Making a trip to Ireland had been a dream for both Ryan and me. That it worked out so well with Ellie was a delight . . . we were pleasantly surprised with her willingness to konk out in her stroller while we took in museums, stay relatively upbeat while we hunted for our next meal and enjoy and take in whatever she could, wherever she could (graveyards, ancient abbey ruins). The result is that we were able to pack in a lot every day. I know a few Irish-philes will be interested in what we saw/did, but others don't need all the details. Here are a few thoughts on Ireland for those of you who are already yawning reading about someone else's vacation:
1. Super cheerful, upbeat folks there in Ireland. Wherever we stayed, whomever we talked with, it just seemed like people were honestly friendly. Ryan and I talked about this a lot. . . incredible that there is such endemic good will and kindheartedness in a group of people who have seen more than their share of tragedy and struggle. There seems to be a pride in one's ability to laugh or sing off misfortune and raise a toast to tomorrow. I don't want to romanticize the Irish (we saw a sad sight or two as well), but it was refreshing.
2. Surprise--Ireland isn't all Irish. Many of the folks serving in restaurants (less so in the traditional pubs) and working in hotels were immigrants, many from eastern Europe and Nigeria. I don't know why this surprised me, but it did. Apparently people from Catholic countries (Poland especially) like to immigrate to Ireland. With the exception of one older couple who expressed a bit of hesitation, the folks we talked to said they were happy to see a new group of Irish and thought it boded well for the future.
3. Ireland is so easy to travel in. Besides the obvious change for us that people speak English, it was also well set up with public transportation, parks and lots of places that gave out tourist information. Ireland is also easy to travel in with a young child. It's a very young country with lots of kiddos--I think we read that the average age in Ireland is 30! Everyone was happy to accommodate us and the sense we got is that children are viewed as a blessing, not an annoyance. We felt welcome.
And now for the play by play . . .
Friday: After a super freaky late Thursday night ride from the airport on the left side of the road ("are you sure this is the way we get on the highway?" "is that guy going to hit us?" "watch out!!!"), we slept in Drogheda, just north of Dublin. Friday was our pre-history, super-early history of Ireland day.
First stop was Newgrange, a 3000 year old (older than the pyramids) tomb of Irish kings that still aligns perfectly to let the sun in on the solstice. The first two pictures above are of Newgrange. . . the second with the tri-swirl detail is the design carved on the huge stone just outside the entrance. All beautifully mysterious.
Next we headed to the Hill of Slane. This is a notable place for a couple reasons: 1. St. Patrick lit a gigantic fire here on Easter morning in (probably) 433, calling all Irish to become Christians. The Irish were all set to have their own druid festival on the Hill of Tara that morning and saw St. Patrick's fire before they could get their own lit. The story is that the druid priest told the king that if he didn't go put out St. Patrick's fire, it would burn forever in Ireland. The priest and the king were eventually converted and the rest is history. What's neat is that the Irish hold both hills sacred . . . old Irish Christianity still retained the best parts of druid mysticism, with St. Patrick encouraging the syncretism. The 3rd picture is of an old abbey built on the Hill of Slane. 2. Perhaps not as historically notable, but important for some of us nerds, U2 recorded the appropriately titled album "The Unforgettable Fire" in nearby Slane Castle.
From Slane we went to Tara. (Picture 4, Ryan and Ellie on the highest point.) The Hill of Tara is where the ancient Irish kings, chieftans and priests congregated for ceremonies and important meetings. Viewed from above, there are decorative swirls in the ground made from long mounds, some of which are burial mounds. The Mound of Hostages is tomb similar to Newgrange in that it aligns to the sun for solstice. Ellie loved running up and down the "funny hills". We were cracking up that, here on one of Ireland's oldest and most sacred sites, sheep were grazing and you really had to watch your step lest you bring home a stinky souvenir.
To me, all three places were a beautiful and bit haunting. That part of Ireland is still quite pastoral and so we were looking out mostly on fields and pastures . . . it wasn't that difficult to imagine what it must have been like thousands of years ago.
That night we went to a small town nearby our B&B and felt crazily lucky to have happened upon the yearly traditional Irish music festival. We walked into the town, had a meal in the pub, and then walked into a crowd of people, half of whom were toting instruments. It was quite literally like walking into a tourist brochure for Ireland, but the only tourists around were the Irish themselves. The signs all in Irish, we learned by asking that this was a national festival, 3 days yearly, that most musicians in Ireland try to attend. Kids with penny whistles, old men with fiddles, there were folks there to play their music in every park, street corner and pub. We saw the opening parade (picture 5) with the clans holding flags of their coats of arms aloft and lustily singing their particular songs. The music was just starting, Guinness was flowing, but we had a wee one who had trampled through thousands of years of Irish history and desperately needed her bed. Ryan and I left feeling so fortunate to have had a small taste of the fun. Speaking of bed . . . although I've only got through what we did on the first day, mine is calling. Tomorrow I'll be less garrulous and just tell you where we went the rest of the time. Much love to you all!
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