Ireland - Day 14 - June 18, 2013

What a beautiful day in Belfast.  I had the mental picture this morning of Robin Williams saying, "Good morning, Belfast" on my mind.  I know it's nowhere close to Vietnam, but that's just what popped in. I don't know why, but it just did.

After a hot breakfast, which have been few and far between on this journey, we set off for a Black Taxi tour of the city.  This company is a taxi company, but they specialize in their drivers giving tours with a personal connection...the drivers have lived it.  We began the tour in a neighborhood with painted murals on the sides of their buildings, much like Derry.  These murals are very moving because they are very vivid.  Not say those in Derry were not, but there was just something about these.  After analyzing them for a few minutes I realized the different.  The ones in Belfast are more militaristic in their tone.  The one below caught my attention the most.  This young man is being celebrated because he was known for murdering Catholics and the local Garda (police) had a hard time making any charges against him stick because of a lack of evidence, so therefore he never really legally paid for his crimes.

Here are several others...

This particular mural is kind of creepy, because no matter which way you walk the gun follows.

After looking at the murals, our drivers took us to a wall that separates the two religions communities. There are some 40 walls around Belfast to separate the religions.  Like London(Derry) the gates surrounding the communities are locked after 9:00 p.m. to keep the troublemakers at bay.  We take for granted too often the free world that we live in, but there are places in the world that live a restricted life.  There have been instances over the years to try and make the walls more peaceful by installing decorative artwork and allowing for peaceful and positive graffiti to be painted, but still instances happen.  As a matter of fact, the very night after our visit a petrol bomb was thrown over a wall very much like the ones we saw.  This is the story and since then (as of 6/24), there have been five more thrown.  To the outsider, it is hard to understand why the violence continues.

After the wall, our drivers drove us through the Catholic neighborhood behind the wall.  It is a very obvious difference between the two communities.  The Catholic community was more neatly kept and the people seemed to be more of a friendly community.  Maybe it was because they were all living within a walled neighborhood.  The northern part of Ireland is about 48% Catholic and 52% Protestant, even though Ireland is a predominately Catholic country.  It will be very interesting to bear witness to what changes will come to Northern Ireland when the Catholics become the majority.

Being a child of the 1970s and 1980s, I can remember a good bit of the new relative to the troubles in Northern Ireland.  Thinking back, I think the first I can remember hearing about was the hunger strikes that were going on.  The mural below is dedicated to the memory of Bobby Sands.

Bobby Sands was the first person to die in the hunger strikes of 1981.  He went 66 days without food, only talking in water when needed.  He was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).  The IRA prisoners were protesting against the removal of Special Category Status.  SCS was de facto prisoner of war status and would provide them with some of the "privileges" of POWs such as those specified in the Geneva Convention.  This mean they did not have to wear prison uniforms or do prison work, were housed within their paramilitary factions, and were allowed extra visits and food parcels.  While in prison, he was elected as a member of the British Parliament.  His death resulted in a new surge of IRA recruitment and activity.

The word above the eagle is "Saoirse" which means freedom

There is 2008 movie, Hunger, which depicts the events of this period.

The afternoon brought the group free time to just wander around the city and appreciate its beauty and historic importance.

Ireland - Day 13 - June 17, 2013

Our time in Derry and the wonderful Abbey Street B&B came to an end fast.  I actually got the best night of sleep I've had on the entire trip thus far there.  It was a great place and the owners were very accommodating.

Our traveling agenda today had us making stops at Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge on our way to Belfast.  For the past week we have seen some very beautiful countryside, but our travels today took us along the Atlantic Coast, so we were able to see some very beautiful oceanside views.  The first up...Dunluce Castle.

Dunluce Castle was first built in the 13th century by Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and is first documented within the McQuillan family in 1513.

There is not much left of the castle, but it was the views that brought us to this location.

Our next stop was one of the most intriguing (and beautiful) spots I think I've ever seen...Giant's Causeway.  This sights is known for its columns and bee combs.  According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than him. Fionn's wife, Úna, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow. 

Our last tour of the day before journeying on into Belfast was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.  This one would test the fears of many.  It is 98 feet from the water, which is only 4 feet deep.  AND the bridge shakes.  BUT the view is stunning and getting out to the island and what you see on the other side makes it all worth it! Oh, the bridge is based on reinforced steel and the sides are rope, at a cost of about $50,000.  Although it shakes, you know without a doubt you aren't going to fall, but it doesn't make your stomach turn a little. 

