Issue Six... Southern Ireland

Issue 6

Southern Ireland

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n interesting juxtaposition of events on a recent Sunday afternoon. I’d given up on playwriting for the day and turned on the television to PBS where the televised traveler, Rick Steeves, had just begun his program by taking his family on a tour of Ireland. In fact, he was taking our exact tour, only in reverse, beginning in Dublin. I called Keith to tell him to tune in and at that moment Travis knocked on my door to tell me of his deer hunting adventures.. So the group of us got a great preliminary taste of the Emerald Isle. Sweet. (Steeves was touring the Waterford Crystal Factory as I tuned in so I waited until that segment was over to call Keith, for fear Nancy would answer the phone.)

“The Irish ignore anything they can't drink or punch.”

A bit About the Blog…

Perhaps you’re familiar with this newspaper of the Internet, but in case the world of blogging is as new to you as the

rest stops on the Ring of Kerry, I’ll explain a bit. You set up the blog then there’s an option for the blog provider to provide you

with news and videos in response to a few key words. Nephew Doug has typed in Ireland, Scotland, England, etc., and God-only-knows what will be popping up on our blog site. I do apologize if you find something offensive, but I decided to keep the feature operational since it does provide some neat stuff to view…I especially enjoyed the photographing tours of Ireland and Scotland with the accompaniment of “Scotland the Brave” and “Danny Boy” playing in the background. Some real heart-in-the-throat moments. There’s a way to have the blog inform you via email whenever a new post appears, but Doug hasn’t explained that part to me yet. Heck, we’ll get a tour of Great Britain AND an introduction to a new tech tool!

“The Irish don't know what they want and are prepared to fight to the death to get it”—Sydney Little

The Beginning of Our Journey…

We step onto Irish soil on the west side of the nation island, take a swoop around the Ring of Kerry, then head eastward toward Dublin town. This issue will deal mainly with the western, southwestern, and southern leg of our Irish Journey.

“The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet.”

On days 1 and 2 (and again, nobody really knows what happens to day one when you’re traveling east)… we land at Shannon Airport and travel to Limerick, then to the quaint village of Adare on the River Maige. Our final destination is Killarney, located on the banks of Lough Leane. (Remember: my advice is to get out and about that night, stretch your limbs and don’t let yourself fall asleep too early, thus getting accustomed to the time change as quickly as possible.) We dine that night in Killarney.

God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world. ---Ed McMahon

Day Three…. is the day we pray for sunshine. Okay, we’re on the western coast of Europe, so sun-shine is rare commodity. But we have powerful prayer folks on this tour and I expect you to do your duty and give us a day laden with Irish sunshine so we can actually see the Ring of Kerry. We’ll travel today around the Iveragh peninsula and stop to visit Bog Village, a place that has been kept traditional and a good place to take a wee peek at what Old Ireland looked like. We end our day’s tour at Cork, Ireland’s third largest city and after a day on the coach we’ll be treated to a walking tour of the city where we’ll spend the night and have dinner.

“God is good to the Irish, but no one else is; not even the Irish”

Day Four…. We head east along the country’s underbelly, making a stop at Blarney Castle. The Rick Steeves PBS show had a shot of the tourists leaning over the stone parapet to kiss the Blarney Stone. I’ll give you a hint: leaning backwards to kiss the stone is easy. It’s the climb to the top that’ll test your mettle. Okay, it’s actually not that tough, but Mr. Otis had yet to invent the elevator when Blarney built his castle.

Our itinerary says that “if time permits” we’ll make a stop at the Blarney Woolen Mills. You’ll find that on group tours, the term “If time permits” is rather vague, and it usually depends upon the punctuality of the group. For example, if Tom Ryder slips out of the guide’s hands and falls backwards out of Blarney Castle while attempting to kiss the rock, we may have to delay things a bit to arrange for the remains to be shipped back. On the other hand, does a former congressman really need to kiss the Blarney Stone?

Enough editorializing… We then travel to the port town of Waterford to view the Crystal Works. Don’t even think about trying to carry this stuff back with you. Shipping is easy and reliable.

Day Four concludes as we head toward Dublin and dinner and bed.

“I think being a woman is like being Irish. Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the same.”—Iris Murdoch

Day Five…. Dublin, Dublin, Dublin. In brief, the morning hours will find us on a guided tour of the city and the afternoon is ours to explore Dublin on our own. This will be the first big chunk of free time on the tour, and it’s a marvelous city to explore.

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.--Churchill

Day Six…. Grab your kilt, laddie, we’re headed to Scotland!

