With my final entry I decided to simply continue with our photos of Ireland as we spent 8 days and 7 nights there shortly before we said our goodbyes in Scotland.
Sooo... right after we left Belfast (the day before the Orange Parade and the ensuing riots), we drove south and west to Galway! Really lively university town, tons of people, nice weather, and our first taste of the Republic of Ireland! Here we are walking down one of the pedestrian only streets. As you can see it was quite busy!
Kim and Emma outside of the King's Head pub. The story goes that the executioner who beheaded the English king Charles I, settled as far away from London as he could - choosing Galway - where he was given property, which in fact was this pub! I have a feeling that he wasn't the one who named it though. Later, coming out of the pub, there was an Irish guy who was convinced that I was a celebrity of some type. At first he thought that I played on the Dutch football squad, but when I told him that I didn't, he still was wanting my autograph sure that I was just trying to keep a low profile. I refused him anyway, as I try not to give it out too much.
Here are the happy Johnson and Bresett families, in the King's Head, getting ready to enjoy our dinner!
Their drinking laws are much different in Ireland. Sophia ordered the kid's special, and out came a Guinness! (Just kidding, Mom.)
The next day we drove down the west coast of Ireland, stopping briefly at Dunguaire castle. REALLY windy as we visited!
Finally we made it to the huge Cliffs of Moher. Hard to grasp the immense size of the cliffs except to say that there is a reason that these are on MANY Irish postcards.
Oh, and did I mention that it was windy??? This was on the top platform of a small 18th century observation tower named O'Brien's tower.
And this is O'Brien's tower, from a distance. Perched near the edge of one of the cliffs, you can start to see how huge they are!
Here are the Bresetts. I'm still amazed at the beautiful weather we had on the west coast. Forecasts told us to expect rain, but we enjoyed blue skies for much of the trip!
I felt compelled to leave my mark on Ireland. Jimy MacJohnson was here!
After the beautiful scenery above, we arrived on the Dingle Peninsula, on the southern west coast. Gorgeous little town, very touristy, but fun none-the-less! Here I'm looking at a couple of local fishing vessels as we are leaving the harbour on a tour to try to see the town's mascot Funghi, a friendly dolphin who has lived in the bay for over 20 years.
There's Funghi! As you can see, this is quite a tourist attraction, and the boatloads of people trying to catch a glimpse, brings in boatloads of money to the locals!
All six of the kids on the easier-to-spot version of Funghi!
Driving around the Dingle peninsula the next day, we came to some Irish pototo famine homes. This seems as basic a stone house as you can imagine. Pretty bleak living here.
This was another. Definitely nicer, but the difference was that someone actually lived in this one until the 1960s. Still pretty sparse in the interior though with hard packed dirt floors and no plumbing.
Beside the Famine houses, was the real attraction for the kids. Kids! Only these are alot cuter than ours!
A little further along the Peninsula were these 4000 year old stone Beehive huts. Very similar to the ones we saw at Skara Brae in the Orkney Islands. It was interesting that you could freely climb in, over, and around such an ancient site with no-one supervising.
As we drove on the coastline, we were told to keep our eyes open for the "Sleeping Giant". I'm pretty sure that we found him!
Isaiah strikes a pose at the beautiful Slea Head coast.
Kasmira and Sophie sitting on the grass a little too close to a massive cliff.
It was so beautiful watching the clear blue water smashing against the rocks. This alone was worth the trip out to Ireland.
Sophie and I enjoying the warm wind in our faces. This is the most westerly part of Ireland. The Irish say that the next parish over is Boston!
On the way back to Dingle town we passed and I had to take a photo of this beautiful abandoned church.
Further on, following a tiny sign that directed us up this narrow dirt road we came across Kilmalkedar church from the 12th century. It had some very ancient stone crosses, a sundial, and an ogham stone with early rune-like writing on it. In the interior was also a tall stone with an early celtic alphabet carved on it, and intricate carving on the window and door frames. A brief but very neat visit. Kim and the kids stayed in the car.
The next day we were off to Kilkenny! Sophie and Kasmira started spending so much time together that they started to look like twins! Here they sit in an alcove in the old Abbey at the Rock of Cashel. Note the carvings under their feet, which I'm sure that they took no notice of at all!
The Abbey citadel at Cashel, near Tipperary, was a place of importance and power for 16 centuries. Fought over for hundreds of years for its powerful hilltop location by local clans, it was the royal seat of the kings of Munster, and in 1101 was finally given to the church by King Murtagh O'Brien. Here in 448 St. Patrick baptized King Aengus into Christianity. Unbeknownst to St. Patrick, in his enthusiasm he stabbed the King's foot with his metal tipped staff; the King endured stoically, believing that the pain was the price of becoming a Christian!
A view from the interior of the Abbey. You can see part of a great hall, and the top of the 92 foot round tower on the outside.
