Ireland - Spring In To It!

When I set off to spend the month of March in Ireland, there were a couple of reasons which clinched my decision to travel there in Spring.
 

Dublin Blossom

Firstly, was my allocation of annual leave.  When you only get 4 weeks of annual leave per year & 3 of those weeks have to be taken during a compulsory shut down of the business over the Christmas/New Year period, it does mean having to wait a few years before you have accumulated 6 weeks extra leave to take a decent holiday.  And when your travel destination is 18,000km away on the other side of the world, it is not worth your while to just skip over there for a few days.  Six weeks is pretty much a standard holiday for most Kiwis travelling to Ireland, UK or Europe. 

Secondly, my flights, rental car & a week’s accommodation were being funded by Tourism Ireland NZ, having won the prize of a lifetime.  In May 2010, I won a much dreamed of trip to Ireland!   This trip had to be taken by April 1^st 2011.

And thirdly, I’d always wanted to spend  St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, which meant being there on March 17^th.



The Colourful St Patrick's Day Parade, Dublin 2012

And so March it was.  And on March 17th we were in Dublin for the St Patrick's Festival & Parade, a truly spectacular event.

Our decision to be in Ireland in Spring proved to be as good as a Lotto win!  In the month we were there, & many of you reading this will find this hard to believe....we experienced only 3 full days of rain.  Sure there was the odd day where it was grey & cloudy, even brief moments of drizzle, but miraculously, the sun shone for most of our journey!

Kylemore Lough, Kylemore, Connemara

There are a few benefits of travelling around Ireland in Spring.  The biggest drawcard for us was there were few tourists, no queues, plenty of parking available,  guaranteed accommodation vacancies at low season prices [expect slightly higher prices in Dublin around St Patrick’s Weekend] and daffodils everywhere!

Saturday Market Stall, Galway

 

We stayed mainly in B&B’s except for the weekend of St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin where we had made a booking 6 months previously, for 3 nights at Buswells Hotel on Molesworth Street.  It’s location was perfect, it was a beautiful hotel & because of our early booking, we’d got a great discount. 

If there is a down side to travelling around Ireland in the low season it is that some B&B's you have scoped out to stay in may not actually open until nearer to Summer.  We only found one of our B&B choices closed during March. 

Also closed during the colder months are some of the castles & historic sites but we found very few where this applied & where it did apply, there were still fabulous photo  opportunities to be had of the exterior of these historic places.

As I’ve mentioned before, the weather in Ireland can be a bit of a lottery.  We were extremely lucky.  But I have to say, that some of my best photographs of this lovely country, were taken either in the rain or on grey cloudy days.  The green of the land & the blue of the sea seem to just pop out at you on those cloudy days.

Jaunting around the grounds of Muckross House, Killarney, Co. Kerry

Coastal Co. Clare between Doolin & Ballyvaughan

The Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

 

Coomeenoole [North] Strand, Slea Head, Dingle Peninsula

The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

While I’d love to return to Ireland for St Patrick’s Festival weekend again next time, there are many other Festivals in Ireland I’d love to experience too.  So I’m thinking my next trip might have to be around August for the King Puck Festival in Killorglin & the Music Festival known as Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.  Each year, hundreds of musicians take part.  In 2013 it is being held in the 2013 City of Culture, Derry. 

Whenever it is I choose to return & return I definitely will, it will be to once again experience the richness of the culture & the land, the uber friendliness of the people & pay another visit to my ancestral home of Enniskillen.   

Head of the Bay, Bantry, Co. Cork

 

Ironically, just a week after returning from Ireland, I received an email from a family member here in NZ, she had found out that my great great great grandparents on my mother’s side of the family were from Bantry, Co. Cork!     So it's fair to say, I am most definitely destined to return to Ireland.

Wicklow Mountains, Co. Wicklow

 

Ireland's Past & its Ruins

My quest for learning more about Ireland, its history & it's rich culture, has me scouring the internet on a regular basis for reading material.

Over a year ago now, I stumble across a wonderful blog which I've been following ever  since.  I'd like to promote & share it with you.   The author goes by the name of 'Castlehunter' & his blog is worthy of reading if you are at all interested, as I am, in the history behind the hundreds of abandoned castles lying in ruins around Ireland.
 
Castlehunter's blog  is aptly titled "Ireland in Ruins" & is, in his own words, "A guide to the best and sometimes off the beaten track historical ruins around Ireland".  
 
Like Tarquin Blake, mentioned in my previous blog, who is recording the history of Ireland's 'Abandoned Mansions', here Castlehunter is photographing & documenting the history of Ireland's Ruined & Abandoned Castles. 