Nodding the head does not row the boat.—Irish Proverb

Killarney…

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he town has more hotel beds than any other city in Ireland outside Dublin, so that should give you a hint that you won’t be the only tourist in town. It was awarded the "Best Kept Town" award for 2007 in a cross-border competition jointly organized by the Department of the Environment and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. Why? Heritage, History, and it’s proximity to the Dingle Peninsula.

I looked for a list of night spots to hear Irish music and enjoy a pint, and the list was so long that I’d have choked our blog website. In short, it’s long.

As I’ve said in previous newsletters, the charm of many cities can be found most easily when getting off the tourist paths and taking a few chances of getting lost. You’ll seldom find an Irishman who won’t gladly point you back in the right direction. Of course the problem in Killarney is finding an Irishman who isn’t on tour from California or Mississippi or Springfield.

Actually, we’ll just have this one evening in Killarney and our heads will still be on Illinois/Indiana time, so there’s no need to plan a great deal. We’ve got to stay sharp for some gorgeous scenery on the morrow.

Either that wallpaper goes or I do... -- Oscar Wilde’s last words

The Ring of Kerry….

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his was Charlie Chaplain’s favorite place in the world and somewhere along the ring they’ve erected a statue of the famous comedian.

An interesting travel pattern.. since the road is quite narrow in places and if you drive off the road you tend to end up in the ocean or on the rocks, they require tour coaches to travel in a counter-clockwise (or as they say, “anti-clockwise”) direction, while advising passenger cars to travel in a clockwise route. There are two others ways to traverse the ring: the longest hiking path in Ireland, and a bicycle path.

A note to Doug and Jen Bradbury: if you two adventuresome souls decide to hike the ring, that’s fine. We’ll pick you up on the way back from London. 110 miles may take more time than we’ve allowed.

The Ring truly is a marvel since in a single journey you see snow-capped peaks, sandy beaches, woodlands, bog, and sub-tropical vegetation. The route is a happy combination of so many varying altitudes plus the Gulf Stream, allowing it to be a geological Disneyland.

There will be several stops along the way, and the trick will be to pick the ones with the fewest tour busses. A special note: it’s really important to hit the coach on time this morning. If a convoy of tours leave Killarney “first thing” in the morning, it’s nice to truly be “the first thing.”

Some Inside Advice: The Ring of Kerry has two downsides: It’s chock-a-block with tourists, and I’m not kidding..those roads are narrow!..Look out and not down!.. The upside? There’s always a REASON why a place is a huge tourist draw and it usually involves beauty, and baby, will you some breath-taking sights on this day.

Okay, prayer folks..it’s all yours now..Let’s sing in the sunshine!

A diplomat must always think twice before he says nothing. Irish Proverb

Blarney Castle…

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he castle dates from 1200, but was destroyed in 1446 (you’ll find this common with many European castles..built, destroyed, built, destroyed..and this was before the U.S. Federal government had any hand in this!)

Dermot McCarthy, the King of Munster did the rebuilding and the place is still in partial ruin. I guess Dermot ran out of cash.

At the top of the castle you’ll find “The Stone of Eloquence,” which, according to legend, gives the gift of gab to anyone who kisses it. And, like all good tourist spots, they’’ll have a photographer handy to take your picture and sell it to you. The Irish are an accommodating people!

No one knows for sure how the stone got there or it’s true meaning, but it’s thought to be the “Lia Fail” or the magical stone Irish kings were crowned upon.

You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was. –Irish Proverb

The Waterford Crystal Factory

In 1783 Quaker brothers William and George Penrose knew very little about making crystal but they knew how to hire the right people. They

were good businessmen. They hired a fellow named John Hill who was able to attract more than 40 of Europe’s greatest artisans and before the end of the century, the brothers had managed to impress most of Europe’s heads of state. Even in those early days the brothers had the good business sense to offer tours of their factories. The brothers sold out in 1799 to Jonathan Gatchell who was eventually taxed out of business.

Exactly 100 years to the day of when it closed, crystal works again opened. When the Irish began immigrating to America in large numbers they told stories of the magical Waterford Crystal and many American factories began using the term “Waterford” to describe their crystal.

In the 1930’s Joseph McGrath and Joseph Griffin bought into the defunct Irish Bottle Company and once again began importing artisans from the continent. By the end of World War II, enough of the best glass-blowers in Europe were displaced and moved to Ireland that they were able to teach the Irish additional glass skills. So…in 1951 a new Waterford Crystal plant opened. Waterford Crystal has now merged with Wedgewood and produces crystal, china, lamps, chandeliers, sconces, and other lighting products, plus Waterford Crystal Christmas items. The company, now headquartered in Dublin, employees 9000 people.

It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking. –Irish Proverb

More to come! ---Ken