My Dad does not maintain a blog, but he went to Ireland in February and took some photos and drafted a journal of his travels. It would have been perfect for a travel blog. So I have used his journal and some of his photos to highlight his trip to Ireland on my own blog:
When I was at Emory as a college student I majored in English Literature but was equally fascinated by the richness and variety of Irish literature. Difficult as his writing may be, I loved James Joyce. I read almost all of the plays of George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett, the fascinating stories of Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and Bram Stoker (“Dracula”), the poetry of William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney, just to mention a few. They made Ireland come alive, even for a young college student who had only traveled outside of the South once – and that was to Ohio. So my heart took me to Ireland. [insert]
I arrived at Dublin International Airport on Friday, January 31st, at 7:30 A. M. The flight from Philadelphia took only 5 and ½ hours to make the 2000 mile trip. The country that I was flying into is rich in history but comparatively small in size. Even when you include Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, the entire island of Ireland is slightly smaller than the state of Indiana. The entire country only has about 5 and ½ million people (Indiana has 6 million). Before the famine of the mid 1800’s the population of Ireland was 8 million. Half of that number died or emigrated; and, the population has never fully rebounded.
Rain was the order of the day the morning I arrived; and, I learned that it had been raining for the past 10 days (thus “the green, green grass of home” and the “green pastures”). I took a cab into the city and to my hotel by the River Liffey. I was staying at The Morrison Hotel, which was a Doubletree by Hilton that had recently been renovated.
Even in the rain Dublin was as beautiful as the city I remembered from my visit at the same time last year with David. I walked by the River Liffey, over the famous Ha’Penny Bridge, around the Temple Bar area, past Trinity College and onto Grafton Street – famous for shopping, dining and entertainment. Even in the rain there were street entertainers and in the window of the Disney store there was a huge life-size display from “Frozen.” The rain stopped by noon; and, shortly after lunch I was able to check into my hotel room. I had been upgraded to a very large suite with cathedral ceilings, natural wood floors, a huge bathroom with separate shower and bath, and a beautiful view of the river. Two unusual things about the room – when you enter the room you put one of your hotel keys into a slot on the wall and lights come on throughout the suite – lamps, overhead lights, and the air conditioner unit. When you leave you remove the card and everything goes off. Lights could be turned off individually; but, no matter what, when you leave and come back all the lights come on when you insert the card. The other interesting feature was the toilet – it was a size that would have been perfect for….Tommy. Perhaps only leprechauns stay at this hotel.
DAY 1 “IF YOU CAME HERE EXPECING TO HEAR DANNY BOY, YOU ARE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED”
A brief nap and then I walked over to the Temple Bar area. It was like Times Square. One reason so many people were there was because it was the weekend that Dublin and Scotland would be playing a hugely important Rugby playoff game in Dublin on Sunday. Despite the cold weather I must have seen at least 40 or more Scottish gents in kilts. I found a seafood restaurant that had been in existence for over 100 years and had fish and chips. There are over 1000 pubs in Dublin and my plan for the evening was what they called a traditional Irish Music pub crawl. About 25 of us from Scotland, Poland, USA, and a few other places came together in three pubs to hear traditional Irish music. Two musicians played tunes and explained the evolution of Irish music, the instruments traditionally played, and also told us what a real Irish pub was like – “If it doesn’t look like you are in someone’s living room, it’s not a traditional Irish pub.” The first pub that we were in – the Ha’penny Bridge Pub certainly filled that bill. Traditional instruments included the harp, the guitar, violin, and a hand held instrument resembling a small drum made of goat skin. (Ireland is the only country in the world whose symbol is a musical instrument – the harp). Traditional music included the ballad, lament, folk, polka, a fusion of rock and country, and a few other strands. They even performed the Riverdance, but said “if you came here to hear Danny Boy, you are going to be disappointed.” Along with the wonderful music came a few pints of Guinness. All in all, three hours in three pubs and one great night!
[/insert]DAY 2 – “Forty Shades of Green.”
The second day began early with a trip by train beginning at 7:00 A. M. Rainy and cold. The trip was to be to Cork – far to the south of Ireland near the southern coast. The guide named Liam said that the weather reported in Cork was even worse than in Dublin. So, most of the tour group had decided to do something else for the day. So, as the train departed for Cork, there were only 4 of us and a travel guide making the 2 and ½ hour train ride. If you only have a day to go to Cork and the Blarney Castle, the train is the best way to do it. A car ride could take as much as 6 hours. The train was fast, relaxing and served a full Irish breakfast. The time went quickly and when we arrived, the rain had stopped, at least briefly. We transferred from train to a very comfortable coach and made our way to Blarney Village and to the historic Blarney Castle and gardens. The castle was built in 1446; and, it is a very pleasant place to visit and walk around the gardens and the old castle. But the highlight of the visit for most people is to walk to the top of the castle and kiss the Blarney Stone – which is said to bestow the gift of eternal eloquence on those lucky enough to do so. Kissing the stone was not easy, especially as it had begun to rain again; but, there was a man there to hold you as you leaned back and attempted to do it. The rest of the morning and lunch was in the village of Blarney.