Over 100 Castles have so far been explored & photographed for the blog, along with well documented history & stories for each.

If you look closely on the 'Ireland in Ruins' blog site, you'll find a link to another of the author's blogs, 'titled "Ireland in History Day by Day".    This blog he says is "dedicated to establishing an online database of day by day entries of important events in Irish History..." which he is endeavouring to post "...on the historical date they actually happened".   And again, it is a blog chocked full of lessons for those of us, who know little about Ireland's rich & turbulent past.

Now I don't know the author of these blogs at all except, [because he's said so on his blog], that he is from Dublin & has a BA in History & Geography(Hons) and an MA in Modern Irish History(Hons) from the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, Co. Kildare.   It appears to me, he is well qualified to teach us a thing or two about Irish History.

So, head along & follow these blogs if you're as enthralled as I am with Ireland's Past & its Ruins. 



 

Peeking into the Abandoned Mansions of Ireland

It's been a while since my fabulous trip to Ireland came to an end & along with it, my Blog.  I did intend to leave it there, but six months on, I've not been able to get Ireland out of my head.

Recently, I came upon a wonderful website by Tarquin Blake, Abandoned Ireland which I wanted to share.  Tarquin is an "Architectural explorer, photographer & historian" with a passion for unlocking the mysteries of the many abandoned mansions which lie decaying, in fields all over Ireland.

As you take the virtual photographic tours found on his website, of the buildings he has explored over recent years, you get a remarkable glimpse of how the priviledged classes lived & how now, sadly, these once beautiful country mansions have crumbled. 

RTE Nationwide interviewed Tarquin Blake & this clip below of that documentary, gives us some insight into Tarquin's passion & the important task he has undertaken to preserve the history of these decaying structures.

Abandoned Mansions of Ireland

 

 

Many of the mansions Tarquin has photographed for his website are those that we stopped to admire during our road trip around Ireland in March of this year.  All of course, were on private property & too dangerous to enter.  The photos I have of these hauntingly majestic mansions. are of their exteriors, which left me wondering what lay on the inside.  Tarquin's virtual tours, which can be accessed on his website, give us the opportunity to walk through the interiors of these Abandoned Mansions as well.

 

One such mansion we visited, which I mentioned in my blog post "Galloping on to Galway", was the gloriously foreboding Tyrone House. 

 

Tyrone House, Co. Galway

Tarquin Blake's remarkable virtual tour of the interior of this once stately home, now allows me to venture inside & take a look.

Another mansion that had mesmorised me, was Menlo Castle in Galway City, not that far from the small settlement of Tyrone, which I blogged about in my post "The Call of the Claddagh".

 

Menlo Castle

And again, I was lucky to find that Tarquin had given us a look inside this beautiful ruin as well.

 

So a big thank you to Tarquin Blake, for opening our eyes to the grandeur of these once magnificient mansions of Ireland.

 



 



Leaving Up North & Heading Down South

There seems to have been a long line of sad farewells this last week of our Ireland holiday and today was no exception, with us having to bid farewell to Audrey & Ray as they left for work, leaving Donna & I to rearrange the contents of our bags, ready for the big weigh in at Dublin Airport later this evening.

Leaving Belfast in the North & heading South

We left Belfast just before lunch with plenty of time to spare before we had to drop the car back at the Europcar depot at Dublin Airport. 

Belfast is about 167 kms [100 miles] from Dublin on the A1/M1 & takes less than 2 hours.
As you drive via the motorway to Dublin, crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic for most, will go unnoticed.   If you are on the look out, you may see the speed limit signs, depending on which direction you're heading, alert you to the fact that the speed limit has now changed to Kilometres per hour [if you're driving into the Republic] or Miles per hour [if you're driving into the North].

Despite this being our last day in Ireland, there were still a couple of historic sites we wanted to cross off our list before we left the country.  The first of these was Monasterboice.

Now it should have been relatively easy to find Monasterboice from off the M1 but I kid you not, we drove round in circles trying to find the place, coming across this interesting wee village signpost along the way.

 

Termonfeckin.... obviously, Co.Louth

I know, I know... I'm being slightly mischievious adding this photo of a road sign that we happened upon while trying to find Monasterboice, but it made us do a double take & I was intrigued to find out a little more about Termonfeckin & how it got it's name.

