Day 5 - A Day Of Good Fortunes

Today was a busy and very satisfying day!!  We started off with our first Irish breakfast of the trip.  Tom, our B and B host, whipped it up for us and it was delicious!!  Blood pudding (not too much), two types of sausage, one piece of bacon (more like back bacon for us Canadians), beans, an egg, and two pieces of toast (with marmalade on the side).  I can’t think of a better way to start our day.  Yum!!!

Next order of business was to figure out how to wash some clothes.  Tom advised us of a cleaners in town - there’s only so many times you can turn your underwear inside out he said!!! 🤣 We dropped off a load of clothes on our way out to the hike we had planned today.

Our trail today was the Dingle Coast Walk that would take us from Dingle, past Hussey’s Folley, to the lighthouse at the entrance of Dingle Harbour, around Beenbawn Beach, and finally up to the cairn at the top of the southern point.  The path was easy to follow, the scenery was spectacular, and the weather could not have been better (Thank you, Tom.  You really came through for us today!! 😁)

Hussey’s Folly - A Little Dot On The Far Point

Approaching Hussey’s Folley

Hussey’s Folly is a freestanding, square-plan tower, built during the Great Famine (1845-1849) as a means of providing work for the poor.  There are a number of follies in Ireland - buildings with no real purpose but that have striking or unusual designs.  After talking with Tom I think they are remnants of British rule that the locals like to roll their eyes at, but I’m not 100% sure…

Jojo And Hussey’s Folly

Next stop was the lighthouse.  There is a cottage  beside the lighthouse but it has been unoccupied for over 10 years.  The lighthouse has a red light that is operated automatically, to aide shipping vessels that go by.

The Lighthouse And Cottage

Hidden Rest Spot Below The Lighthouse

After the lighthouse we passed Beenbaw Beach.  It looked beautiful from above and when the sun was shining the water had a gorgeous blue colour to it.  We did not stop on the way, but made a quick detour down on the way back.

Finally we made it to the cairn on top of the south point.  The views in every direction were stunning.  We stopped for some water and a few pieces of chocolate.  There was a group of French people who were clearly enjoying all of the seabirds.  We struck up a conversation and found out they were particularly excited about the “Fou de Bassan”, which we would later find out was a Northern Gannet.  If you watched them they would circle and then dive towards the water like a spear, completely submersing themselves in the ocean below.  It was amazing to see and we were fortunate enough to watch 6 or 7 of them do it.

Chocolate And Water Break

Summit Shot - Merci, nos amis Français!

Jojo And The Summit Cairn

Old Men Comparing Knee Braces 🤣

Beenbaw Beach From Above

We made our way back to town after what was a truly relaxing and scenic hike, feeling peaceful and happy.  A quick detour brought us to “Bean In Dingle” for a flat white (Jojo), a tea (JM), and a shared piece of maple walnut cake.  Once back at the B and B we showered, cleaned up, and had a little rest.

Yummy!!

Tonight our good fortunes continued as we had an amazing experience that we will likely never forget.  After collecting our clean laundry we decided to have a pre-dinner drink.  We ended up at a place we had seen yesterday, Dick Mack’s Pub.  It was a multi-room pub.  I peaked around one corner to a back room where there was a big table, and a guy on his phone waved us in.  We took a spot at the opposite end and started our drinks.  When he got off the phone he struck up a conversation with us.  His name was Damien and he is a recent transplant to Dingle from Dublin.  He told us he was a musician (mainly accordion but also piano and harmonica), and plays with bands at a number of places in the area.  He was very kind and personable, and was struck by the fact we were father and son travelling together.  Before we knew what was happening he told us he wanted to play us a tune so he pulled out his harmonica and played a beautiful ballad for us in front of the rest of the pub.  We were both very touched.  After a little more chit-chat he left us to our drinks and moved over to the piano where he met some friends.  They started jamming and playing a mix of songs, some familiar covers, and some traditional songs.  They were all very good, and we really enjoyed the impromptu performance, as did the rest of the pub.  We were enjoying it so much we ordered a second drink and settled in for a while.  When it came time to leave, Damien refused to shake our hands, and insisted on hugging it out with both of us.  We must have connected with him the same way he connected with us, because as we left he pulled out his harmonica and insisted Jojo take it.  I don’t know how to describe it, but it was such a special experience that neither of us will ever forget…

Dick Mack’s Pub Selfie

Damien Killing It On The Piano

It has been an amazing day on all fronts, and we will be going to sleep soon, thinking about the great memories we made today!!

