Ireland

We decided to return to Ireland for 3 weeks in the spring of 2001, after our enjoyable visit in 2000. Even just one year later, rapid changes and development are evident. The Ireland of 2001 seems to be a country in transition. This year, the effects of the Irish economic boom were even more apparent than last year.

County Donegal

County Donegal is the Republic's northernmost county and boasts some of the best scenery on the whole island. In addition to the ruggedly beautiful scenery, we found top-notch pints of Guinness pulled in every pub we visited. The Guinness Quality Control patrols don't seem to make it out as far out from Dublin as Donegal, but considering how outstanding the pints we enjoyed in Donegal were, we don't think that Guinness needs to bother checking up on Donegal pubs. Their own high standards are more than sufficient to assure consistently perfect pints. Another great aspect of the pubs we visited in Donegal was the fine traditional music we heard. In Donegal, the ancient station house tradition of providing food and lodging for travelling musicians is still practiced.

Glencolumbkille

Named for St. Columbkille, who founded a monastery there in the sixth century, Glencolumbkille is an idyllic town by the sea on the tip of a peninsula in southwestern Donegal. This area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, and is rich in pre-Celtic megalithic sites. Much more than in most other parts of Ireland, especially since the current period of remarkable prosperity began around 7 years ago, the community of Glencolumbkille retains and actively preserves and protects the traditional practices that the Irish associate with the "real Ireland." While there, we saw people out in the bogs cutting turf (peat) for their personal use in heating their homes, thatching their roofs in preparation for winter, herding sheep with sheep dogs, and hand-looming tweed fabrics. These activities are a natural part of the course of ordinary life in Glencolumbkille, but have become rare sights in most other parts of the island. We had the good fortune of visiting after the tourist season. We enjoyed spending time there at a time when the people were especially relaxed in their interactions with us, being free of the distractions presented by hosting sizable numbers of tourists in their small community during the summer. .

Kilclooney Dolmen

Though it is not well-known, the Kilclooney Dolmen is one of Ireland's most spectacular dolmens. Since it is not well-known, a visit to the Kilclooney dolmen is very peaceful and without the annoyance of the tour bus crowds that sometimes detract from visits to the more famous megalithic sites around the island.

County Sligo

Sligo Abbey

Located in the heart of Sligo Town, Sligo Abbey is really a well-preserved medieval Dominican Friary. Friaries were quite integrated into the local community while abbies were home to monks who were much more isolated from the community.

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Parke's Castle

Though now officially known as Parke's Castle, the local, ancient, and more appropriate name for this site is O'Rourke's Castle. This castle in Country Leitrim was built by and was the stronghold of the exceedingly powerful O'Rourke clan of Breffni from the 13th century until the end of the 16th century. Parke built a castle on the site in 1620, using the outer walls of O'Rourke's Castle. The site has been very nicely restored by Duchas, Ireland's Heritage Service. It is located on the shore of the very scenic Lough Gill, which is the nesting home of the splendid swan pictured below.

Creevykeel

Creevykeel is an unusually complete court tomb just north of Sligo Town.

Boyle Abbey

Boyle Abbey in County Roscommon is a Cistercian monastery established in 1229. The Cistercians were a stern order. The choir monks were required to pray 6 times per day, had a rule of silence and only ate two meals per day in the harvest in season and just one otherwise. The carved columns pictured below are unusual for a Cistercian monastery as the order normally disdained ornamentation as a distraction from their mission.

Doo Lough Valley

The Doo Lough Valley was the most beautiful scenery we saw in Ireland. Doo Lough means Dark Lake. The lake is at the southern end of the valley and does look quite dark on the surface. The valley is bogland and is uninhabited except for the intrepid sheep who seem quite content to have it to themselves. The bog grass has a beautiful reddish hue. Many small waterfalls flow down both sides of the valley.

The monument pictured in the second row of photographs commemorates those who died in the valley on a tragic march through the valley in 1849 during the great Irish Famine. Starving locals marched through valley to ask for food from their landlord at Delphi. "Landlords" were British aristocrats granted land seized from the local population by the English Crown and effectively functioned as authoritarian governors for their holdings. Though the landlord at Delphi had food, he refused to provide any to the starving marchers. Of the 600 people who made the trek to plead for food, 400 succumbed to starvation on the return journey.

Connemara

Connemara is a starkly beautiful region located in western county Galway. The donkey pictured below is a resident of Mal Dua House where we had a great stay both this trip and the year before. Mal Dua House has 2 charming resident donkeys, named Yeti and Butler, which they kindly adopted from The Donkey Sanctuary. The Donkey Sanctuary rescues abandoned or mistreated donkeys, rehabilitates them and then carefully matches them up with good homes. In the not-too-distant past, donkeys were widely used as work animals throughout Ireland. This practice has almost entirely ceased over the past 10 years, leaving many donkeys abandoned and in need of rescue. The Donkey Sanctuary gratefully accepts donations to support its work.

