Donegal to Westport and back to Dublin

May 25, 2014

Leaving Donegal, we drove a beautiful shoreline and stopped for photos across from a lovely gift shop and tea room in the middle of nowhere. Gaele, Glenda and Kathy – the three sisters- had announced early that they wanted to shop today and to arrive back in Westport, where we stay for a second night, in time to do that.  We spent time at the gift shop and every other one we spotted all day.  Lovely woolens including a hoodie zip up Aran sweater for Emma and a little black faced sheep. I’m tempted to buy Aran sweaters for the boys too, but they are too expensive if they won’t wear them.

We stopped at Kylemore Abbey, a castle like structure built by a rich man for his wife complete with Victorian gardens. A friendly calico cat inhabited is now an Abbey, purchased by Benedictine nuns in the early 1920’s after their convent was destroyed in WWW I in France.  They ran a prestigious girls school until 2010.

Furnishings inside were opulent.  I was especially impressed with the fireplaces, hand carved stone with inlaid painted tiles on the hearths. Lace making in the parlour with musical instruments and lots of windows overlooking the pond. Stop for lunch was Clifden, near the original Marconi site for the first transatlantic transmissions of Morse code.  The Wright brothers landed there on the first transatlantic flight, in the bog.  Lots of conflict in Clifden in the past century. 

We’ve had two nights in Westport at a lovely B&B Brook Lodge.  Hosts are friendly and helpful. Michael has driven us downtown for supper both nights.  

On the road again to Cong where The Quiet Man was filmed, very picturesque.  On to Galway and lunch in an old stone pub.  Didn’t see much of the city.  We said goodbye to most of our fellow travellers, Justin and Kaylee to rent a car and tour on their own, the three sisters, Michael and Jody and Steven and Pam are continuing the tour for another six days.  We’re ready for a break. Overcast intermittent rain.  I think the four of us left, Margaret and Marita along with John our lovely driver, are anxious for Dublin.  

We stopped at Distillery Kilbeggan on the road to Dublin and a fun self-tour tromping up and down and through the old distillery fixings. Tony’s got a cold so he bought some samples for ‘medicinal purposes’!  Irish whiskey is more palatable than scotch.  They distill it three times instead of two for Scotch and it tastes smoother.  According to the Irish, they taught the Scots to make whiskey but they never got it right!

Dublin at last and goodbye to the last of our new friends. We’ll be in touch again when the photo book on Ireland is ready.  

We’re at the Staycity apartments on Augustine Street, in the heart of the city and a block from the Brazen Head.  We met our friends Rossann and Chris from the Dingle painting crew, for a beer and light supper at the Brazen Head. It was great fun to see them again and compare adventures.  They were driving and found it a bit stressful I think, but there was lots to tell. 

We’re taking a day off in Dublin, so Tony can recover from his cold a bit. We can catch up on laundry and get ready for our next adventure in Scotland, starting with a short flight to Edinburgh tomorrow morning, Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Dublin and the Antrim Coast

May 22, 2014.

I liked Dublin more than I expected, from its great stone hewn cathedrals to the oldest pub in Ireland, the Brazen Head - excellent   We’ve discovered Staycity – a marvelous concept.  An apartment with full kitchen a washer dryer, separate bedroom room dining living room for $130 cdn and Tony could use TD points too. We’ve booked for the return from the tour of the north and when we get back from Scotland too.  

Bus for Belfast left amidst sun and cloudless sky, and rush hour in Dublin.  Passed the Jenny Johnson tall ship one of the coffin ships which took emigres, better described as refugees, to north America and the southern hemisphere.  It was one of the very few that never lost a passenger. There are statues of starved people walking down to the quay as there would have been throngs of them, in the 1845-50 period of the potato famine.

One of the things we’ve learned is that the British behaved criminally and brutally during that period of history in their treatment of the Irish and possibly other colonials too. It was the era of laissez-faire economics and the survival of the fittest. They took away the livelihoods of the Irish, left them to cultivate and survive on rotting potatoes and confiscating any other crops, animals, fish, claiming ownership and exclusive rights for the British or the Irish land owners who sold to the British.  The Irish will never forgive the English for the deaths and forced emigration of millions.  The Irish population went from 10 million in 1844 to 2.5 million in 1860.  Over 6 million left Ireland over a century and many more died in the famine.  

In Belfast, murals abound commemorating the violence and “troubles”, the euphemism for decades of violence, murder and mayhem on all sides. 

The Titanic visitor centre was a revelation. Beautiful building shaped like an iceberg with reflecting pools all around. Fabulous design inside and out. A stunning presentation of building the Titanic is done on four floors.  There is a ride through the four floors, which we took, showing the shipbuilding process in video and props, including girders several stories high. It felt like we were in the bowels of the great vessel. It took 4 years to build, about 10,000 people and another year and a half to outfit and test it.  Only one voyage to sink it. A moving experience. 

Ballycastle on the River Marguey was a centre of smuggling at one point and then an industrial town for glass, hide tanning, glass and salt. Now a pretty tourist spot with beach and harbour. 

Ballinatoil is a small port town and the site of filming of Game of Thrones.  A lot of dredging going on, hope it doesn’t get ruined.  Beautiful rugged coastline, several caves and a beach.  Was a site for lime kilns in the past. 