Day 4 - Travel To Dingle

Today we had to get up early to catch a train at 7:00 am towards Dingle where we are spending the second leg of our trip.  The alarm went off at 5:40, and we were checked out and up the road waiting for a bus by 6:05.  Being a bit over-cautious again we were at the station by 6:30 for our 7:00 train.  With no hitches, we were sitting in our seats in the quiet carriage - no phones, no devices, and virtually no talking.  It was a very peaceful way to watch the scenery go by.  It is similar to Scotland in many ways, which is no surprise.  Lots of rolling green fields, agricultural in places and mountainous in others.  I am feeling very at home here.  We are both guilty of having dozed off a little bit along the way.  At Mallow we transferred trains, and at Tralee we transferred to a bus.

We’ve had a few odd experiences with Irish busses so far.  While I truly appreciate how accessible and cheap the transit system is here, I think a few of the bus drivers could use an attitude adjustment.  Yesterday a few busses we were trying to catch flew past us like we didn’t exist.  After checking with Google I learned that in order to get an Irish bus to stop you have to flag them down with your arm - simply moving up to the curb is not indication enough. 🤷  Ok, my bad.  Today we saw our bus parked off to the side with its door open.  As I approached to see if we were able to board there I was bellowed at by the driver, “BAY 2!!!!!”.  I guess I didn’t look like enough of a tourist for him to have mercy on me.  When we did get on the bus he was equally rude to other customers, so I didn’t take it too personally.  The moral of the story is if you choose to use bus transportation when in Ireland, be extra kind to the driver...🤣

We made it to Dingle at 12:30, just as it started to rain.

Welcome To Dingle!!🌧

First stop was the B and B to see if we could drop off our bags before check-in time.  Our host Tom gave us a very warm welcome and showed us our room to drop the bags.  He gave us our key and sent us on our way with a map of the town and its attractions.  We decided to do a quick loop around before choosing a spot for lunch.  We ate at a very nice place with friendly servers called The Diner.  The rain died off as we ate, so we decided to do a little more exploring.  First we went down to the harbour and walked around the breakwater.  From there we could see Hussy’s Folly (more on this tomorrow) and the lighthouse we plan on hiking out to in the morning.  

Looking Back To Dingle’s Harbour-Front Street From The Breakwater

Next we went back to the main square in town and found a place to sit and relax for a bit.  As the sky brightened up we decided to go for another walk towards the trail we will be on tomorrow.  We made a short loop, passing a very docile group of cows, and confirming that the trail is defined and accessible.

Jojo On A Stone Stairwell

Our New Dingle Friends

Looking Towards Hussy’s Folly And The Lighthouse Point

After the walk we headed back to the B&B for a little rest before dinner.  We both managed to doze a little which was very nice!  Around 5:30 we went out to explore a bit more before dinner.  There were three churches on the map, and we decided to try and go by each of them.  The first one, St. Mary’s was a neo-Githic church built in 1862.  There were people praying inside and  we did not want to disturb them, so we grabbed a quick picture and headed to the next one.

St. Mary’s Church

The next one on the map does not exist in reality so we moved on.  The third one, St. James’ Church, had a very interesting cemetery in the back.  It is in a state of disrepair with some headstones so old the inscription is impossible to read.  The oldest one we were able to make out was from 1832.  We also passed a very strange tree stump that seemed to have devoured an old gate or fence.

Fence-Eating Tree Stump

St. James’ Church And Its Decrepit Cemetery

It is easy to see this country’s connection with religion.  There are many religious displays, symbols, and locations wherever you go or look.  It seems much more prominent than back home in Canada.

