Jun 29, 2018 - Dublin

Left Belfast yesterday morning making one stop on our way to Dublin, our final stop. Downpatrick is the burial site of St. Patrick. Yes THE ST. PATRICK. He is entombed under a large boulder on which a simple early version of a Celtic cross is craved with the name “Patrick”. St. Bridget and St. Columbine are also entombed with him. It was a clear sunny morning. We gathered around his grave and each of us had are own quiet moment with the three saints. We entered Dublin proud! With the Rocky Theme playing we recounted every “little” challenge...

Jun 28, 2018 - No Luck of the Irish for us.

June 28 Thursday Today we woke up a leisurely time,bought 2 shuttle tickets to go into Dublin. We shopped for a shirt that would fit Chas, a Blarney Stone, and a children’s book. Mary needed booze, a pin, and Irish Christmas ornament. Terry & Don took our tour tickets for the day. So off we went successful in our shopping endeavors. Had a coke a piece in an Irish pub and ta da managed to find the spot where the port bus dropped us off. Boarded the bus back to the Brilliance of the Seas but the driver said he didn’t need to see our tickets....

Jun 27, 2018 - Fairies and Leprechauns .....Wrong

June 27, Wednesday Dublin Ireland Our guide today is a woman named Cloder, which means babbling brook or never shuts up. There is the history lesson followed by a few facts that stick with me. The Celtics worshiped the sun,moon,and stars. The romans came, in those short skirts says the guide, and left because it was too cold. The records here start with the year 1176. The longest tunnel in the UK goes under Dublin. They also have the highest birth rate in the UK. We arrived at the Malahide Castle. It had one owner, the Talbots for 800...

Jun 26, 2018 - Slieve League & the Town of Donegal

The sea cliffs, Slieve League, are three times higher than the Cliffs of Moher and are amongst the highest in Europe. There are two ways to view them, from the top or from the sea. The top is always available, not so the sea. The sea method is very dependent on weather, the roughness of the sea and the fog. It is very difficult to align all these factors, but the Luck of the Irish was with us. We went by sea. I will forego a narrative. Just enjoy the pictures. Lunch, shopping and relaxing in the Town of Donegal made for a perfect afternoon....

Jun 25, 2018 - Ireland, Oh Ireland!

Today’s itinerary: National Famine Museum in Strokestown, Belturbet, Ballyshannon and Harvey’s Point. We headed North towards The Midlands and then West to Donegal. The National Famine Museum was sobering. It is located on the Plantation Estate of Denis Mahon, a Scot/Protestant. During the course of the famine he evicted 4,000 tenants from the land and tore down their cottages to prevent them to return for shelter. The Irish had 3 options: move in with another family, the workhouse or emigrate. The first option was difficult because these...

Jun 24, 2018 - A Day of A’s: Aran Islands and Antiquing

Two groups, two different missions. Group 1; Mike, Mary Fran, Clorinda, Mary Catherine, Judy, Larry, Shirley, Gina, Peter, Erin and Colleen. Ferried over the Aran Islands for a day of cycling and hiking. Mike was the commander. He began by reciting the rules and organized the group upon the arrival on the island. After a 45 minute wait for bottled waters, bathroom and locating a lost Mary Fran the group set out. Judy & Mary Catherine on horse drawn wagon, Erin & Colleen on bikes and the rest, after studying a map and deciding on their...

Jun 23, 2018 - Green Marble, A Home & A Abbey and A Favorite Movie

A quick history lesson on how marble is formed and why there are different colors of marble at the Connemara Marble factory. It has a lot to do with climate change, yes climate change seems to have been happening for millions of years even before humans entered the equation. Then a quick visit to the gift shop. Where let’s say some nice things were acquired. On the road again to Kylemore Abbey through the scenic Connemara region of County Galway. Kylemore Abbey was at first a private home of the Mitchell Henry Family. He was a successful...

Jun 22, 2018 - Ferry Across The Shannon, The Fitzergeralds and The Cliffs of Moher

Ferrying across the Shannon River, the longest in Ireland, on a crisp, clear June morning . . . Can’t get any better than that! It was a lazy day winding down country roads with singing competitions (the front of the bus vs the back of the bus, the back won.) and arriving at Ballynacally, Shirley’s ancestral home, the Fitzgeralds and a winner of The Tidy Town Award. With John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” and the bus singing as we pulled in, Shirley was thrilled beyond words. She was touched and a bit overwhelmed. A quick walk...

Jun 21, 2018 - Slea Head Drive and a 1000 Year Old Church

A rugged but serene landscape: the Atlantic Ocean, islands off in the horizon, steep rocky pastures for grazing sheep, and a pre-famine cottage, a home to a family of 16 in ruins. Only 2 members of the family survived the famine. And then Gallarus Oratory, a 1300 year old stone church which is all that is left of a monastery. It has only one small door facing West and one small window facing East. The solace, the serenity and the simplicity . . . you felt that somehow these early Christians got it right.

Jun 20, 2018 - A Lost Pub, An Ungrateful Guest and Beauty

The O’Connor family roots are in the nearby the town of Macroom. In Macroom there is a pub, the O’Connor Pub. Peter who had visited the pub 15 years ago wanted to take a family picture outside the pub for this years Christmas card. (It was 9 Am and even for Ireland it was too early for the pub to be opened.) Upon arriving in Macroom, our driver, Brian parked the bus and with Peter went in search for the pub. An animated conversation ensued on the street with a local. Hands moving in all directions, facial contortions of dismay. Upon...

Jun 19, 2018 - Departure/Arrival

From Dallas & Austin, Texas, from Sugar Grove, Plainfield & Orland Park, Illinois 14 individuals came together on Monday afternoon at O’Hare International Airport to board an Aer Lingus flight to Ireland. They came to discovery a connection to past generations. They came to see the rugged natural beauty of Ireland, and for some, they came because . . . well . . . why not? This could be . . . well . . . let’s just see how where the next 12 days will hold for the these Irish Tourists. (Actually, there are 16 individuals. Paula & Frank’s...

Jun 19, 2018 - Kilkenny And Kinsale

Two stops with a bit of nodding off in a 32 hour time frame. Kilkenny Castle, 90 minutes outside of Dublin, was built by Longbow, a Norman Knight left over from the Battle of Hastings (1066). In the 1300s the Butler family acquired it and it was their home for the next 600 years.The Butler family was extremely wealthy and as they say in Chicago, they were connected . . . to the British Royal Family. It paid to have friends in high places. But alas, nothing seems to last and all it takes is one family member to live beyond their means. In...