Another town, another pub lunch. Of course in Kilkenny, we had to drink the local brew - Kilkenny!
Our final destination was Dublin, Ireland's capital! First stop, on the outskirts of the city was the Kilmainham Gaol (jail) which saw many of Ireland's freedom fighters interned and executed during its break from Britain. Here are the gates, with the snakes of evil in chains above the door.
Pretty impressive in its size and bleakness. The tiny cells, used from the 1700s to 1924 were cold little dungeons that saw men, women and children incarcerated in them. Here we walk through the dimly lit passageways.
A cryptic message scrawled at the end of a passageway. The freedom fighters of 1916 who died here obviously did not die in vain as only a few short years later, the country won its independance.
In Dublin itself, we enjoyed a tour of Trinity College, Dublin. In it was the amazing Book of Kells, an early illuminated Bible. The colours and detail were mindblowing when you think of the time and efforts to produce them.
Also frequented by youth was this lively part of Dublin called Temple Bar. This was a fairly noticeable building.
Finally our last historical stop on the way out of Ireland was at Monasterboice. This was an early monastic site, founded back in the 4th century! We were very happy to see this beautiful Irish high cross called the Muiredeach's High Cross. It is from 922 A.D. and is considered possibly the best, most well-preserved high cross in the whole country. Very clear are the New and Old Testament Bible stories carved all over the cross, which was important as a teaching tool (its main function in early days).
Here is the other amazing high cross at this site. It is over 18 feet tall and is also considered very important to Irish heritage. Sophie and Isaiah are dwarfed by it. Again I'm amazed at how people can just walk up and touch such important early Christian monuments. I would have felt really bad if the kids leaned on it and it toppled over!
Also at the sight was one of Ireland's tallest round towers at 110 feet tall. These were the monks answer to the Viking raiders of the time. The only doorway would be twenty feet high, accessed by a ladder that would be pulled up in times of trouble. Often ecclesiastical treasures would be kept in the towers, and they would be a place of refuge for the people. At Monasterboice, the Vikings eventually seized and occupied the tiny community in the 10th century, despite the protection of the tower. The Vikings were subsequently routed by the Irish high king of Tara a few years later.
A photo of the high cross with the church ruins and the high tower in the background.
Well, that's it. This blog of our Grand Adventure draws to a close. Thank you for following it. I've enjoyed sharing our experiences with you. It was really my way to journal what we did this year. Hmmm. Scotland, England, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Malta, Belgium, France, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland - all in one year - not bad.
Pretty impressive in its size and bleakness. The tiny cells, used from the 1700s to 1924 were cold little dungeons that saw men, women and children incarcerated in them. Here we walk through the dimly lit passageways.
A cryptic message scrawled at the end of a passageway. The freedom fighters of 1916 who died here obviously did not die in vain as only a few short years later, the country won its independance.
In Dublin itself, we enjoyed a tour of Trinity College, Dublin. In it was the amazing Book of Kells, an early illuminated Bible. The colours and detail were mindblowing when you think of the time and efforts to produce them.
Also frequented by youth was this lively part of Dublin called Temple Bar. This was a fairly noticeable building.
Finally our last historical stop on the way out of Ireland was at Monasterboice. This was an early monastic site, founded back in the 4th century! We were very happy to see this beautiful Irish high cross called the Muiredeach's High Cross. It is from 922 A.D. and is considered possibly the best, most well-preserved high cross in the whole country. Very clear are the New and Old Testament Bible stories carved all over the cross, which was important as a teaching tool (its main function in early days).
Here is the other amazing high cross at this site. It is over 18 feet tall and is also considered very important to Irish heritage. Sophie and Isaiah are dwarfed by it. Again I'm amazed at how people can just walk up and touch such important early Christian monuments. I would have felt really bad if the kids leaned on it and it toppled over!
Also at the sight was one of Ireland's tallest round towers at 110 feet tall. These were the monks answer to the Viking raiders of the time. The only doorway would be twenty feet high, accessed by a ladder that would be pulled up in times of trouble. Often ecclesiastical treasures would be kept in the towers, and they would be a place of refuge for the people. At Monasterboice, the Vikings eventually seized and occupied the tiny community in the 10th century, despite the protection of the tower. The Vikings were subsequently routed by the Irish high king of Tara a few years later.
A photo of the high cross with the church ruins and the high tower in the background.
Well, that's it. This blog of our Grand Adventure draws to a close. Thank you for following it. I've enjoyed sharing our experiences with you. It was really my way to journal what we did this year. Hmmm. Scotland, England, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Malta, Belgium, France, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland - all in one year - not bad.
We've lived a year of blessing in Scotland. We have new friends that we love, and a new country that we can easily think of as home. Thanks for reading this and supporting us this year!
Cheers!
Jimy MacJohnson
