where we saw illustrated the
Flight of the Earls. This flight references the traumatic episode in 1607
when Gaelic Earls fled to Europe to rally support against the English and
never returned. We also covered Cavanacor, Ballindralt, Lifford, birthplace
of US President James Polk.
To
the north is the dramatic coastline of Antrim Giant’s causeway. The world’s
oldest (legal) distillery, Bushmills Distillery, was the last stop for
carriages from Belfast before the final push to the Causeway, two miles
away.
www.whiskeytours.ie