Next we hunted for a place to have dinner.  There are numerous pubs and restaurants so it was less hunting, and more deciding which one.  We ended up at Paudie’s Bar and both chose Guinness Steak Caserole and a pint - I had a local golden ale, Jojo had a local IPA.  Dinner was delicious and it was nice to have some veggies as our side 😁.  After we paid we both agreed it would be nice to find a different place for dessert.  O’Flaherty’s did not disappoint:

Dessert!! 🤣

O’Flaherty’s Bar

We are back in the room now catching up on the outside world.  Tomorrow morning looks good for our hike weather-wise.  Our plan is to pick up some sandwich supplies and have a little lunch out by the lighthouse.  We are both looking forward to it!

That’s it for today.  Goodnight, and thanks again for following along!!

Day 3 - The Day Of Free!

Last night Jojo didn’t cough so much but unfortunately he was up restless for most of the night.  I on the other hand slept soundly from midnight until 8:00.  Either way, today was our last day in Dublin and we wanted to make the most of it.

After showers and shaves we stopped in at the same cafe as yesterday for a latte/tea and a fresh croissant.  This is always a good way to start the day!! 😁

First item on the agenda was to head to Heuston Station to collect our train tickets for tomorrow’s trip to Dingle.  This was probably a little over-cautious, but I have burned myself once before in Scotland and didn’t want to get caught again early in the morning with tickets for the wrong day!!🤪 Our passes for the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour yesterday were valid for 24 hours so we hopped on for about five or six stops and hopped off at the train station - Free!!!  No problems collecting the tickets, so we are good to go tomorrow morning at 7:00 am.

Next stop for today was Glasnevin Cemetery.  We had to take the DART and then transferred over to a city bus.  When we got on the city bus we didn’t have enough change and we found out bills are not accepted. 😡 A very kind local must have seen our disappointment and kindly offered to pay our fares for us.  Wow!!! He wouldn’t even accept our cash in return.  It was very kind of him, and I hope he is blessed with good fortune in return!!  Glasnevin Cemetery is a large cemetery (124 acres, 1.5 million interments) in the Glasnevin neighbourhood of Dublin, with several notable people resting there.  The most notable was probably Michael Collins.  Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, and politician, who was a leading figure in the early 20th century struggle for Irish independence.  During the War Of Independence he was the director of intelligence for the Irish Republican Army.  He was the commander-in-chief of the National Army in 1922 when he died in an ambush during the civil war.

Glasnevin Cemetery

Michael Collins’ Grave Site

Tower Over Daniel O’Connell’s Grave - Founder Of Glasnevin Cemtery

After Michael Collins’ tomb we went to find Michael Carey’s grave site.  He was the first person buried at the cemetery - an 11-year old boy who died of TB or Consumption as it was known back in 1832.  We followed signs after his grave site that took us in to the National Botanical Gardens.  We learned yesterday that anything that starts with ‘National’ in Dublin is free, and we like free!!!  The grounds of the gardens were gorgeous!  We spent a couple of hours walking around looking at the trees, and flowers, and plants.  The grounds are beautifully kept, and we found it very relaxing.  It was a good stroke of luck to have stumbled on the gardens and we were happy for it.

Dr. Seuss Tree??

Jojo Under A Tree

Tulip Garden

We bussed back to Temple Bar and agreed that lunch was in order.  Having been to quite a few pubs already we decided to go to something a little more fast food.  We found a place close to the hotel.  I can’t remember the name but it is best described as homemade fast food.  Jojo and I both decided on a chicken shawarma and a pop.  It was cheap (next best thing to free) and we got a lot of food for the money.  We are back at the hotel and had a mini-break.

Next stop was the ‘National’ Gallery - you guessed it: free!!!  It was rather hot in there but we managed long enough to see some impressive artists’ work including Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, Degas to name a few.  We enjoyed a section on Irish stained glass, and finished off with Caravaggio’s “The Taking Of Christ”.