The simple answer is that the name of this small village of around 700 residents, means "Fechin's refuge".   Who is Fechin, I hear you ask?   Saint Fechin to be precise, was a 7th century Irish saint, rememberd as the founder of Fore Abbey in Co. Westmeath.   My one & only question is...  "why did they change the 'h' to a 'k' "?   Could it be that I'm not the only one being mischievious.

 

As I was later to find out however, Termonfeckin is not only famous for the Saint which gave the village it's name,  Oh no.

For Harry Potter fans, this is the home town of actress Evanna Lynch who played the character 'Luna Lovegood' in four of the Harry Potter movies.

And for those of us from Downunder in NZ, this was the birthplace of one Molesworth Phillips who sailed with Captain Cook on his last voyage to the Pacific & who was present at the Captain's death in Hawaii.  

I also found out that there's a pretty substantial Turkey farm in the village & have to say, they too have made interesting use of the town's name, branding their home run Turkey business 'Termonfeckin Delicious".      Their promotional video is well worth taking a look at if you're in need of some light entertainment!

Had we not been so intrigued by the name, we would have also known that Termonfeckin has the remains of a 15th century castle & a magnificient High Cross, built around the 9th century which we could have visited.

 

Enough banter about Termonfeckin, let's get back to looking for Monasterboice's High Crosses.   And yes, we did eventually find this historic site after much persistance.  A word of warning... don't rely on your Sat Nav to get you there!

Monasterboice Cemetery, Monasterboice, Co. Louth

Monasterboice is a small, quiet, well kept cemetery & features the largest High Cross in Ireland, along with one of the highest & oldest.

 

Muirdach's Cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth

Monasterboice Monastery is thought to have been founded around the 5th century, and apart from the magnificient High Crosses & Round Tower here, there are also remains of two churches.

 

Monasterboice Cemetery, Co. Louth



Ruins of Church, Monasterboice Cemetery, Co. Louth

Near the entrance of the cemetery is the 8th century Muirdach's Cross.  Amassed with biblical carvings depicting the fall of Adam & Eve, the murder of Abel, David & Goliath, the three Magi bearing gifts to Mary & Jesus, to name a few.

 

Biblical carvings on the Muirdach's Cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth

A taller cross standing at 6.5 metres high, making it the tallest high cross in Ireland is situated near the Round Tower & is also well covered with biblical carvings, including the Crucifixion, the Resurrection & the Kiss of Judas.
 

The West Cross, Monasterboice

Standing behind the West Cross is the Round Tower with it's missing conical top, supposedly blown off by lightening. These Round Towers were the Irish reaction to the Norse raids on Monasteries in the 10th & 11th centuries, built over 100 feet high, they served as watch towers, belfries, storehouses for church valuables & as refuges for the community. Monasterboice's round tower, stands at 110 feet.

 

The Round Tower stands at 110 ft high behind the West Cross, Monasterboice





Monasterboice, Co. Louth

The West Cross, Round Tower & church ruins, Monasterboice



The West Cross, Monasterboice



The site is open all year and can be accessed by a stile at the gate, even when no one is in attendance. 

Stone Stile access into Monasterboice Cemetery, Monasterboice,

We still had an hour & a half before we were due to drop the rental car off at Dublin Airport, so went in search of Malahide Castle, just outside of Dublin.   Again, our trusty Sat Nav let us down & despite having to resort to our map, we still could not find this place.   In defense, there were a lot of road works & detours around Malahide, so this didn't help.  Or it could have been, that my navigational ability was beginning to tire after a month on the road.   That said, we couldn't find it & after taking a few wrong turns, we decided we couldn't waist any more time & headed on to Dublin Airport.

 

Bridge over the River Boyne, north of Dublin

Passing over the River Boyne on the M1, heading toward Dublin, we cross this magnificient cable-stayed bridge, the longest in Ireland.   Interestingly, most of the bridge, including its central pylon and 56 cables are situated in County Meath, although the last few northern most cables partly stretch across the county boundary into County Louth.    It is such a distinctive structure which seems in sharp contrast to the feast of ancient structures we've visited over our month long tour of Ireland.   It now seems incongruous amongst my photos of ancient castles, forts, churches & burial places.  Odd too, that it should be the last photo I take before flying out of Ireland & back home.

And as I wing away from the Northern Hemisphere & back into the Southern Hemisphere, I'm already plotting my return, to a country I've fallen head over heals in love with.

Thank you Tourism Ireland NZ, I've had the time of my life!

