Bogs and Brews

Clifden is a little dot of a town in Connemara. We stayed nearby, out of the town, down Sky Road at the Blue Dolphin Country House on the Altantic edge. Here it was hard to say whether there were more cows and sheep or B & B's but it could hardly be considered crowded. The land is treeless and windswept, quiet & serene.

Dolphin Beach Country House

Clodagh, our host, is one of many in her family running inns and restaurants in the area. She is gracious, lovely, and helpful. We took several walks in the neighborhood, going first down to the ocean bluff through the nearest sheep pasture, later doing the loop around Sky Road, upper and lower. The latter took us past a decommissioned coast guard building, many B&B's, and the Clifden Castle. We tried to visit the castle but the road to it was posted "private."

Connemara Coast

Clodagh explained that the castle is owned by the state but the land is owned by a farmer who does not want visitors. She did, however, explain how to see the castle bypassing the farmer by going through a cow pasture. The next day we started through the pasture until we saw a bull eyeing us suspiciously. We kept to the perimeter (barbed wire) as far as we could be away from him and his gentle female companions, and quietly, steathily we made it.

Clifden Castle

This castle was a winner. Built in 1819 by John Darcy to house his large family and "to bring civilization and culture to the wild people who lived there", the walls and decorative motifs were largely still in place. It was another beautiful wreck of a castle. The above mentioned farmer situation kept it from being a contender for us but we admired the taste and ambition of the builder.

Connemara is bog country. It contains the country's largest national park where we learned about the bogs, the history and the geology. A bog is a wetland covered by a thick mat of dead plant material. It's green with softly mounded tufts of grasses and squishy to walk on. The trees of the area were decimated by early inhabitants and then the bogs took over. Later inhabitants dug up the bogs removing the topsoil to two feet down, letting it dry out then using it as fuel and building material. At one time 80% of Connemara was bog land. Now that is down to less than 20%. The same with the forests. Both are now under state protection while there is an effort to save and replenish them.

In the Interesting Facts Category:
The twelve mountains in Connemara are called the Twelve Bens.
The two enormous maple trees in Front Square at Trinity College are from Oregon and said to be almost 200 years old.

More Interesting Town & River names:
Knock, Trim, Horseleap, the River Suck

Dublin was a long four hour ride from Connemara. We broke up the trip with a stop at an ancient archeological site, Brú Na Bóinne, a world heritage site and the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe. It was a humbling experience to see what had been built by humans about 3500 B.C. Thesite predates the Egyptian Pyramids and was built with sophistication and a knowledge of science and astronomy, 5000 years ago!

Brú Na Bóinne with Trinity Spirals
Carved in Entrance Stone

Buried under a forest and uncovered by a farmer searching his land for large rocks, the site was well preserved. Today you are allowed to enter the underground burial tomb made of giant slabs of stone. It looks and feels like a giant beehive of huge stones. Our guide said it is the only waterproof building in Ireland. So what did those ancients know that we don't know? I think the site is a magnificent reminder that humans have always been capable of great things.

Outside Wall of Bru Na Boinne

Dublin is THE city. There are all the usual cultural sights with an emphasis on the more recent history, colonization by GB, and the push for unification and self rule. On a lighter note, the tour of the Guiness Brewery (we tipped a pint to all our friends out there) balanced well with the tour of Trinity College which was established by Elizabeth I. The Book of Kells is housed in the Trinity library, and the Long Room, the longest library room in Ireland, is still the original three story, barrel vaulted ceiling beauty. It contains over 200,000 of the oldest books in Ireland and is a copyright library so it owns and receives a copy of every book published in Ireland and England. It is a beautiful space which smells of old books and looks like a book cathedral.

Steve at Guiness

Summer came to Dublin, finally, but not until our last day in Ireland. Except for two full and two partial days of sun during our two weeks, Ireland was as rainy and cool as TSR in winter. The last day in Dublin the sun came out and the temperature rose from the low 50s to the mid 70s. Suddenly the scarves were gone, the short shorts were in fashion and the people were enjoying the lovely city park, eating at sidewalk cafes, and generally hanging out.

Food was among the many things to enjoy on the Island, with a host of great contemporary restaurants flourishing. We ate perhaps too well. We managed to stay up late enough to find our way to a great pub to enjoy a group of locals riffing on Irish music. Seventeen unaffiliated people with fiddles, flutes and a tiny Irish accordian made our hearts sing. The people are very respectful and proud of their heritage.

Ireland is a fine place to visit, fine people, beautiful countryside, intricate history, great food, and wonderful music. Below are some photos of larger than life posters seen on the outside walls of buildings in an alley called the Icon Alley in Dublin. Do you know these people?