Ireland May - June 2011 organized by Champlain College, Dublin
Here's an internet enhanced review of our recent trip to Ireland. I haven't included pictures here because Merry has posted a very nice selection on her blog that can be found at http://merryatsyracuse.blogspot.com/. Be sure to check that out. It includes some awesome shots.
Here's an internet enhanced review of our recent trip to Ireland. I haven't included pictures here because Merry has posted a very nice selection on her blog that can be found at http://merryatsyracuse.blogspot.com/. Be sure to check that out. It includes some awesome shots.
We began our journey by taking Century taxi to airport at noon; cheaper and easier than long-term airport parking. Left Syracuse at 2:44 pm on Jet Blue, arrived 3:57 pm at NYC Kennedy. Spent quite a bit of time trying to find International terminal due to the complete absence of any directional signs. Finally figured out how to ride the AirTrain to the right location. Along the way we had good views of the still amazing Saarinen TWA terminal. Through security again, then had dinner at Tigin, a chain Irish restaurant where I had my first pint of Guinness of the trip. We were seated facing a TV inexplicably tuned to cage boxing, so we left right after eating. Sat around quite awhile and finally left JFK a bit after 9:50 pm on Aer Lingus, stalled almost an hour on runway waiting for take-off. It was a typical red-eye flight on which we got very little sleep and finally arrived at Dublin at 9:50 am local time (about a six hour flight plus a five hour time change).
DAY 2—SATURDAY MAY 28 - Dublin
The group boarded our coach and headed to the historic Boyne Valley, about 40 km north of the Dublin. Our guide for the day was Dr. Kelli Maoileoin, an archeologist and faculty member of Champlain College, Dublin. Our first stop was Loughcrew, a megalithic passage tomb dating back to about 3,000 B.C. We arrived a bit too early, so we went into the nearby village of Oldcastle for coffee at Caffrey's Bar on the square, then picked up the key to the tomb (it's locked to prevent vandalism). The misty day cleared but the wind picked up as we made our way to the top of an open steep hill to a number of tombs. Kelli gave a talk at a ruined tomb then took small groups on tours of the intact main tomb. Lunch was a sort of backyard barbeque at Loughcrew Gardens with a walk through the grounds and garden afterwards. Back on the coach we heard the first of many cultural enrichment stories from our terrific coach driver, Kieran O'Brien of Tony Doyle Coaches. Kelli then gave us a guided walking tour the Hill of Tara, a sacred site for ancient Irish religion and home to medieval Irish kings. Kelli's ability to get us to imagine early Irish history was truly impressive. Back in Dublin we scattered for dinner. Merry & I had good Italian food complete with live music at Toscana right across from the Castle on Dame St., then an early night to catch up on lost sleep.
DAY 4—MONDAY MAY 30 – Dublin
After a continental breakfast delivered to our apartments, the group started the day with a walking tour of historic Dublin guided by local expert Pat Liddy. The tour included a Medieval city gate and a Viking site as well as a walk through beautiful City Hall and Dublin Castle. Mer & I grabbed a cup of coffee then wandered through Merrion Square (1752) where we saw the wonderful Oscar Wilde statue across the street from where he once lived. Then we headed to the Champlain College, Dublin Academic Centre for sandwiches and a lecture on the political history of the Republic of Ireland by Dr. Anthony O’Halloran, a faculty member. We walked through St. Stephen's Green (1663) on the way to our guided tour of Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament). Evening dinner and entertainment was at the Irish House Party, a traditional Irish music and dancing show. Really a fun day.
A trip to Ireland would not be complete without visiting the West Coast area, the home of traditional music, the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) areas, and gorgeous scenery. We headed out of Dublin by coach with Kieran at the wheel. Stephen gave a running commentary on the sights (focusing on geology and especially peat), and Kieran told stories. We stopped for “carvery” lunch at the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon. The scenery became more and more beautiful as we entered County Mayo heading for our overnight stop in Westport. Westport is a little tourist town filled with the classic brightly-coloured pubs, cafes and shops. We wandered through town and warmed up with a cup of hot chocolate before returning to our very nice lodgings at the Castlecourt Hotel. We ate a simple group dinner in the hotel restaurant. After dinner Merry went for a walk along a converted railroad bed then stopped into the hotel pub where a country and western band was entertaining a group composed mostly of seniors on holiday break. Many of our fellow tourists headed into town to the pubs. We hit the sack early to try to finally overcome our jet lag.
DAY 6—WEDNESDAY JUNE 1 - Westport to Galway
We had a full cooked Irish breakfast in the hotel complete with eggs, sausages, Irish bacon, white and black pudding, brown bread and jam. Whew! Mer took the sensible route with Irish oatmeal. We boarded the coach and stopped at the foot of Croagh Patrick, the traditional Irish Catholic mountain pilgrimage site. A strong wind was blowing off the ocean as we visited the monument to the victims of the Great Famine (1845 - 1852), seen here as a key event in the Irish history of emigration. Unfortunately, the mountain was in the clouds, but the wild scenery was wonderful. We then drove through the increasingly amazing scenery of Connemara with its steep mountains, small villages and fiord. It was late morning when we arrived at the amazing Kylemore Abbey. The steep slopes all around here were literally carpeted in blooming pink azaleas. Mer and I headed straIght to the partly-restored Victorian Walled garden – a real highlight of the trip for us - then toured the castle, but skipped the Abbey itself. Lunch was good soup and a sad sandwich at the gift shop - restaurant. Then it was back on the coach continuing south. Suddenly we turned off the main road and took a very narrow road hemmed in by stone walls into the mountains. Sheep wandered in the road and we stopped for a group photo in the rugged country. A bit further on we stopped at the Joyce Country Sheepdog Demonstration. This was the very best border collie demonstration possible. Joe Joyce is the real thing. He is great with both his beautiful dogs and his sheep. He described his use of collies in sheep farming, demonstrated three styles of herding plus hand sheared one of his blackface sheep. We didn't want to leave but had to get to our overnight stop, the Galway Western Hotel. When we asked for a recommendation for oriental food, the desk clerk directed us to the Asian Tea House. It was an excellent choice and a nice break from meat & potatoes. We walked around to the river and downtown of the City but were definitely under-whelmed.