Ambling Around Antrim

Driving out of the beautiful seaside town of Portrush, we pass the famous Royal Portrush Golf Club where over 100,000 spectators are expected to turn up to watch the Irish Open Championship in June of this year [2012].  And of course, Ireland has three of their own playing in this years tournament.    Darren Clarke, reigning Open champion, lives in Portrush & Graeme McDowell was born here too.  Then there's my favourite, Rory McIlroy, who grew up  in Holywood, just outside of Belfast.   My claim to fame, if I can claim it at all, is that my cousin who I'm staying with again tonight just outside of Belfast [in fact, not far at all from Rory's place], told me her daughter went to school with Rory & played in the same golf team as him at school!.... I feel like I'm practically related to him already!   

It has been 65 years since Royal Portrush have hosted the Irish Open & I'm sure the weather God's will put on a cracking week for it.  Fingers crossed.

Royal Portrush Golf Course, Portrush, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

If you ever get to the North of Ireland, don't leave without driving along the A2 Coastal Road.  A prayer or two for a sunny day wouldn't go a miss either, as there is some stunning scenery to be had when the skies are clear.  This drive has been compared to Australia's Great Ocean Road and the Big Sur in California & is regarded as one of the most scenic drives in Britain & Ireland.    

   

Along this 86 km scenic coastal route,  from Ballycastle to Larne, we pass through a series of steep coastal valleys & hills, known as the Glens of Antrim.   These Glens comprise of nine wooded river valleys, that spread inwards from the coast.    The principle towns in the Glens are Ballycastle, Cushendun, Cushendall, Waterfoot, Carnlough & Glenarm.

Cushendun, Coastal Antrim, Northern Ireland

Our first stop is Cushendun , an ancient ferry port a stones throw from Scotland with pretty wee whitewashed dwellings sitting alongside others that appear to have been transplanted from another time & place.
 

Cushendun, Co. Antrim

Adjacent to Cushendun Village is the Antrim Glen of Glendun.

'Glen' folk, I've read, are great storytellers. They will tell you that fairies live around these parts & that they will take devastating revenge on anyone rash enough to cut down a fairy thorn tree!

Cushendun, Co. Antrim



Cushendun village, Co. Antrim



Waters Edge Apartments, Cushendun, Co. Antrim

White sandy beach, Cushendun, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

We pass through Cushendall next, known locally as the Capital of the Glens, nestled at the bottom of Glenballyeamon.    The prefix 'Cush...' in Cushendall & Cushendun means 'the foot of the river'.    It lies in the shadow of the table topped Lurigethan Mountain and at the meeting point of three of the Glens of Antrim: Glenaan, Glenballyemon and Glencorp.

Cushendall Village, Co. Antrim

If you keep your eyes open as you drive into Cushendall Village, you'll see the large colourful mural on the gable of one of the buildings commemorating 100 years of Hurling in the region.   We had one of those, "do you want to stop & go back & get a photo" moments but decided to keep going.   While we're on the topic of those "do we stop or not" moments - there have been a few over the last month of our travels in Ireland & one thing I'd change when I revisit Ireland is, when my gut feeling is to stop for that photo... I will.   Don't pass up opportunities to take a great photo just because you're in a car heading west & there's no parking spaces to pull over into!  Photos will forever be the storage for your memories of a wonderful holiday, no matter how big or how small.





Glenarriff, Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland



Coastal route near Glenarriff, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

Lurigethan mountain, Glenarriff, Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland

Horned Sheep, Waterford, Antrim Coast

The most well known of the nine Glens is Glenarriff which sweeps down toward the small village of Waterfoot, lying at the foot of Lurigethan Mountain.     Like all glens in that area, it was shaped during the Ice Age by giant glaciers.    It is sometimes called the 'Queen of the Glens' and is the biggest and most popular of the Glens of Antrim

Garron Point, Northern Ireland

From Waterfoot the road hugs the coastline, all the way to Larne & on a bright sunny day, there is nothing more awe-inspiring.


About 8kms before we reached Carnlough, near Garron Point, we passed the gates of St Killian's college which looked pretty grand from where I was standing at the gateway into the college.     Known locally as Garron Tower, it was built as a summer house by the Marchioness of Londonderry around 1850.     One hundred years later it began life as a boarding school for boys & just 2 years ago, it became a catholic co-ed school which caters for around 830 pupils living in the Larne to Cushendall region.

St Killian's College, Carnlough, Co. Antrim

St Killian's overlooks the southern end of the Irish sea & out across to the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.

We stop next at Carnlough & have a wander around to find somewhere to have lunch.       Carnlough is a picturesque wee harbour village lying at the foot of Glencloy, another of the nine Glens of Antrim

Carnlough Harbour, Co. Antrim



Carnlough Harbour, Co. Antrim



The small harbour of Carnlough, Antrim Coast, Northern Ireland

The Londondery Arms Hotel , situated on the main street of the village, was built in 1848 & was once owned by Sir Winston Churchill.