In the afternoon we toured the beautiful city of Cork built on the River Lee and then we drove to Cobh, (previously known as Queenstown). On arrival we visited the beautiful St. Colman’s Cathedral, which had taken 47 years to build.
Our final stop was the Museum Center of the city. Cobh was the final port of call for the RMS Titanic; and, 143 Irish citizens would join the ill-fated voyage at this point. The center expounds dramatically on the theme of the Titanic and it also houses much information about the Great Famine and subsequent Irish Emigration – over 3 million Irish people emigrated from Cobh. We also saw many navy ships in Cobh, which is the headquarters of the Irish Navy. We went from Cobh back to Cork by train, switched trains at Cork for Dublin. A train ride, a tour of the Blarney castle, village and gardens, a tour of the city of Cork, a tour of Cohn and a marvelous museum made for a delightful and very full day. 
The train got back to Dublin at 8:00 P. M. One of the most striking sights around Cork had been the beautiful green pastures with all the different colors of green. In 1959 Johnny Cash visited Ireland and upon seeing the green pastures around Cork he was inspired to write and record the song “Forty Shades of Green.”
It was a very satisfying but somewhat tiring day. I felt a bit weary as I walked into my hotel.
Day 3 “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Today would be the tour worth going all the way to Ireland to see. Northern Ireland – the blazing history of Belfast, Derry, years of terror and bombings, the conflicts of the Catholics and the Protestants, the bloody history of the Irish and the British, the “troubles”, the background of U2’s haunting “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
It began Sunday morning. I had a full breakfast at the hotel with French toast, eggs, fruit, and lots of other good things to keep me filled for an exciting day. Two other things were very much appreciated at the start – the tour began at 9:00 A. M. instead of 7:00 A. M.; and, the sun was already out and shining – the prelude to a beautiful sunny day in Ireland.
There were 11 of us on the Paddywagon Tour to Northern Ireland, just a two hour trip from Dublin. The tour guide gave us a brief history of Ireland and of the troubles in Northern Ireland during our trip. A couple of salient points – there are 3 and ½ million people in the Republic of Ireland – 95% of them are Catholic. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom , not the Republic of Ireland. There are 1.7 million people in Northern Ireland and 55% of them are Protestant. The IRA was formed out of the Catholic/Irish struggles and a peace came between the Irish and the United Kingdom in 1998. Things are still tense and volatile throughout Northern Ireland. On the way to Northern Ireland we stopped at an old church cemetery from the 1400’s. It was notable because it had the most preserved Celtic cross in all of Ireland; and, it had one of the structures preserved in which the Irish tried to protect themselves from invading Vikings.
The border crossing no longer had a “checkpoint Charlie” but our guide reminded us that it had been less than 20 years since snipers were scattered throughout the mountains by the border. We did a bus tour of Belfast and then had a long stop at the Titanic Museum right beside the shipyards where the Titanic was built over 100 years ago. This magnificent museum was opened in 2012 on the centenary of the Titanic’s voyage. It was built exactly as tall as the Titanic itself; and, it gives you a remarkable trip through several levels to show you the actual building and launch of the Titanic. On one level you take a cable car ride thru the making of it; on another level you stand on a platform and screens swirl around you – it takes you to every floor and level of the Titanic and you feel like you are part of the ship. All and all, quite an experience.
Our next trip was to the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods of Belfast. In the Protestant areas it is neither safe nor wise to drive around in an Irish bus – so we transferred to a couple of “Black cabs.” They took us to the two neighborhoods where we did a walking tour; and, then we drove to the “Peace Wall.” Like the Berlin wall it separates the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods; and, the gates are locked at night. Murals cover the walls, many of them denoting “peace.” We finished the day with a walking tour of Belfast and were back in Dublin by 6:00 P. M.
I finished the day on Grafton Street, going to a well-known pub and restaurant on Duke Street and having some traditional Irish stew. Then I went to Bewley’s Café, where David and I had dinner last year, and had some Irish coffee and Lemon Meringue pie. Much later at the hotel I watched the Super Bowl.
Day 4 “Down by the Riverside”
If this had been another beautiful day I had planned to another short tour to Glendalough, which is spectacularly set in a deep valley between two ancient lakes and is said to be one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland. This is where Mel Gibson filmed the battle scenes in Braveheart (pretending that he was in Scotland). However, when I woke up, it was raining so hard that I considered it to be a throwaway day. In the afternoon I walked down beside the River Liffey. I saw the “Famine” sculptures, saw one of the replica boats that took the famine survivors to America and Australia and elsewhere -so many died on the boats that they were called “Coffin ships.” I saw the new bridge named after the famous Irish writer Samuel Beckett. It is shaped like a harp lying on its side. Later I walked around the main artery of the city and then found the oldest movie theatre in Ireland. I saw “12 Years as a Slave.” [insert]
[/insert]The following morning was Tuesday, February 4th and the beginning of my long journey home.
To see all of Dad’s photos, check out his SmugMug Gallery