Ireland - Day 12 - June 16, 2013

Needless to say no one had trouble getting up and getting out of the hostel to begin the trip to our next city - (London)Derry!  Generally, although not always, nationalists favour using the name Derry, and unionists using Londonderry. 

We arrived at our quaint little B&B (Abbey Street B&B) around lunch, stored our luggage, and took off for our two hour walking tour of the city with Adrian Cullen.  He was very knowledgable and had many personal connections to the events and people of Bloody Sunday.  What was supposed to be only a two hour tour became a four hour tour, and we didn't even notice.  The tour started with us receiving a bus tour of the city and after a lunch break we finished with a two hour walking tour.

Looking back into the City of Derry from the Protestant Side

Looking down from the City Wall (Catholic Side) to Free Derry (Protestant Side)

It is really mind blowing to think that the civil rights issues continue to be a daily struggle for those in Ireland.  Each night there are gates around some of the communities that are closed at 9:00 p.m.  This is to keep the youth and others from making trouble between the Protestant and Catholics.  Can you imagine living behind the walls and gates?  The picture below was taken from inside a Protestant community.  The city wall on the right is 400 years old and the wall in front is 40 years old.  Imagine.  The strife continues!

The Foyle River divides the city with the city centre mostly being Protestant, whereas the Catholics live on the other side of the Foyle River.  Our guide said it would be a hard feat to find a Catholics living within the city centre (within the walls of the city).  Not only is there the religious division, but there is also the division between the nationalist (those who wish to remain with the United Kingdom) and the unionist (those who wish to remain with Ireland).  80% of the citizens of Derry are Catholic nationalists. There are many political graffiti points around the city, such as the one below painted onto the city wall.  The one below states that the IRA does not want to be part of the United Kingdom.

The murals can speak for themselves...

Derry, despite all the trouble is has had and is still having is most known for Bloody Sunday.  Bloody Sunday was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which 26 unarmed civil-rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army. Thirteen males, seven of whom were teenagers, died immediately or soon after, while the death of another man four-and-a-half months later was attributed to the injuries he received on that day.  This is a video of the song U2 wrote about the event. 

On 15 June 2010, British Prime Minister, David Cameron, officially apologized for Britain's role.  I'm not one much for political apologize because they often are not sincere, but I believe this one is.  You can watch the video here.

Ireland - Day 11 - June 15, 2013

When you're traveling as much as we are on this trip getting a good nights sleep can be very hard to come by.  Well, last night I actually got a pretty descent night's sleep, save the drunkards who decided to bang doors at 2:00 in the morning and the ones who thought they would get up and get dressed at 4:00 in the morning.  The hard knocks of life on the road (haha).

The travels today would be taking us on into the town of Donegal and to see the Slieve League Cliffs.  Donegal was a quaint little town.  It was centered around a town diamond (triangle in shape).  There were lots of bustling stores around the diamond.  Our tour guide, Keith, stated that about 5,000 people live in the town.  Standing in the middle of the diamond and looking around brought back memories of how Greensboro was 25-30 years ago with stores bustling and the town packed with people.  They even had a Magees clothing store.  Finally, maybe a little ancestry to be found?

Donegal Town itself is famous for being the former centre of government of the dynasty of O'Donnell of Tyrconnell, who played a pivotal role in Irish history, and whose original homeland lay further to the north in the area of Kilmacrenan. From the 15th to the 17th century, they were an important part of the opposition to the colonisation of Ireland by England. The town itself contains Donegal Castle, on the banks of the River Eske and the remains of a Franciscan abbey which dates back to the 15th century on the Southern shore of the Bay. The Annals of the Four Masters written in the abbey in the early 17th century. The story of Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill (Red Hugh O'Donnell), Lord of Tyrconnell, was the inspiration behind many books and films, not least, Disney's The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966).

After the Flight of the Earls in 1607 the castle and its lands were given to an English captain, Basil Brooke, as part of the Plantation of Ulster. Brooke carried out major reconstruction work and added a wing to the castle in theJacobean style. The current plan of the town was also laid out including an attractive town square or Diamond. From the late 17th until the early 20th centuries, Donegal Town formed part of the vast estates of the Gore family (from 1762 Earls of Arran) and it while in their ownership that the town took on its present appearance. Donegal Borough returned two members to the Parliament of Ireland until the Act of Union 1800. Evidence of the Irish Famine still exists including a workhouse, whose buildings are now part of the local hospital, and many famine graves. (Wikipedia).