Irish Stained Glass

Caravaggio - The Taking Of Christ

After leaving the gallery we weren’t quite ready to head back to the hotel so we grabbed a cold drink and went back to the Trinity College athletic field where we had a break on Day One.  Lucky for us there was a (free!) cricket match going on.  We found a bench and spent an hour enjoying the game and speculating on what some of the rules might be.🤣

Trinity College -  Cricket Match

We are now back at the hotel with no plans for dinner.  I’m not sure what we’ll do.  Tomorrow we will be up early to catch our 7:00 train to Dingle where we will be for three nights.  We have really enjoyed the big city but are also very much looking forward to getting out to the country!!

Best part of Dublin:
Jojo - Trinity College campus
JM - Hop-On-Hop-Off tour in the good weather

Worst Part of Dublin:
Jojo - The bus driver who thought he was in a rally car race 🤢
JM - Smokers and vapers!! 🤮

UPDATE - We ended up having a Subway salad and a pack of Walkers cheese and onion crisps for dinner. 🤣

UPDATE 2 - Forgot to mention we went in a souvenir shop today.  Jojo was very happy he found a paddy cap to fit him!!

Jojo Looking Irish!!

Day 2 - Two Times Around Dublin

Last night was a tough one for Jojo.  He is recovering from a cold and unfortunately was up coughing for most of the night.  We both woke up around 6:15 and spent a half hour checking our phones.  Jojo decided to roll over for a bit, and next thing I knew we had both fallen asleep for another four hours!!  I guess we needed some extra sleep.  Feeling quite a bit more rested we got up and started getting ready for the day.  Today we had a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tour booked, as well as a tour of the Guinness Storehouse.  The weather was shaping up to be another beautiful day with mild temperatures and partly sunny skies.

I am a big fan of Hop-On-Hop-Off tours.  I think they are great way to get a feel for a city, and they offer many options for things to do and experience.  Today’s tour was no exception.  Dublin is an amazing city full of history and interesting attractions.  We saw many historical monuments, buildings, churches, cathedrals, pubs, and a few famous breweries and distilleries (Jameson, Teeling, and of course Guinness).  There are a lot of beautiful green spaces and parks in the city - most notable is Phoenix Park which is twice as big as Central Park in New York, and five times as big as Hyde Park in London.

Crossing The River Liffey On The Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour

By the time we went around the loop once we were getting close to our booked time at the Guinness Storehouse so we decided to stay on for another half loop where the bus would drop us off right at the front door.  It wasn’t entirely clear how the Storehouse experience worked but we eventually found our way to the fourth floor where we would attend Guinness Academy - Jojo and I both passed our pint-pouring final exam, and have the certificate to prove it!

Jojo Hard At Work

We Passed!!😁

After that we headed to the rooftop bar with 360-degree views of the city.  It was very packed and we only lasted long enough to quickly take in the views.  We then went back down to floor 1 and walked through 5 floors of interpretive displays detailing the history and process of the Guinness brewery.  It is a truly awe-inspiring facility taking up 65 acres of space, and producing three million pints per day!!🤯

Guinness Factory

At “The Most Famous Gate In The World”

After the tour and a quick trip to the gift shop we hopped back into the bus. A few stops shy of home we decided to get off the bus again and make a quick side trip to the Oscar Wilde memorial which is located in Merrion Square Park.  We had seen the house where he was born, and the house where he was raised, earlier in the day on our first trip around Dublin.  We also have both read his most famous novel, A Picture Of Dorian Gray.

Oscar Wilde Memorial

We walked back to the hotel to freshen up before heading to dinner at The Boxty House.  Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake, and they did not disappoint!!  Jojo and I both had chicken boxty and a pint of red ale.  The Boxty came in a creamy leak sauce with two crispy leak bits on top.  Sooooo yummy!!  Jojo had a seat facing the sidewalk and commented on how interesting and different all the people are from young to old, rich to poor, plain to wild.  We have also both noticed how many people still smoke - it’s impossible to walk down the street without passing or following behind at least a dozen smokers. 🤢

Yummy Boxty!!