Giant’s Causeway was inspiring with its tall hexagonal columns, an amazing geological structure and now a World Heritage Site.  Beautiful weather but impossible light for good pictures. Must look up the paintings and engravings of Susana Drury cica 1780 – beautiful pieces which helped popularize the causeway. 

Dunluce Castle a coastal ruin, part of it fell into the sea. Beautiful light as the fog bank rolled in from the sea. 

Saw Bushmills distillery, but didn’t go in. 

Magracross view point gave us pink flower banks, sunspots on the sea, dazzling cliffs. Nesting birds on the cliffs were plentiful and the smell of guano strong.

Overnight in Portrush, a northern coastal town and a favourite Irish vacation spot with its lovely beach.  Nice dinner overlooking the beach at North55, I assume that is the latitude. 

Next day to Londonderry or Derry as it is known in the north.  Beautiful old stone city walls, the only one in Ireland.  Continued onto Glenveigh National Park, a rainy day and those who were ambitious walked through the woods. On to Donegal for the night and supper at the Olde Castle Bar with John our driver, a lovely guy and single father who hails from Tralee. 

Week 2 in Ireland

May 20 2014

Susan McCrae

We left Dingle yesterday, for the trek by mini-bus to Killarney, through several villages – MaCroom, Castlemaine and others.  After a charming lunch at an old mill we proceeded to Cork and an overnight stay at Killarney Guesthouse – Spartan but comfortable student apartments vacated for the season. Every imaginable shade of green accompanied us through the lush well watered landscape.  If it were further south, it would surely be rainforest. Sheep and dairy cattle in abundance and the occasional herd of steers and pasture with horses.

Cork is a beautiful modern city with a famous harbour which we didn’t have time to see – next time.  The fame is due to Cork’s and Cobh’s importance as the jumping off point for much of Irish emigration in the 1800’s and into the 1950’s.  Six million souls over a century. There are documentation centres in Cobh where you can research the ship manifests to see when ancestors might have travelled.

The group bid Andrew Sookrah farewell, the first of us to return home. It was a successful trip for him, he sold one large and three small paintings.  Two others sold paintings and I sold a photograph! And traded two others for a painting. My sale was of the turquoise door in the old stone stable, already posted. Tony traded a pastel painting for another painting by Rossann.  

Dined last night at La Bodega, a lovely old building full of archways, art and atmosphere in the heart of Cork. Great cannelloni, lamburgers and salads.  My favourite drink has become half Guinness and half cider so had a pint.

Goodbyes to everyone this morning, each going different directions.  Chris and Rossann by car to Galway – good luck with the driving and those roundabouts! Paria, Carole and Charlie to tour galleries in Cork and Dublin. Happy Viewing! We all plan to return to Dingle for two weeks, next year.

Tony and I set off for Northern Ireland tomorrow on a five day coach tour to see if we like that mode of travel, hoping to store a suitcase with art supplies in Dublin until we get back. The other point for Irish emigration was Belfast in the north, from whence the Titanic was launched and departed on its historic voyage.  We’ll see that spot tomorrow. More to share later.

Susan's Photography

Here are a couple of pictures that Susan showed in Dingle. PThe one with the turquoise door was sold. Paid for dinner!

On the Way to Dublin

On the train from Cork to Dublin.  Yesterday we said goodbye to our new friends in Dingle, and with the group, took a bus to Cork. Once. In Cork, Andrew left us to take a train to Dublin and his flight home. That evening, we went into downtown Cork to dine at Bodega.  Good food.  Susan has taken a liking to a mixture of Guiness and sparkling cider, and has graduated from half pints to whole pints. (Yes, Frodo, it comes in pints.)

This morning, we said goodbye to the group and after packing,went to the train station to catch our train to Dublin. Tomorrow we catch our coach tour to the north. So far the weather has been good to us. Fingers and toes crossed 

Down to the Dingle Peninsula

Every incarnation of spring weather has put in an appearance since we arrived in the Dingle Peninsula.  Warm and sunny today but there’ve been days where we’ve worn every piece of clothing we could reasonably put on.  A truly glorious place for painting and photography, we’ve all been busy creating and enjoying.  We’re doing a popup show with our work tomorrow for the locals and any tourists in town. Lots of those as it’s the weekend. 

We’ve toured around and been introduced by Carmel Brennan and other guides to some of the most picturesque scenery on the planet.  Mountain passes with one lane roads and sparkling vistas, rocky coastlines, tumultuous skies, heavy rain, moody graveyards mired in fog, sunshine and cornflower skies, we’ve seen them all. The tidy villages with ancient buildings mixed with new, hopping pubs, tea with hot fruit scones, gourmet meals, even a resident dolphin called Fungi in the harbour, who greets every boat in or out. And a group of wonderful people have made this trip significant and memorable.  

A small art show in the Lantern B & B, our home in Dingle, and a visit to a local print making studio have rounded out the art part of our trip.  Then there’s the music at O’Sullivan’s – amazing musicians on Irish bag-pipes, whistle, guitar, fiddle, tambourine and box. Ancient rhythms and songs ring the soul.  We’re planning to return next year for two weeks.

Tomorrow we tour on our way thorough Killarney and to Cork for the night. May look at ancestry resources in Cork. Then train to Dublin.  

Unafraid of Colour

The citizens of Dingle love to paint their buildings in all colours. There is even one done ip in lime green and pink stripes. 

I love this little nook.  I sat and sketched it until I decided I needed to thaw out. Beautiful sun, but a cold wind