Saturday, 22 July 2023
Ireland - Cliffs of Moher and Galway
The Cliffs of Moher is of course the highlight of every Ireland tour. I had always wondered why. It is an impressive landscape with its rugged cliff face and layers of sequenced cliffs. It matters a lot if the sun was on the cliffs when you visit. When we visited, it was a dark cloudy day and it didn't really do the cliffs justice. We took a cruise to see the cliffs from the water and they were quite dramatic but not quite the national icon I had expected it to be. Timing is everything.
I was in fact more fascinated by what little we saw of the Burren before we got to the Cliffs of Moher. The glacier karst landscape was unique, looking barren from afar but in fact teeming with life when you look closer. We didn't spend a lot of time here as the guide wanted us to get to the cruise early. As it turned out, we got to Doolin too early - I would gladly have spent more time on the Burren, a landscape unique to this area. See for yourself.
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A pretty donkey eating its way along the river - like a prop |
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A picturesque stream behind the village of Doolin |
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Layer upon layer of cliffs |
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Intriguing rock formations at the foot of the cliffs |
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The cliffs are teeming with bird life, both on the cliffs and in the surrounding waters. I didn't have my birding lens with me but did the best I could with my 240mm zoom - bit of a joke. |
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| A razorbill in flight |
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| A puffin! |
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Common murre |
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| This one has two fish in its beak! |
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| A lone puffin among the razorbills |
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| Leaving behind the cliffs |
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| Eyre Square at the centre of town |
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| Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed in Heaven & St. Nicholas |
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| One of several rose windows in the Cathedral |
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| A Norman castle inside a mall |
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| The River Comb |
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| The estuary |
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| A pretty black-headed gull by the river |
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Colourful streets of Galway |
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| Kinvarra waterfront |
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| Dunguaire Castle |
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| The photogenic accordion player outside the castle |
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| View from the bridge in Athlone |
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| Town of Athlone |
Friday, 14 July 2023
Ireland - Ring of Kerry
One of our first stops off the Ring of Kerry was at an ancient churchyard, that of Aghadoe Cathedral, situated on a beautiful spot overlooking the lakes of Killarney. We walked through the ruins of this church, with an elegant Romanesque doorway still standing, probably dating from the 11th and 12th century, Our guide pointed out the markings on one of the stones on the wall believed to be an Ogham stone with markings in old Irish. What a fascinating visit to this place, not on the typical tourist circuit.
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| This is an Ogham stone with markings in old Irish |
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| A short walk from the churchyard are the ruins of a 13th century Norman castle - Parkavonear Castle, one of the few Norman keeps in Ireland built on a cylindrical rather than rectangular plan. The walls are 2 metres thick. |
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| View of Killarney Lakes from near the castle |
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We drove by the town of Cahersiveen which looked quite interesting with some quirky shops and pubs.  I find this scenario particularly intriguing - look at how many people are working on this small house all at the same time - I counted eight! This is quite unusual and likely won't happen in North America, but then, this is Ireland... |
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| Panoramic view of the Kerry Cliffs with the Skellig Islands in the distance |
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Skellig Islands - something else to come back for Waterville beach where we had lunch |
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| Encountered a Eurasian jackdaw on the beach - a lifer for me! It is a member of the crow family but not a crow. |
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| At Coomatloukane - a statue of the Virgin Mary facing the road, guess that's why it's called Lady of the Wayside. On the other side is this lovely view of the Ballingskellig Bay |
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Gorgeous scenery along the Ring of Kerry  |
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The famous Ladies' View did not disappoint - the sun even broke through after a drizzly couple of hours and gave us a partial golden hour shot. |
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| Irish humour...:-) |
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| Just a drive-by shot - but I can't help but be amazed at how green the place is! |
Killarney is a colourful town. We spent one evening whisky tasting before dinner and enjoying some authentic Celtic music with the group Celtic Steps after dinner. There are plenty of live music venues if you have the stamina to stay in town for it. Our group mentioned The Grand Hotel and the Danny Mann Pub.
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| Not a donut fan myself, but can't help but admire this colourful assortment |
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Downtown Killarney |
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| The inevitable whiskey tasting |
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| A wonderful evening of music with Celtic Steps |
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| Singer and fiddler Roisin Ryan - love her beautiful voice! |
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Some of these performers are national champions |
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| as if wielding his magic wand would really do it... |
Sunday, 9 July 2023
Ireland - Cork, Cobh & Blarney Castle
Our first stop on the way south is Cork, apparently the second largest city in Ireland, but really nothing like Dublin. Since we only have an afternoon there, I decided to take a trip down to the coastal town of Cobh after having seen the colourful houses there on the web. Feeling particularly adventurous, I hopped on the first bus stopped by the quay that says COBH as its destination. Cash only and I barely have enough to cover the fare. As it turned out, it's a commuter bus and didn't stop anywhere near the town centre. I walked about half an hour to get myself to the waterfront considering it a good opportunity to see how the locals live.
