10 highlights from our Ireland trip

Last summer, Christy applied for the Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program – an opportunity for Indiana teachers to take time for meaningful reflection and renewal. Her grant proposal involved tracing her family’s Irish history and visiting some places that are significant in her family’s story. The proposal included spending three weeks in Ireland, taking in the sites and diving into her family history. While Mihret was away at a 10-day sleepaway camp (the closest thing to heaven on earth in her mind), I joined Christy on the Emerald Isle.

I must confess, I really never saw the allure of Ireland. I assumed it was an overhyped place that has such an elevated status because it’s the homeland of so many families who live here now. Like it’s an idealized place in people’s collective memory – the homeland that’s revered in stories and memories throughout the years. Then I visited Ireland.

Now I understand.

I took over 1,200 pictures and videos during my 11 day Irish excursion with Christy. So get ready for a loooong post.

Just kidding.

I wouldn’t do that to you. Or me. Or my website. Besides, the photos don’t really do the experience justice. But I do want to share some of the most memorable moments.

Here’s 10 highlights from my trip to Ireland (in no particular order).

The relic of St. Laurence O’Toole

I must confess that most of the day I spent in Dublin is a bit of a blur. The previous 24+ hours had included a nonstop flight from Indy (with the occasional catnap), navigating the airport and public transit, and walking what felt like a mile to our hotel. After eventually reuniting with Christy, we checked in to our hotel and I took a brief nap before we trekked over to Christ Church Cathedral, Trinity College, and the Temple Bar District.

Christ Church Cathedral is one of those places where photos just do not do it justice. It is massive inside. There’s plenty of theological and ecclesiastical reasons for the enormity of Gothic cathedrals, but that’s a different discussion for a different day.

In addition to its sheer size, there are several other memorable moments from our walk through this ancient historic house of worship, including the foxy friars. That’s right. Foxy. Friars.

The floor has hand-carved 16th century tiles depicting foxes dressed as pilgrims. Not sure why they’re called “friars,” but the alliteration works. They even call the cathedral’s gift shop the Foxy Friar. Because of my family name’s connection to foxes, I really wanted to get something from the gift shop with foxy friars on it. But I never found anything. No foxy friars bookmarks, postcards, or stickers. And definitely no socks. Nothin’. Their website suggests they do, in fact, carry foxy friars items, but I don’t remember seeing them while we were there. I was slightly disappointed.

We also walked through the cathedral’s crypt that also had a copy of the Magna Carta for some reason. I didn’t have “walk through a crypt” on my bucket list, but I promptly added it so I could cross it off.

But the highlight of our tour of Christ Church Cathedral was the preserved heart of St. Laurence O’Toole – the 12th century archbishop of Dublin. He died while while in Normandy on a diplomatic mission of sorts to meet with England’s King Henry II. His body was buried in Normandy, but his heart was sent to Dublin. The people of Ireland preserved and encased his heart. The relic now resides in the cathedral.

Again, seeing a real relic of a real saint was not something on my bucket list. So I added it and summarily crossed it off the list.

The ruins of St. Kevin’s Monastery

Saint Kevin of Glendalough was a hermit who ultimately founded a monastery nearly 1450 years ago. I took this photo of a deer in the meadow from our hotel room. Something about it spoke to me.

Later that day, I heard the story of St. Kevin and the doe:

A man’s wife died while giving birth to twins. The widower couldn’t provide the nutrition his babies needed, so he asked Kevin for help. Kevin, also unable to provide the necessary nutrition, prayed that God would provide. The next morning, a doe appeared in the nearby meadow and provided the milk that the babies desperately needed. The doe returned every morning to provide the milk.

Pretty wild that we saw a doe in the meadow right before hearing this story.

We walked through the ruins and surrounding cemetery on two separate occasions. I’m not going to lie. It gave me Rich Mullins vibes.

Heartbreak Pier in Cobh

Heartbreak Pier in Cobh is where an estimated one million Irish men, women, and children said goodbye to their loved ones and their homeland – many for the last time. This was the last point of departure for the journey across the Atlantic.*

St. Colman’s Cathedral towered over the landscape and was probably the last piece of Ireland they saw as they left their world behind.

Artists and witches in Kilkenny

Kyteler’s Inn in Kilkenny was established as an inn by Dame Alice le Kyteler sometime before 1324. Her story is remarkable. Over the years, she had acquired four different husbands and amassed quite a fortune. Her stepchildren from one of her marriages accused her of witchcraft. She was convicted, along with her maid Petronella. They were sentenced to be paraded through the streets, whipped, and burned at the stake.