The Londonderry Arms Hotel, Carnlough, Co. Antrim

Two doors down from the Londonderry Arms, is this curious establishment [below].  The sign says 'Antrim Coast Private Nursing Home'!    I'm thinking, there's got to be another way in or those poor old dears in there haven't been checked up on in a while!

The Antrim Coast Private Nursing Home, Carnlough, Co. Antrim

A limestone bridge & archway over Carnlough's main steet, used to be a railway line which travelled from a limestone quarry in the hills behind the village across the coast road to the harbour where small coastal boats would be loaded with  the crushed lime for export.  

Main Street, Carnlough, Co. Antrim

Just south of Carnlough we come to the peaceful wee seaside village of Glenarm, which takes its name from the glen in which it lies, the southernmost of the nine Glens of Antrim.   At the centre of this village is it's Castle, Glenarm Castle which dates back to 1750.  The village itself is reportedly, one of the oldest towns in Ireland.

The Stone bridge across into Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, Co. Antrim



During the great Irish famine, the Glens of Antrim apparently didn't fare as bad as the rest of Ireland.   The Earl of Antrim and the Marquess of Londonderry, prominent landowners of the time, organised relief schemes of food & money for their tenants and built soup kitchens throughout the Glens.

Glenarm has a small Unionist & Protestant majority & like its republican counterpart in nearby Carnlough, has cleaned up its public image by removing flags & political emblems to boost tourism in the area.   It's hard to imagine after visiting both of these beautiful peaceful places, that sectarian tension apparently still exists between the two villages. 

Barbican Gate into Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, Co. Antrim

For 400 years, Glenarm Castle has been the family home of the Earls of Antrim and the setting of a glorious Walled Garden which is only open to visitors from May to September.  Sadly, today when we drove into Glenarm, the Barbican Gateway into the Castle & gardens was firmly closed.  I've read that it is apparently at its best at this time of the year - spring time - with its show of wild flowers such as primroses & lovely yellow irises.

Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, Co. Antrim

We did however, find a driveway which we boldly drove down to get a glimpse of the castle from behind a large  iron gate.   Glenarm Castle is a family home, however it is open to the general public for guided tours on occassions.     Just this July [2012], the castle will play host to Ronan Keating who will deliver a live evening concert along with his friend & guest Sharon Corr.

We continue on from here down the old Antrim Coast Road towards Larne, then cut across to Antrim to visit one of my new found cousins who lives near the town.  I met her for the first time in Enniskillen when she drove down for the night to join four other members of her family for dinner with me.  It was lovely to see her again & to have a relaxing coffee break & enjoy the gorgeous views of the Antrim countryside from her home, before heading to Helen's Bay to spend our last night of our holiday with my cousin Audrey again. 

Looking out over the Antrim Countryside from my cousin's home in Antrim

But just before we leave County Antrim, I want to tell you about a former prime minister of New Zealand who came from these parts...  I myself didn't know this until researching a little more about Antrim for my blog.

Just south of Antrim [the town], is Glenavy, where in 1839, John Ballance was born in a restored farmhouse which now houses an array of exhibitions, audio-visual displays & a library of information on the man, pioneer life, maori culture & the impact Irish immigrants had on New Zealand.   Ballance held the Prime Minister's office during 1891-1893; he is recognized as the architect of the welfare state in New Zealand, which is still going strong today.    Ironically, I live just 60kms north of a little settlement called Glenavy, in NZ.  Now I know where it got its name!

Arriving at my cousins home on the outskirts of Belfast after 5pm, I  had just enough time to have a quick Skype chat with Audrey's two sisters, both of whom live in Vancouver now, before heading out the door for dinner at the Crawfordsburn Inn, near Helen's Bay.

 

Crawfordsburn, Co. Down

Crawfordsburn is a small picturesque tudor town in County Down & lies between Holywood [for golfing fans, that's Rory McIroy's home village] & Bangor on the outskirts of Belfast.

The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn has been in existence since the 17th century. Records show this building to have been standing in its present form since 1614.   The thatched portion of The Old Inn is the most ancient part of the Inn. 

The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn, Co. Down

My meal at The Old Inn, was superb & was a lovely place to unwind with Audrey & Ray who had been so kind to us & made us feel so welcome.  I hope they're prepared for me coming back again.... and again in the future!?  I've loved this place.