Donegal Castle

The afternoon had us snaking up small road that had me closing my eyes when we met cars.  The road didn't seem wide enough for a bus, let along meeting cars.  However, Joe (our bus driver) was a pro.  He traveled onward with such precision and skill.  The destination he was taking up to was called Slieve League Cliffs.  They rise almost 2000 ft. from the Atlantic, making them one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe and twice as high as the Cliffs of Moher.  As skilled a driver as Joe was, he could not take up all the way up.  The road was just too steep and narrow.  Therefore, we hiked the last 1.5 miles to the cliffs.  Might I add that that 1.5 miles was ALL UPHILL, a very steep hill.  My knees were screaming at me by the time I made it.  However, the view was worth every agonizing step.  Of all the spots I have seen in the world, both personally and through pictures, it was this spot that just proved to you how wonderful God was creating the Earth.  I was only going to go about half the way up, but I kept pushing on and I am so thankful that I did because I would have missed the sheer beauty of His creations.

Just about the time I thought I had recovered from that hike, our nightly accommodations would pose a new challenge.  We were scheduled to spend the night in Glencolmcille, County Donegal, Ireland, but our hostel cancelled on us.  A last minute reservation can sometimes be a shot in the dark.  Well, the hostel that we were able to book was about to be one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.  Our hostel was built into the side of a mountain and we had to walk up there.  Needless to say, we too up only what we needed for the night.  The views were terrific, but after the 1.5 mile hike up the hill my knees were in rebellion.  Once we got up, none of us came down.  It (Dorry Hostel) by far will gone down in history as one of the worst places I have every stayed.

That is our hostel...the white house in the middle of the picture...up on the hill!

The view from the hostel to the beach below

But, one great thing about staying here was that they did not have any internet so we all played cards and had a great time talking and joking around.  Times like tonight show how dependent we have, as a society, become on the Internet and our electronic devices.

Ireland - Day 10 - June 14, 2013

Well, we were up and going again quite early this morning.  Today we were heading toward Donegal and were scheduled to visit Clifden, Connemara National Park, and Kylemore Abbey.  I had really been looking forward to this part of the trip.  I knew I was about to see some very pretty countryside and I really was looking forward to the visit of Kylemore Abbey.  Just from the pictures in the travel books and on the Internet, I knew it was going to be beautiful.

The beautiful weather we had been enjoying up to this point just couldn't last forever.  Today the clouds broke and the rain fell.  It was actually a cold and miserable day, but that still didn't hamper my enjoyment of the sites we saw.  Clifden and Connemara are absolutely gorgeous spots, but when we arrived at Kylemore my breath was taken away.  There is no way that words or pictures can do this location justice.  I keep using the adjectives, absolutely beautiful, but that is the best that I can come up with.

This home was built by Mitchell Henry for his wife, Margaret.  Tradition has it that the couple visited Connemara while on their honeymoon and were enchanted by the beauty (I can see why) of the landscape.  The Castle was started in 1867 and finished in 1871.  Margaret died while the family was on holiday to Egypt in 1875 (she was only 49).  After her death he did not spend much time here, but he did build her a beautiful memorial church where she was laid to rest.  He died in 1910 and is also buried there.

In 1903, Mitchell sold Kylemore Castle to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester. They lived a lavish lifestyle financed by the Duchess’ wealthy father, the American businessman, Eugene Zimmerman.The Duke and Duchess of Manchester spent only a few years at the castle. The property was heavily mortgaged and on the death of Eugene Zimmerman in 1914, the Castle was taken over by Ernest Fawke, a London banker, who installed a caretaker and land agent until a buyer was found 7 years later.

In 1920, The Irish Benedictine Nuns purchased Kylemore Castle, where they ran an international boarding school and established a day school for local girls. They also ran a farm and guesthouseOver the years, the Nuns graciously opened the estate to the education and enjoyment of all who visit, developing excellent facilities as well as restoring and conserving the many historical features.  The school closed for good in 2003 and the estate now solely operates as a tourist attraction.

After a ride through the beautiful Connemara National Park we arrived at our nightly lodging at the Best Western in Sligo.  