DAY 7—THURSDAY JUNE 2 – The Burren, Cliffs of Moher and Doolin
Another full Irish breakfast gave us the energy for the day's tour of the Burren, a starkly beautiful limestone plateau with an extensive megalithic history. Our first stop of the day was Corcomroe Abbey, an early 13th Century church now an interesting ruin. Then as we climbed onto the Burren itself we paused at a “Fairy Fort.” These are actually ancient earth-bermed fortified farmsteads, but are the source of long-standing local superstition. Then up onto the hilltop pavement barrens where we stopped at Poulnabrone Dolmen, a neolithic portal tomb and then at Caherconnel Stone Fort, an early medieval fortified village. We had a late lunch at Vaughan’s Pub in Kilfenora where I tried the traditional bacon and cabbage dinner washed down with Cidona, a popular apple soft drink. Vaughn's is famous, sort of, because it was featured in an episode of “Father Ted,” the famous Irish TV send-up of rural priests. While in Kilfenora we checked out some important high crosses at the village church then headed on to the world famous Cliffs of Moher. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the cliffs were quite dramatic, and chock full of pelagic birds. After we checked in at the Hotel Doolin Mer & I wandered down the road to McGann's Pub that we believe is still owned by a relative of Mike St. Leger, a lawyer from Central NY we have known for a long time. We asked the barman if we could speak to Mr. McGann and were told he no longer operated the pub but that we could stop by his house in town. We sat at the comfortable old pub instead and relaxed in the late afternoon. A little later the group gathered across the road for dinner at McDermott’s Pub. Most of our group stayed on after dinner to hear the music, but we headed back to the hotel. Doolin is known far and wide as the home of traditional Irish music.
DAY 8—FRIDAY JUNE 3 – back to Dublin
We both woke up early, so we went out walking down to the shore in the misty/sunny morning. The tide was in so the waves crashed high against the cliffs and over the harbor breakwater. After another Irish breakfast in the hotel, we boarded the bus for the trip back to Dublin. Back past the cliffs, we were amazed by the legendary Lahinch Golf course then stopped awhile at Lahinch beach to watch the surfers. Two of our intrepid members changed into swim gear to take a short dip on the east side of the Atlantic. We departed the west coast via the Limerick - Dublin motorway. About halfway back we detoured to stop at Moneygall, where President Obama claims remote ancestry. The main street was ranked by alternating American and Irish flags. All the houses were freshly painted thanks to a major Irish paint manufacturer. We poked our heads into the Hayes Pub where Obama had a pint only a week earlier. The locals only seemed slightly annoyed to be interrupted by American tourists. Then it was on to another carvery lunch break at Racket Hall Country House in nearby Roscrea. We were quite weary but happy when we finally arrived back at the Augustine Apartments and moved in again. Some of our group hurried to catch the last tour of either the Guinness Brewery or Kilmainham Gaol. We wanted to see a bit more of Dublin and the afternoon was sunny and warm so we opted to catch the open top Dublin Bus Tour. We stopped at the Garden of Remembrance, where Queen Elizabeth had so famously laid a wreath only two weeks earlier to mark the end of British opposition to the existence of the Irish Republic. After circling the city we hopped off where we got on, crossed the River Liffey for a light dinner at O'Shea's Pub near the apartments.
DAY 9—SATURDAY JUNE 4 - Belfast
After a continental breakfast at the apartments we boarded the bus again for the two hour drive to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We were dropped off and the group boarded Black Taxis for a remarkable tour of the divided city. Each taxi driver is a tour guide. We stopped at murals in both Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. The messages are chilling. As we drive the streets of the neighborhoods the taxi men told us what it was like to drive in Belfast during the Troubles from 1969 to the recent past. The highlight of the tour were the two stops on both sides of the West Belfast Peace Wall. It may be impossible to really understand contemporary Ireland without doing this tour. The taxis dropped us off back in downtown Belfast where we had lunch in the “snugs” at the incredible fully restored Victorian Crown Bar. We had time to ponder what we had seen on the return trip to Dublin. That evening we had a final group dinner and evening outing at Salamanca Tapas Bar. Sharing Tapas seemed like a fine and friendly way to end the trip. We took group photos on the steps of the City Hall across the street then returned to the apartments to pack for home.
Kieran picked us up for one last ride at 7:30 am. He took us on a quick tour of the Dublin Docklands before taking the new tunnel out of the city to the airport. We saw our trip mates slowly disperse as we made our way through the endless queues: first to check in with Aer Lingus, then through security, then through US customs and immigration (yes you do that in Ireland, not when you get back to the States), then security again (shoes off this time). The whole check-in process took a full two hours. We left on Aer Lingus at 11:25 am after waiting for a bunch of people held up at check-in. Despite the delay taking off, we arrived at NYC Kennedy on schedule at 1:15 pm. We said goodbye to Paddi, on the same flight with us again, at the gate. We ate a unimpressive hamburger in the terminal then waited for our Jet Blue 4:59 pm flight. We arrived in Syracuse at 6:10 pm and took a cab home. Joli, our dog, was overjoyed to see us, as we were her. We went right to bed and dreamed of this wonderful trip.
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