Climbing, kissing and sailing.....
We are ringing our way around Ireland and Kevin fills some of the travel time with facts and lore. He began with a bit about leprechauns. The first tribal hunters in Ireland were very short and dark and the engineers of the wing fort, a thick round encampment with tunnels of up to twenty or thirty feet radiating out like underground spokes. Marry this fact with a bit of myth and Disney dust and you get little people popping up out of the ground to make mischief.
Onward to St. Patrick...a slave in 432 AD and a keeper of pigs, dreamt of the priesthood, left Ireland and became ordained. This is in the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages. He returned to Ireland and converted a chieftain, explaining the concept of the Holy Trinity by picking up a three leaf clover and describing Father, Son and Holy Ghost, hence the shamrock. There were many similarities between the pagan and Christian calendar regarding observances with Christmas corresponding to the winter equinox and Easter, the spring equinox.
St. Patrick's main competition in the religious recruitment department were the Druids, their symbol being the snake. So when we say he drove the snakes out of Ireland, it refers to his conversion of the heathen to Catholicism.
On to Northern Ireland....Spain never forgave Henry VIII for divorcing Catherine of Aragon and conspired to place her offspring, Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. Elizabeth I, of course, protected her position by killing Mary. But Spain did not give up.
They devised a plan to send Spanish forces to aid some Irish Earls in the north and together oust the British from Ireland. But the hapless Spaniards arrived way south. When the northern armies went to link up with them, Elizabeth sent a huge force to occupy and populate Northern Ireland and it's been a Protestant country ever since.
The difference between Irish Whiskey, distilled three times, is in the spelling while Scotch Whisky, is distilled twice adding all sorts of peaty things.
Okay, class over. We are pulling into Cork situated on the River Lee and forever wedded to maritime pursuits. It's a city of 320,000 and the European headquarters of Apple which directly employs over 6000 people and countless more indirectly.
Kevin tells of a white van emblazoned with FBI Pigeons. His interest is piqued enough to question the driver who relates it is Flanders Breeding Ireland Pigeons. I had never heard of pigeon racing but apparently it is a big money sport with the best birds auctioned for over 1.5 million Euro.
On the outskirts of Cork is a unique sculpture of a bowl fashioned of metal feathers. Much is said of the Irish famine defined as insufficient supplies to sustain life. But there was no lack of food during this time. It was being exported while the people starved.
The Choctaw Indians sent a donation, sizable for that time, for famine relief. Their compassion is commemorated by the sculpture and a student exchange program between Cork and the Choctaw Nation.
We are entering Blarney, home of Blarney Castle and the draw of the Blarney stone. The grounds are magnificent, verdant and dotted with different gardens and a wonderfully noisy stream. We are lucky to be here during the spring bloom. Fellow traveler Kris and I head out determined to make the climb.
It's around 120 steps to the top which turns out to be no big deal because of the slowness of the line of patrons. Because one lays down on their back to reach the stone things slow up quite a bit while everyone is getting up and down.
There are likely as many myths of the Blarney Stone as there are steps to reach it. My favorite is the Lord of Blarney, severly afflicted with stuttering, went off to fight in the crusades. He learned of a magic stone that when kissed would impart the gift of eloquence. Apparently it wasn't enough for him to just kiss it, he toted it back to his castle and installed it in it's highest reaches for safety.
Today was a great weather day, not too chilly and no wind or rain. We inched our way up the winding stairs with glimpses into some very small rooms. The views are lovely.
We managed to get down and up, somewhat inelegantly, for our eloquence kiss.
We spent the remainder of our time combing the beautiful gardens.
Then is it off to Killarney, home to the Killarney National Park. This will be our home for two nights. It is only a short distance to fifteenth century Ross Castle perched on the banks of Loch Lein or lake of learning.
We're off to cruise around the lake and circle some of its tiny islands. On the largest one, Inisfallen Island, lie the remains of a sixth century monastery where the Annals of Inisfallen, a compendium of Medieval history were written.
This lake is home to both salmon and trout and a venue for kayaking and competitive rowing. Six different rowing clubs call Killarney home. Three golf courses look down over the water and on the uninhabited side a ten thousand year old oak woodland stands.
Well we are all ready to check into the Killarney Avenue Hotel where I have another charming room with a jacuzzi. I'm feeling better already.
After dinner out at a restaurant, we pop into St. Mary's Church of Ireland to sample a concert of the commingled choruses of Northeastern State University Community Chorus and Tulsa Community College Concert Choir visiting from Oklahoma.
It was a grand day!
