This beautiful travel itinerary is by BHS 1952 alum - Georgia Webb. Her late brother, Dave, graduated with me in 1951. Georgia now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, another lovely area. At this time of our lives many are planning trips abroad and this is a wonderful description of her experiences in the Emerald Isle. Enjoy/s/Jack.
Well, I've fallen in love with Ireland. We arrived there at 7:00 A.M. on Tuesday morning, March 11th, and were met by our guide Arlene who came in with a group from Chicago, and Philip Duffy, our bus driver, who was without a doubt the most charming, delightful, funny, informative person I've ever met. Before going to the hotel, he took us for a two-hour + tour of Dublin, past Trinity College, Christ Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Did you know that St. Patrick's was built 1600 years ago? Also did you know that both Christ Church and St. Patrick's are protestant churches? After Ireland gained its independence from England and the people were no longer forced to belong to the Church of England, they tried to give St. Patrick's back to the Catholic Church, who refused their offer because they said the upkeep would be too costly. However, Catholic services are held there. St. Patrick's is now undergoing some restoration.
The weather was windy and rainy. We checked into the Trinity Capital Hotel, which was great. That evening we went to O'Neil's Pub for dinner and had corned beef and cabbage (which I found out they don't eat very much. It's considered a poor man's meal, and they have it on the menu because Americans request it.) The walk back to the hotel was rough for me as we were having gale winds (40mph).
Wednesday the weather was worse. I stayed in the hotel, but my roommate ventured out and walked through rain, sleet, hail, wind, etc. (Glad I stayed in.) That night we were treated to a welcome dinner at the Merry Ploughboys Pub which is about 45 minutes from Dublin near the mountains. The food was great. And the entertainment was fantastic. They had a traditional Celtic band and Celtic dancers. And a special treat of some Irish Coffee after dessert.
Of course there are some wonderful historical things in Dublin but in general I thought it was an overcrowded concrete jungle. They actually have more taxicabs in Dublin than in New York City. And the way the city is laid out is very confusing. The architecture is a mixture of medieval and modern -- the modern using lots and lots of glass.
Early Thursday morning we headed to Waterford and toured the Waterford Crystal factory. Fascinating place. Each piece of Crystal is individually handmade. There's no such thing as a "second." If a piece is not perfect it is destroyed. Had lunch there then headed to the most charming little fishing town called Kinsale, located in County Cork. Now it's beginning to look like the Ireland I had imagined! Kinsale is a small village, the houses are all connected (what we would call row houses) and each painted a different color, blues, yellows, purples. And all over Ireland the doors to the houses are painted brilliant colors. Philip said this is because the English commanded everyone to paint their doors black to mourn the death of Queen Victoria, so the Irish, being that they didn't think much of the English, painted their doors every color but black. We stayed at the Trident Hotel which is spectacularly located at the water's edge.
I will note here that all throughout the countryside we saw the remains of old castles and monasteries which were destroyed by Cromwell. He was responsible for the death of over a million Irish (which at that time had a population of about 8 million.) Philip also told us about the potato famine which brought so many Irish to the United States. The population of Ireland now is 3.5 million, but about 1.2 million live in Dublin. So that means there are about 50 people per 130 square miles.
Mid-morning Friday we departed for Charles Fort which dates back to the 17th century, then on to Blarney Castle, which was beautiful (no, I didn't kiss the Blarney stone, but Philip said it's perfectly acceptable to kiss the stone "by proxy"). Lunch and shopping at Blarney Woolen Mills which is probably the best place to shop in Ireland. What beautiful woolen sweaters, blankets, etc.! Then on to Killarney, checked into the Killarney Plaza Hotel.
Saturday we had an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful excursion of the Dingle Peninsula. Around each curve of the road was another spectacular scene of mountains meeting the sea. This is where the movie "Ryan's Daughter" was made. Also a hideaway for many famous people. We saw several "beehive houses" which are small round huts (similar in shape to an igloo) made of stone, that date back to 2000BC. These little huts were used by the shepherds as a shelter from the sea. Of course, everywhere, there are sheep, sheep, and more sheep. After that perfect day we headed back to the hotel for dinner.
Sunday morning we drove to Adare, a picturesque village with its row of thatched-roof cottages, then to Bunratty Castle which was built in 1460 and has been fully restored and furnished with 15th to 17th century furniture and tapestries. Then in the afternoon we drove to the Cliffs of Moher which soar vertically from the sea to a height of 700 feet! Truly awesome!
After lunch we traveled through the Burren, a landscape of rocks and fissures carved out by the glaciers during the last ice age. Then on to the Park House Hotel in Galway.
Monday, we took an all-day tour to the Connemara Peninsula with its rolling hills, flowing rivers and coastal landscapes, through the Roundstone Bog to the rugged Twelve Bens mountain range. The peat from the bog was (and in some places still is) used for heat. The peat is cut four to five feet deep, cut in blocks, and laid out in the sun to dry and is then used for fuel. The highway through the bog is bumpy because there is so much moisture that the road sinks in spots. We then went to the Kylemore Abbey, the home of the Benedictine nuns in Ireland. Since this was St. Patrick's Day and the last day of our trip we were treated to a special farewell dinner at a pub near our hotel. More Irish coffee!
We left Galway at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, drove to Shannon Airport for our trip home. We had to go through Boston's Logan Airport, then to Dulles and arrived home around midnight.
I know that some people on the tour were expecting to see a lot of little horse-drawn carts and thatched-roof cottages, but they rarely exist. In the past 10 years the unemployment rate has gone from 14% to zero, which has a lot to do with the fact that they attracted many U.S. businesses by offering a low tax rate, and their participation in the European Union. The cost of living is extremely high. A typical lunch in a pub would cost 17-20 euros ($27-$32 at today's exchange rate). (Oh, how I dread getting my credit card bill!) Their income tax is about 40 percent. I didn't see any cars older than 2000. The food was fabulous, especially the seafood. I had seafood chowder at three different places, all a little different, but all were excellent.
The Irish are wonderful, friendly people who love Americans. They are especially proud of the fact that the son of an Irish immigrant became president of the U.S. We visited a Cathedral in Galway which has one wing especially dedicated to John F. Kennedy. They also have a very high regard for Bill Clinton for sending George Mitchell to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland.
I earlier mentioned Philip Duffy our bus driver. He is obviously very highly respected. He told us that several years ago his boss asked him to do a tour but couldn't give him any information about it, and told him to just go to Shannon Airport and someone would meet him there. Turns out there were 28 U.S. Congressmen who were going to Northern Ireland on a fact-finding mission regarding encouraging some U.S. businesses to locate there. He was extremely proud of having had a small part in that.
Another fact I didn't know: Ireland was THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, to call for a full day of mourning for the victims of 9/11. They closed every shop and business in the country. We didn't even do that. In 2005 Ireland decided to give all the widows of the NY firefighters and police officers who had died a trip to Ireland. Philip drove them. The head nurse at one of the hospitals in New York, Bridget O'Sullivan, was Irish and after 9/11 had moved back to Kinsale, built a home, and in her garden planted a tree for every one of the policemen and firefighters who had died and put their names on the trees, and in some cases a picture. Philip said when he took the women there it was the most emotional thing he had ever experienced.
Some parts of the trip were a little difficult for me, and there were a couple things I simply could not do, but I'd go back again in a minute. I can't say enough for Mayflower Tours. All the hotels were wonderful and everything went smoothly. Our small group from Charlottesville met up with a group from Washington state and another group from Chicago -- also one couple from Lancaster, PA, so it was nice to meet all these different people - 42 in all.
That's all that I can think of right now, so all I can say is Erin Go Bragh!
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