We continued along the Wild Atlantic Way and passed through many lovely little tidy towns on the Dingle Peninsula.
Ireland has a big horse racing culture. There are lots of stud farms containing good grass that produces a lot of champions.
Tom Crean spent more time in the Antarctic than any other early explorer. He was with Scott and Shackleton.
every year.
Our guide said that very few men do this anymore. The thatcher that he knows has a five-year backlog.
Cats and dogs would climb up where the warm air rises to the ceiling to sleep. However, when it rains especially hard which is common in Ireland, the cats and dogs would come down from the roof. Hence, the saying, “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
A fairy tree is a hawthorne tree growing in the middle of a road. It is considered bad luck, and many roads and structures have been diverted because of it.
Millions were being spent on a recurring dip and bad road conditions on the N22, the main road between Killarney and Cork in County Kerry, Ireland.
On television, an official named Danny Healy-Rae blamed disturbed fairy forts when the road was built. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they went on to the next question.
There are lots of superstitions especially in the rural areas. Some people have a specific gift of healing. For example, burns, sprains, etc. They are not allowed to accept a reward or money.
St. Brigid is the female saint of Ireland. She is celebrated on the first weekend in February. St. Brigid’s Cross is hung over the door to provide healing to those who come and go.
The 1916 rebellion was supposed to occur all over Ireland. The organizers were not military trained soldiers but teachers, poets, etc. Sir Roger Casement, considered the first human rights activist, agreed to assist his countrymen. He was Irish yet a British officer. Both sides were skeptical.
Casement went to the Germans for armaments who were also skeptical but agreed to supply them. The smuggled delivery was botched. The men tasked with signaling with lights had driven off the end of the dark pier and drowned.
The port at Blennerville was used through most of the 19th century as a gateway from Kerry to North America by emigrants wishing to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The Jeanie Johnston was the most famous of these ships that transported emigrants, and throughout its service no passenger ever died.
The book The Field was written by John B. Keane from Listowel. It was made into an excellent but dark movie. At his funeral, it was said “He wrote down everything we said and then charged us to read it.” 😂
Coal is not naturally found in Ireland. It needed to be imported from Poland. The coal powered plants had been closed but now are activated again since electricity costs have quadrupled due to the war in Russia. They don’t import from Russia. Homes are heated with oil or gas.
Wind and hydro power are needed to meet 2030 quotas, or a penalty will be assessed by the EU (European Union). New homes must have solar panels. The sun doesn’t shine much but the solar panels are so advanced that they only need daylight.
Daniel O’Connell was the first Catholic elected to parliament. He was known as The Liberator and a champion of Catholic rights.
County Clare is famously known as “The Banner County” because local guilds and freeholders carried banners of support for O’Connell during his historic 1828 County Clare by-election. A by-election is held when a seat becomes vacant.
When he died in 1847, it was the worst of the hunger years. Hardly anyone attended his funeral. What is one man’s death when thousands are dying every day?
Spanish Point is where a Spanish ship sank near here, and some survivors came ashore.
Lahinch is known for reliable winter surfing from October to May. Check out YouTube if you want to see the surfers.
John Philips Holland invented the submarine and sold the rights to the U.S. navy. The first submarine was called USS Holland.
Lisdoonvarna is a matchmaking festival and is the longest running festival in Europe. Who needs dating apps? Matchmaking Festival
Here is a famous song about the festival: Lisdoonvarna
The dramatic Cliffs of Moher are the most visited site in Ireland. They are on the western edge of Europe rising more than 600 feet above the churning waters of the North Atlantic.
Next, we drove through the Burren which means rock.
Farmers can’t use machinery or dogs. They farm the way their great-great-grandfathers farmed. The cattle are outside year-round since the limestone holds the heat.
Soldiers from Galway, Ireland, reported to Oliver Cromwell about The Burren: “It is a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him”. But the Irish are healthy.
William Butler Yeats and Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory met in 1896. They collected Irish folklore and found sanctuary at Lady Gregory’s Coole Park estate in County Galway.
Galway and Seattle are sister cities. To commemorate their friendship, Seattle gave them a rock … just what they didn’t need … another rock!!
Galway City had 14 tribes of economic, political, and social importance. In Ireland, one can tell where one is from by their surname. O’ means family. Mac and Fitz mean son.
Galway and Spain have a close connection. The remnants of the city wall have Spanish arches. In 1477 Columbus came to Galway researching for his upcoming voyage across the sea. He is said to have attended St. James Church. Soldiers of Cromwell used St. James Church as a stable. That is why it was not destroyed.
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