We are ringing our way around Ireland and Kevin fills some of the travel time with facts and lore. He began with a bit about leprechauns. The first tribal hunters in Ireland were very short and dark and the engineers of the wing fort, a thick round encampment with tunnels of up to twenty or thirty feet radiating out like underground spokes. Marry this fact with a bit of myth and Disney dust and you get little people popping up out of the ground to make mischief.
Onward to St. Patrick...a slave in 432 AD and a keeper of pigs, dreamt of the priesthood, left Ireland and became ordained. This is in the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages. He returned to Ireland and converted a chieftain, explaining the concept of the Holy Trinity by picking up a three leaf clover and describing Father, Son and Holy Ghost, hence the shamrock. There were many similarities between the pagan and Christian calendar regarding observances with Christmas corresponding to the winter equinox and Easter, the spring equinox.
St. Patrick's main competition in the religious recruitment department were the Druids, their symbol being the snake. So when we say he drove the snakes out of Ireland, it refers to his conversion of the heathen to Catholicism.
On to Northern Ireland....Spain never forgave Henry VIII for divorcing Catherine of Aragon and conspired to place her offspring, Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. Elizabeth I, of course, protected her position by killing Mary. But Spain did not give up.
They devised a plan to send Spanish forces to aid some Irish Earls in the north and together oust the British from Ireland. But the hapless Spaniards arrived way south. When the northern armies went to link up with them, Elizabeth sent a huge force to occupy and populate Northern Ireland and it's been a Protestant country ever since.
The difference between Irish Whiskey, distilled three times, is in the spelling while Scotch Whisky, is distilled twice adding all sorts of peaty things.
Okay, class over. We are pulling into Cork situated on the River Lee and forever wedded to maritime pursuits. It's a city of 320,000 and the European headquarters of Apple which directly employs over 6000 people and countless more indirectly.
Kevin tells of a white van emblazoned with FBI Pigeons. His interest is piqued enough to question the driver who relates it is Flanders Breeding Ireland Pigeons. I had never heard of pigeon racing but apparently it is a big money sport with the best birds auctioned for over 1.5 million Euro.
On the outskirts of Cork is a unique sculpture of a bowl fashioned of metal feathers. Much is said of the Irish famine defined as insufficient supplies to sustain life. But there was no lack of food during this time. It was being exported while the people starved.
The Choctaw Indians sent a donation, sizable for that time, for famine relief. Their compassion is commemorated by the sculpture and a student exchange program between Cork and the Choctaw Nation.
We are entering Blarney, home of Blarney Castle and the draw of the Blarney stone. The grounds are magnificent, verdant and dotted with different gardens and a wonderfully noisy stream. We are lucky to be here during the spring bloom. Fellow traveler Kris and I head out determined to make the climb.
 |
| Past this point the stairs are stone. |
There are likely as many myths of the Blarney Stone as there are steps to reach it. My favorite is the Lord of Blarney, severly afflicted with stuttering, went off to fight in the crusades. He learned of a magic stone that when kissed would impart the gift of eloquence. Apparently it wasn't enough for him to just kiss it, he toted it back to his castle and installed it in it's highest reaches for safety.
Today was a great weather day, not too chilly and no wind or rain. We inched our way up the winding stairs with glimpses into some very small rooms. The views are lovely.
 |
| No, I'm not getting CPR |
Then is it off to Killarney, home to the Killarney National Park. This will be our home for two nights. It is only a short distance to fifteenth century Ross Castle perched on the banks of Loch Lein or lake of learning.
This lake is home to both salmon and trout and a venue for kayaking and competitive rowing. Six different rowing clubs call Killarney home. Three golf courses look down over the water and on the uninhabited side a ten thousand year old oak woodland stands.
After dinner out at a restaurant, we pop into St. Mary's Church of Ireland to sample a concert of the commingled choruses of Northeastern State University Community Chorus and Tulsa Community College Concert Choir visiting from Oklahoma.
It was a grand day!
Grand day indeed. Really interesting how a Spanish tactical misstep ended up in strategic failure. Never knew of their involvement in Northern Ireland. I like my whiskey with out the “e”
ReplyDeleteLots of English/Spanish signage here.
DeleteSusan, even without having kissed the Blarney Stone you've had/have the "gift of eloquence". Great writing and beautiful photographs!! Thanks for sharing your travel blog. With your permission I'll pass it on to friends and family members so that they, too, can partake and enjoy our vacation in Ireland.
ReplyDeleteShare away....the blog is meant to entertain and educate!
Delete