Trip through Southern Ireland

I mentioned earlier that I signed up for a tour through The Shamrocker. It was well worth the money, as I would never have heard the stories that I did or went to the places that I went without a guide showing me where to go and what to do. I'm glad I got to see Ireland, not just Dublin, because although Dublin is fun, it's a city, and Ireland isn't known for its cities. It's known for being green, and green it is. I'm sure I'll miss a few things, but I'll try my best to recap the weekend.



The first thing we did was stop at a whiskey distillery. At the end of the tour they give you a shot of whiskey - at 11 in the morning! I had never had straight whiskey before, and if I had, I would have turned it down. But because I was ignorant, and don't like to turn down a free drink, I took it. It was awful. So our entire bus (minus the bus driver) all downed a shot before noon on the first day of the tour.



After our stiff drink, we headed to an ancient monastery for some spiritual cleansing. Clonmacnoise was the first place that studied and practiced Christianity in Ireland. There are graves there over 1000 years old.



Later that night we had dinner at the local pub where we stayed in Doolin, called McGann's. McGann's is somewhat famous in that region of Ireland, complete with live traditional Irish music and dancing. Above is me with my first pint of Guinness. I don't have a picture of the Guinness factory, but it is located on 4 acres in central Dublin and the amount they pay for their lease is unbelievable. When the founder signed the lease in 1759 he signed it for 9000 years - now that's faith in your product! So the rent is still 45 pounds a year.



Walking home in Doolin we stopped at the cemetery. It was spooky.

The next morning we saw the Cliffs of Moher, which I pictured in the previous post.



We stopped at an ancient burial passageway, older than stonehinge, where dead bodies were stripped and gutted and passed through the stones. This symbolized their passage into the afterlife.

Afterwards, we went to the beach, yes, a beach in Ireland.




There is a legend that if you swim at Coomeenoule Beach, you lose part of your soul and have to reclaim it 40 years later. The plus side is that your soul will be richer and you will have a more fulfilling life. I guess I'm going back to Ireland in 40 years because...



I went swimming. Out of the 38 people on our bus only 3 of us were brave/crazy enough to try it. I'm the little blob in the middle. It wasn't that bad; once you get in, you are instantly numbed by the water. You only notice that it's unbearably cold when a wave comes and gets you wet again above the waist.



Walking out to the western most tip of Ireland was the perfect follow-up to swimming; the wind was a natural hair dryer and my hair was dry in minutes!



One of our last stops was at Blarney - to visit Blarney castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. There is a long story as to why climbing up to the top of a tower, being flipped backwards and upside down, and kissing a stone that is kissed by thousands and supposedly peed on by the locals is something that you want to do. And I wonder why I got sick the day after I kissed the stone...

If you want to read more about the stone, here is a Wikipedia link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blarney_Stone

The short story is I am now endowed with the gift of the gab, meaning I can charm my way out of any situation.

It was a wonderful weekend, but I am happy to get back to my familiar apartment. I can't say that a part of me doesn't miss the open fields and skies of Ireland. A parting shot, and a phrase in Gaelic:



Go raibh maith agat, Ireland.

Thank you, Ireland.