Ireland - Day 8 and 9 - June 12 and 13, 2013

We've arrived in Galway for the next two days and change.  After arriving yesterday afternoon (day 7) we walked to Eyre Square, which is about 2 miles from the dorm rooms.  For very tired people, it felt like 10 miles.  Needless to say the group didn't stay long as everyone was tired.

Day 8 started with a walking tour of the very same area that everyone had walked the evening before, except this one included a tour guide who told the history of the city.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to go as I had a student needing medical attention (nothing serious).  In the afternoon we were provided with a lecture from..... of the National University of Ireland Galway.

The night was spent doing a chore that had to be done...laundry.


Thursday, 13 June (Day 9)

I've about learned this Irish weather.  It's going to be sunny first thing in the morning, but possibly windy (very!) and at some point in the afternoon it's going to start raining - it  may be a little and it may just continue to drizzle, you just never know.

The newspaper for 13 June 2013

We started the morning with a lecture on Abortion Rights delivered by Dr. Niamh Reilly, senior lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology and Co-director of the Global Women's Studies Centre at the NUIG.  This is a very controversial topic in Ireland at the present and we just happen to be in Galway where history is being made today.   Abortion and women's conceptration rights is nothing new in Ireland, but abortion came to the forefront again last year (October) with the death of Savita Halappanavar.  You can read a story about her case here and about today's headlines here.  Ireland is a very religious and conservative country and there is quite a bit of history in terms of abortion rights.  It's a great deal more in-depth and complicated than many people think.



After lunch we ventured back into City Centre for a tour of the History Museum of Galway.  Our tour guide was very interesting and quite a good storyteller.  He related many folklore tales about the city.  Three that I found intriguing were The Devil's Steps, the third boat out and the curse of red hair.  Folklore tells that if you are on the steps at night that lead down to where the Carrib River meets Galway Bay the Devil will reach up, grab you by the hands, and pull you into the water, never to be seen again.  To be the third boat out is unlucky, so how does one not become the third boat out?  I'll let you ponder this.  The third story is that the Claddagh found anything with red hair - people, animals, or words - to be a sign that it wasn't worth going out to fish for the day.  If a person or animal with red hair came into their path they simply turned around and went home.  To curse someone they would just say, "fox hook" - red being the color of a foxes coat.  Even surnames like Fox were not allowed in the village.  If this is something that you find interesting, the tour guide recommended the book "Meeting the Other Crowd" by Eddie Lenihan, which can be found here.

The Museum also had John Ford's directors chair.  John Ford directed the film "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in Galway.  I love this movie!!!

Ireland - Day 7 - June 11, 2013

After what was probably the most restful night we had we are off again.  We spent the night at the Ashville House Guesthouse (B&B).  The couple that owns it was quite charming and gracious hosts.

The agenda for today included a visit to the Killarney National Park, the Muckross House, the Cliffs of Moher, and a ride through Burren National Park on our way to Galway where we are staying at the National University of Ireland (NUIG).

The first point of view for us was the Torc Waterfall in the KNP.  I could not get over how lush and green the forest was.  Moss on the trees and rocks, wild ferns growing everywhere and beautiful flowers.  Just standing for a few moments makes one really appreciate how the great work God has done in nature.

One of the funnest parts of our trip was walking through the working farm of the Muckross House.  The Muckross estate is a living history reenactment of life in 1930s Ireland. Several students on our trip obviously had not been on a farm and seen some of the things that go on on a farm with the animals and such.  They were able to witness a cow being milked, butter being made, the sights and smells of other animals and a small petting farm.  It really was quite interesting to see the different sized farms (small, medium, large) and how they worked without electricity and the modern conveniences and technology of todays farms.  I really do think I could live a enjoyable, simple (but with hard work) life that they lived.  It is visits like this that really make me miss growing up on a farm and the lessons my children did not have the opportunity to learn.

From Killarney we made our way toward the Cliffs of Moher, with a stop in Bunratty for a very good lunch at a former creamery turned restaurant.  By the time we reached the Cliffs of Moher we had encountered more of the typical Irish weather - rain.  However, despite the drizzle, the Cliffs of Moher were breathtaking.  You are so high up that you can see for miles around and the sound and smell of the Atlantic Ocean was unbelievable.  Words just simply cannot do justice to this site.  I just stood for a while and imagined the number of people who had said goodbye to their home in Ireland to journey 3,000+ miles across the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of finding a new, better life than the life they were leaving behind.  How could one muster up that much courage to leave everything that was familiar, that was home and family, behind to go to something that was completely foreign and unknown?