Dame Alice managed to escape to England. Petronella was not so fortunate.

After a lunch that included some amazing deep fried Brie at Kyteler’s Inn, we visited Castle Yard. It used to be the horse stables for Kilkenny Castle. Now it’s home to artist workshops. Our favorite artist we met was Geraldene Walsh. Her paintings are beautiful (including some of one of the towns where Christy’s family lived) and the prints are quite affordable.

Castles

Bunratty Castle in County Claire

We toured the castle and the surrounding Folk Park.

Then we stuck around for dinner. A medieval dinner in a 15th century castle with live madrigal-style entertainment?

Yes, please.

Kilkenny Castle in Kilkenny

There’s 700 years of family stories in this castle that was built in 1260. In the 1960s, the local Department of Public Works took it over.

During our tour of Kilkenny Castle, we entered the Tapestry Room. I had to chuckle thanks to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

I kept walking around the room chuckling to myself saying, “This is a castle, isn’t it? There are tapestries?” Yeah. I’m a dork. Sue me.

In another strange turn of events, though, when we ate dinner at Finnegans in Galway a few days later, that exact scene was showing on the restaurant’s TV when we sat down to eat.

Pretty wild, right? Oh, I had the Guinness Stew there. It was amazing.

Abbeyglen Castle Hotel in Connemara

Our overnight stay included a Prosecco reception (where we learned that the castle is in a “new” town – it’s “only” about 200 years old!) and a fantastic four-course meal.

Then the craic really broke out with some live entertainment.

The stunning views

Just look at these views.

Lower and Upper Lakes, Glendalough

Sky Road on the Wild Atlantic Way

They say if you look really close, you can see the Statue of Liberty waving in the distance.

Killary Fjord

We took a boat out into Ireland’s only fjord.

Cliffs of Moher

Our visit to the Cliffs of Insanity…I mean…the Cliffs of Moher included, perhaps, the most intense wind I’ve ever experienced. No joke – the wind almost knocked me over at least two different times. Fortunately, the wind was blowing in from the ocean. I would have just rolled down a massive hill and not over the cliffs.

Watching a sheep dog at work

Not only did we watch a sheep dog guide part of a flock of sheep into a pen, but we also got to watch a sheep get sheered and hold the feel the fresh-cut wool. Oh, and we fed some lambs.

Powerscourt Gardens and Waterfall in County Wicklow

Powerscourt Gardens is widely known as the third-most beautiful garden in the world. On the surface, that might not sound like something you’d want to advertise. But if the other two are any better than this one, they’re pretty freakin’ amazing.

While we were in the area, we also stopped by the tallest waterfall in Ireland and hung out with a lot of other families who had taken advantage of the unusually warm weather.

Exploring the Latin Quarter in Galway

Yeah, it’s a little touristy, but we had a lot of fun going in and out of the different pubs in Galway. Buskers (street performers) lined the streets almost all day long.

At night, live music pours out of the pups’ open doors. Some are traditional music. Others are modern Irish pop. The feel isn’t unlike the rows of honky-tonks in Nashville. But these establishments have been here a lot longer.

My favorite place in the district? It’s probably The King’s Head was originally the mayor’s home. Then Colonel Peter Stubbers, the Irish executioner of King Charles I, claimed the home as his own, as payment from Parliament (hence the name). Their exclusive beer? The Kings Head Blood Red Ale (brewed locally at Galway Hooker Brewery). It’s “a beer that keeps its head…unlike a certain king.”

Jameson Whiskey Distillery Tour

No first trip to Ireland is complete without doing something related to Guinness or Irish whiskey. AmIright? Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit the Guinness tour into our schedule. Maybe next time, eh? I did finally try some Guinness, though. Because when in Ireland…

We did, however, take the Jameson Whiskey Distillery Tour in Middleton. Learned some history. Saw how it is made. Tried some samples. Discovered a ginger ale, Jameson, and lime cocktail.

It was quite the experience.

The end – for now

Well, there it is. I spared you1,200+ photos. But you did manage to slosh through than1500 words. Thank you for slogging through my modern version of inviting you over to my house to watch a homemade slideshow of my vacation.

As you can see, my trip to Ireland was amazing. I can’t wait to go back.

endnotes

* Heartbreak Pier is also the spot where the final 123 passengers boarded ferry boats to the RMS Titanic just days before the unsinkable ship met its fate.