After being so well fed we found sone energy and decided to go for another walk.  We headed east up the River Liffey towards a beautiful building which we would find out was the Four Courts - location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court.  The fourth court, the Central Criminal Court, was housed there until 2010.

We hit a stroke of good luck as we turned to head back when we saw the Brazen Inn Pub - Ireland’s oldest pub.  We had discussed going there at some point, and our good fortune led us there tonight!  It was very busy inside - we were lucky to find a barrel and two stools in the partially covered inner courtyard, which is surrounded by three or four indoor bars and seating areas.  Jojo bought us dessert - another delicious pint of amber ale, Smithwicks this time.

Cheers!!

The Brazen Inn Pub

After we were done dessert 🤣 we strolled back to the hotel to relax and get ready for bed.  We had a nice chat with Mandy and Julie who are in Valencia tonight, and are now heading to bed to rest up for our final full day in Dublin tomorrow.  Thanks to everybody who is reading along, and talk to you tomorrow!!

Day 1 - Smooth Sailing

Well, day one is in the books and everything went as smoothly as we could have hoped for. All flights were on time, all luggage arrived, and our rendezvous point at the Dublin airport worked out perfectly.

Shot Of Moon Off Our Wing Somewhere Over Greenland

We hopped on the express bus and made our way down to the Temple Bar area where we will be staying for the next few days. First order was to locate the mobile store I had scoped out before arriving, to buy a European SIM card for the trip. I had a printed map to the store and we found it without going in any circles. Next order of business was to see if we could check in to our hotel early, or at least drop our bags off. The area we are in is divided by the River Liffey. There are quite a number of bridges across it, both pedestrian and vehicle. It is very picturesque. We crossed back over the river and were at the hotel by 13:45. Unfortunately they could not check us in yet, but they did offer to put our bags in safe storage, which was a bit of a relief.

We spent the next couple of hours exploring the area. Jojo quickly made some new friends...

Jojo And His New Friends

A Sample Of The Colourful Pubs In The Area

After a coffee stop we went in search of the Molly Malone statue. Molly Malone is a song set in Dublin which has become its unofficial anthem.  She worked as a fishmonger but also as a working girl and died in one of the outbreaks of Cholera that regularly used to sweep the city of Dublin. The statue of Molly and her cart is affectionately nicknamed 'The Tart with the Cart' by Dubliners.  Once we found the statue we noticed that it seemed to be a tradition to touch her prominent bosoms, presumably for good luck.  Jojo commented that everybody must do it because the bronze of her bosoms was much more polished than the rest of the statue. 🤣  Oh well, when in Dublin....

Molly And Her Beautiful Bronze Bosoms - I Apologize If This Is Offensive...

Our next stop was a few blocks away at Trinity College.  To say the campus was beautiful would be an understatement.  We walked around and found a bench beside a sports pitch and enjoyed the view and the warm sun - yes, we got some sun today!! 🎉 We are hopeful that it is not our last bit of it, also!

Jojo At The Trinity College Gate

Campus Art

Next it was back to the hotel for check-in, showers, and a little rest.  We watched some trivia on TV, before heading back out.  First stop was Bowes Whisky Bar for our first pint of Guinness.  This bar was recommend on a Top 10 Pubs In Dublin article I read before the trip.  The Guinness was yummy, and the atmosphere was very good - friendly, noisy, and dimly lit.

Cheers!!

After our pint we decided to look for somewhere to eat.  We ended up at a place called Oliver St. George Gogarty’s (Irish poet and author).  Jojo had the fish and chips, and I went with the Classic Irish Stew (lamb and root vegetables).  We were both happy with our choices.  After enjoying the meal and some live music we decided to walk around Temple bar for a bit.  We ended up at the oldest cathedral in Dublin - the Christ Church Cathedral, which was built almost 1,000 years ago.  Our timing was pretty good as the church bells were being rung as we approached.