Galway City

Galway City is a vibrant city located on Galway Bay. One of Galway City's most appealing aspects is the way it embraces and integrates both its ancient past as well as its exultant present. The bay is blessed with many swans, so many in fact that most locals do not take any more interest in them than most people take in ducks. The town has a lovely, historic pedestrian walking district filled with many shops and restaurants.

County Clare

A visit to County Clare is simultaneously one of the most rewarding and most frustrating of any of the counties. Clare is filled with unique treasures like the Burren. However, the roads have not received the upgrades many of the other counties have, and while Clare is less touristed than its neighboring counties, there are still plenty of tour busses, which compete fiercely with cars for the very limited space on its narrow country roads.

Poulnabrone Dolmen

Poulnabrone is one Ireland's most famous dolmens and it does not disappoint. While not as large as it typically looks in photographs, the dolmen is a sight to behold. Situated at the edge of the Burren, the site has a special energy not matched at many other sites.

Carran Church

The Carran Church is one of Clare's many lesser-known treasures. The site has been used as sacred place for 4000 years. Like the nearby Poulnabrone Dolmen, this ruined church possesses a special peacefulness.

Kilfenora

The Kilfenora Cathedral is another lesser-known treasure of County Clare. Last year we drove past it without looking inside. This year, we didn't make the same mistake. The cathedral has 4 high crosses and many other impressive carvings. Part of this 12th century cathedral is still in use.

Doolin

Doolin is located on the coast of County Clare and is renowned for traditional Irish music that can be heard almost every evening in the town's three pubs.

Clonmacnois

Clonmacnois is Ireland's most impressive early monastic site. Situated on the banks of the river Shannon, the location is peaceful and tranquil. Clomacnois is home to some of Ireland's most famous high crosses. The monastery dates back to the 7th century.

The Boyne Valley

The Boyne Valley is located about an hour's drive north of Dublin and contains some of the richest farmland in Ireland. The rich soil supported an advanced neolithic civilization 5000 years ago which left behind 40 prehistoric monuments including Ireland's most famous, Newgrange.

Newgrange

Newgrange is a passage tomb. The picture on the right shows the entrance to the tomb and the picture on the left is a close up of the carved entrance stone. On the tour of site, you are lead inside the passage to the center of the tomb which contains three chambers, all of which show carving of similar designs to the entrance stone. Above the entrance, there is a roofbox that on the winter solstice lights up the central inner chamber for just 17 minutes.

Knowth

Located nearby its more famous cousin, Knowth is another impressive passage tomb. The picture on the left is of one of the many smaller burial mounds on the site. The picture on the right is one of the many carved kerbstones. The Knowth site alone has over half of all the carved megalithic stones in Ireland.

Monasterboice

Monasterboice is an monastic site in Ireland. The high cross on the right dates from the 10th century while the stone on the left is much earlier.

Dublin

Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland and by far its largest city, with roughly one third the population of the entire island. The picture below is of one of the city's famous Georgian doors. Unfortunately, our visit to Dublin city center did not go well. Like any large city, Dublin has its fair share of annoyances like heavy traffic, noise, and a lack of parking. These urban annoyances have gotten noticeably worse over even just the past year as Dublin has experienced robust growth as a result of Ireland's economic boom. This robust growth unfortunately seems to be robbing the city's residents of the leisurely pace of life that previously richly fostered the city's famous charm and wit.

The highlight of a trip to Dublin in my opinion is the National Museum which contains many of the treasures found in excavations of Ireland's many prehistoric and monastic sites. The Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin is also worth a visit.

Paris

Paris is spectacular. The city has an impressive reputation and lives up to it. In addition to the many famous sites, the food is wonderful, particularly the pastries. Many of the streets are lined with charming 18th century buildings. The Metro is a pleasure to use, taking you anywhere in the city you want to go.

Paris by Night

Paris is at its most charming after dark. Most of the monuments are lighted at night. The Eiffel Tower is interesting during the day, but lighted at night it's a commanding sight to behold.

Sainte Chapelle

Sainte Chapelle was Louis the IX's private chapel. It is built in the French High Gothic style, but is much smaller than other Gothic style Cathedrals. The interior is beautifully restored and shows the lovely painted walls and ceilings that were common features in cathedrals when they were built. The paint has worn away and has not been repainted in most other cathedrals.

Chartres

Chartres is one of the best preserved medieval cathedrals in Europe and is famous for its collection of stained glass windows. In addition to the beautiful stained glass windows, the exterior sculpture is also impressive. Both the sculpture and the stained glass are benefiting from the extensive restoration currently being carried out. The restoration makes the stained glass windows much more vibrant.