The waterfront at Cobh doesn't disappoint as you can see below.
Other tourists come to the town for the "Titanic Experience", which I skipped as I don't have a lot of interest in canned exhibits. Meanwhile, taking the train back to Cork was a breeze and we hit the golden hour as we head out for dinner.
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| The English Market, where we had lunch earlier in the day |
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| A drive-by shot of the famous Rock of Cashel |
We headed out to Blarney Castle the following morning. The famous Blarney Stone was not much of a sight other than the hype. It's a good thing we didn't have to line up long to see it as it was the first thing we headed to when we arrived at the castle. I ended up taking a shot of yet another of the failed attempts to kiss the stone rather than risking my back to try it myself.
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| Attempt to kiss the Blarney Stone (one attendant stood by with sanitizing wipe in hand to "clean" the stone after every kiss...) |
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| Mysterious rock piles |
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| This is the mysterious stone, the Dolmen, purportedly the remains of what could be a portal tomb. Apparently it moves but has never topped over. |
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| Gawking at the different shades of green and the many flowers in the gardens |
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| Awesome trees throughout the park |
Saturday, 8 July 2023
Ireland - Dublin
I spent a little more than 48 hours in Dublin and it was clear this is a city I need to revisit. There is so much to see and do here I haven't touched a fraction of it in the many steps I took around the city. It is very walkable and given time and energy, could be covered easily on foot. But with time pressures and pre-booked tickets (good thing I booked the Kilmainham Gaol tickets 28 days in advance!), a cab ride or two is inevitable, and these are readily available at a reasonable price and a quick click on an app.
Our hotel was 5 minutes from the river so that was our first stop after getting off the plane and storing our luggage. We walked right into the Famine Memorial with its powerfully expressive sculptures just before we came to the elegant Samuel Beckett Bridge, one of two bridges designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava in Dublin. What you see below are snapshots of things that made an impression on me, not necessarily important landmarks.
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| Samuel Beckett Bridge by Santiago Calatrava with the Convention Centre behind it |
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| Famine Memorial - statues by Rowan Gillespie. A haunting memorial to the potato famine |
From the waterfront, we walked to Grafton Street for lunch at the famous Bewley's Orient Café, seeing some colourful graffiti murals on the way.
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| Gorgeous flower stand on Grafton Street, note the 5 euros sign! |
Bewley's have beautiful stained glass windows inside and interesting art deco motif on the outside. We tried the Full Irish which was a bit much even for lunch.
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| Stained glass inside Bewley's |
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| The "Full Irish" - black and white pudding, sausages, dry cured bacon, roasted tomato and portobello mushroom, brown soda bread - the two white globs are exquisitely done poached eggs. |
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| People watching on Grafton St. |
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| Ice cream shop ceiling |
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| Entrance to St. Stephen's Green, lovely green space in the city. |
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| St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre - one place I wish I had gone inside even though I'm not a shopper. From what I can see on the web, it's quite spectacular. Next time... |
Before our Sunday morning appointment at Trinity College to visit the Book of Kells, our guide took us on a walking tour of the area around O'Connell St.. We learned some bits of Irish history trivia.
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| The O'Connell monument surrounded by the four virtues - one of the four virtues have a bullet hole in its elbow... |
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| James Joyce statue |
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| One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Dublin was to see the Long Room at Trinity College before its's closure for renovations in October, 2023. Definitely worth the trip. Notice some of the shelves are already empty as the books are being moved to storage. |
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| Near the Chester Beatty library and right behind Dublin Castle is the Garda Memorial Garden, with its stunning sculpture, an oasis of quiet remembrance in the bustle of the touristy city |
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| A walk through the colourful Temple Bar district - quiet on a Sunday morning, no doubt much more interesting at nightfall |
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One of the most impactful activity in Dublin for me was the visit to the Kilmainham Gaol. Led by a passionate young Irish woman, the tour of the gaol was a moving lesson in the tragic history of Ireland. Many of the prisoners were in there for stealing food. We also got a glimpse of some specially marked cells of important political prisoners. The most touching moment was in the Stonebreakers' Yard where a cross was all that was left to commemorate the many lives that were executed there. 
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| Entertaining Storyteller at dinner |
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| The last afternoon in Dublin, I made a pilgrimage to see the James Joyce bridge, another Calatrava creation, easily recognizable in its design. The Calatrava bridge in Toronto is like one half of this one, which is like an open book. James Joyce House is at the southern end of the bridge. I also bumped into the Dublin Pride celebration. |
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| The Ha'penny Bridge |
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| Sunset from O'Connell bridge |
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| Night shot of the Samuel Beckett Bridge and the Convention Centre |
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