Dublin Christ Church Carhedral

We decided to head back after walking around the cathedral.  Temple Bar definitely seems like a popular destination on a Friday night.  Lots of people, lots of bars, and lots of live music.  As I sit here typing this I can hear lots of hustle and bustle, and music down on the streets,  The bars are all brightly painted on the outside and dimly lit on the inside.  It is very cool, and likely a photographers dream come true.

We are probably going to hit the hay at a reasonable time tonight as the 3 hours from last night on the plane is quickly catching up.  Tomorrow’s plan is the Hop-On-Hop-Off tour, as well as the Guinness Storehouse tour where we will learn to pour our own pint of Guinness.  I would say Day One was a success.  We are both excited to be here and looking forward to the experiences that will be coming our way in the next couple of weeks!!

Republic Of Ireland/Northern Ireland - History 101

This post is more for me than anybody else.  I know there is a lot of complicated history when it comes to Ireland/Northern Ireland and I thought it would be a good idea to try and get the basics straight before we head over there - I definitely don't want to offend anybody by asking the wrong questions in the wrong places.  So here is what Wikipedia was able to learn me 😆:

Ireland (The Island):

• Separated from Great Britain to its east by the Northern Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel
• The second-largest of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world
• The Republic of Ireland covers 5/6 of the entire Ireland and is part of the European Union
• Northern Ireland takes up the remaining 1/6 and is part of the United Kingdom
• The population of the island is just over 7 million, with 5.1 million living in the Republic of Ireland and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland
• The geography of Ireland is made up of relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers
• Woodland makes up about 10% of the island, compared with a European average of over 33%, with most of it being non-native conifer plantations
• The climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and therefore very moderate
• Winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe
• Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant

We Arrive On Friday... 😂

Republic Of Ireland:

• Consists of 26/32 of the counties on the island of Ireland
• Around 2.1 million of the country's population of 5.13 million people reside in the Greater Dublin Area, which is the capital city
• The Irish Free State was created in 1922, following the Anglo Irish Treaty
• A new constitution was created in 1937, in which the state was named "Ireland", and essentially became a republic
• It was officially declared a republic in 1949
• It became part of the UN in 1955
• It joined the EC, predecessor f the EU, in 1973
• Ranks in the top 10 countries in the world for GDP and GNI per capita
• Consistently ranks high for quality of life
• Performs well in national performance metrics including health care, economic freedom and freedom of the press

Republic Of Ireland Flag

Northern Ireland:

• Approximately 27% of the Ireland island or ~1.9 million people live in Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom
• It was created in 1921 when Ireland was partitioned as part of the Government Of Ireland Act
• Northern Ireland had a Unionist majority (wanted to remain in the UK)
• These were generally Protestant descendants of British colonists
• The majority in Southern Ireland and a significant minority in Northern Ireland were nationalists (generally Catholic), who wanted a united independent Ireland

Ulster Banner - Used By Loyalists And Unionists

The Troubles:

• The creation of Northern Ireland in 1921 was accompanied by violence both in defence of, and against partition
• During the conflict of 1920-1922, the capital Belfast saw major violence, mainly between Protestant unionist and Catholic nationalist civilians
• More than 500 were killed and more than 10,000 became refugees, mostly Catholics
• For the next fifty years, Northern Ireland had an unbroken series of Unionist party governments
• There was informal mutual segregation by both communities, and the Unionist governments were accused of discrimination against the Irish nationalist and Catholic minority
• In the late 1960s, a camapaign to end discrimination against Catholics and nationalists was opposed by loyalists, who saw it as a republican front
• This unrest sparked The Troubles, a thirty-year conflict involving republican and loyalist paramilitaries and state forces, which claimed over 3,500 lives and injured 50,000 others
• The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was a major step in the peace process, including paramilitary disarmament and security normalisation, although sectarianism and segregation remain major social problems, and sporadic violence has continued

This information is obviously only scratching the surface, but it may be enough to get started.

We are two days away from departure and the excitement is definitely building.  Fingers crossed that the travel over goes well, and in four nights Jojo and I will be toasting each other with a pint of Guinness each!! 🤞