Local Dolmen!

Though you can't see it very well, the sign says Dolmen in both English and Irish.  The little picture gives you an idea of what they look like.  They are portal tombs, built around 3800 BC.  Amy had not seen one, so this was one of our first ventures in the midlands.  There are several Dolmens all around Ireland, and 4 are in County Longford.  This particular one is in the town of Aughnacliffe.  The only thing telling us it was around was this little sign that pointed down a path.  We walked down the path which ended in a field.  We walked through the field and saw a small wooden gate. 

We walked through the wooden gate and saw the Dolmen.

Having already seen one in the Burren on our trip to Galway, Zach was not completely  impressed...

Then we headed back out.

Slow blinker or just annoyed?

Now this is a shot of the cow hooves in the mud.  There were pies and hoof prints all around the Dolmen.  I was a little freaked at the possibility of a cow herd showing up with a bull in residence!  I kept saying that  usually there would be a sign saying "Bull on Land" to warn us if that may be the case, and here there was no sign.  Yes, I was a bit worried.  Amy can attest to it.

Then Amy said, "There are the cows" to which I yelped, "WHERE?!"  Fortunately, they were far off and I was finally able to relax a bit!

This was just a shot of the Church steeple on our way back to the  road.

Lough Owel

The N52 crosses the N4 and we were back on my regular track.  Driving on the N4 I always pass this Lake (Lough is pronounced "Lock") and have never stopped, though I have always wanted to do so.  It has a parking lot and entrance right off the N4.  With Amy here, it made sense to stop and see something new to her in Ireland!  It is a lovely lake, and it was a gorgeous day.  The seagull sculpture was cool too.  Are they seagulls?  I don't  know...  The pictures are courtesy of Amy Pinski.  (She took better photos than I did...)

Delvin

So, in heading home, we got off the beaten path and were traveling through some cute little towns on the N52, (all the towns here are pretty cute) and we stopped in Delvin so we could buy some water and use the toilets.  (That's what they call it - not bathrooms, not restrooms - TOILETS!)  The town was quaint and the people in the store were quite friendly.  After that we headed on towards home.

Amy took these shots as we drove into town. 

This store was across the street from the one we found open on a Sunday morning.

Info about Delvin and the ruins found here.

I found the information about Brinsley McNamara (born John Weldon in Delvin in 1890) to be rather fascinating.  I had not heard of him, but he was a writer, actor, and playwright who, like Patrick Kavanagh, wrote about Ireland and the difficulties of rural life without romanticizing it as Yeats was more prone to do.  There was a literary divide at the time in sorting out an Irish identity.  Though most were Nationalists and supported Irish freedom, they had differing views of their national identity and the path that should be taken to achieve it.  At any rate, I don't know enough about each of their writings  to really speak to the subject, but I love going to places and finding information about the various writers of the time so that I can read more and learn more about that turbulent time in Irish history. 

The information presented also informs us that Thomas Chapman hailed from the area as well, and was the father of Thomas Edward Chapman, about whom the film "Lawrence of Arabia" was based!

This was one of the Nugent Castles.  This was Delvin Castle, and the Nugent family lived there, having been given the lands by Hugh de Lacy in 1172 (who had acquired them from Strongbow).  The Nugent family held the lands for years and in 1639, Richard Nugent built a new castle and left Delvin Castle empty.  The new castle was burned down by Nugent himself rather than let Cromwell take it.  Eventually, it was rebuilt and there now stands a rather magnificent castle that is privately owned.  I did not see the newer castle, but pictures of it online are rather amazing.

This was St. Mary's Church which was a Norman Church built in the 13th Century.

One visitor heads home, three more come to Ireland

So, after we had a lovely week with Laurie here, it was time to take her to the airport and pick up three more guests.  I should get a stipend from the Government branch charged with boosting Irish Tourism!  Seriously I should!  Anyway, on Sunday morning we drove to the airport, met up with Amy Pinski, Shenan, and Shenan's daughter, Lauren, and said our farewells to Laurie so she could make her flight back to NYC.

Amy and Shenan and I met many years ago taking Irish Step-Dancing lessons with the McNulty Irish Dancers.  Though we are all doing different things now, we have stayed in touch off and on throughout the years and it was FABULOUS to have them come across the pond for fun and games - or sh**s and giggles as my sister Connie would say - and that sound like a lot more fun doesn't it?!

We left the airport, stowed their luggage in the car and drove to the Aisling Hotel.  (It is pronounced "Ash-Ling" and it is a common female name in Ireland).  We dropped off Shenan and Lauren at the  hotel, as they were staying overnight in Dublin to take a train tour of Ireland the next morning.  It was booked with www.railtoursireland.com - the same one Laurie used and they all seemed to be happy with the company and the service they provided.  After dropping them at the hotel, Amy and I headed home to Longford.

Amy has been here NUMEROUS times and has seen and done more in Ireland  than me - so it was awesome to have her come here to hang out in the Midlands!  The drive home was entertaining even though Amy HAD to have been tired.  She stayed awake with me and we talked the whole time.  I even took a different route than usual, thanks to Google Maps, but it ended up being a very scenic route and not really much longer than taking the N4 which is my usual method.  It was also a bright and sunny day and that is because, apparently, whenever Amy is here, she gets a sunburn!  It was just lovely!!

The Brazen Head

On her last night in Dublin, Laurie and I went to the Brazen Head.  It is the oldest pub in Ireland, established in 1198.

Guinness mustaches - but they are hard to see, and I had already drank mine down too far to get a lot of foam on my lip...

CHEERS!

We had a lot of fun.  They had a band and we danced like no one was watching!  Guinness, music, dancing, and friendly people.  A perfect end to a fantastic visit!

Writers, Writers, Writers!

After her train tour and coming to Longford, Laurie and I took the one day to go to Sligo, and then on Saturday we drove to Dublin for a last chance to see more of the sights there before she flew out on Sunday.  We went to the Dublin Writer's Museum and we saw the James Joyce Center.  It was really a fabulous day! I would tour both again - something about writers....

The Writer's Museum is in a lovely house where George Jameson, of the famous John Jameson and Sons Whiskey family, lived from 1891 to 1914.  The home is beautiful and full of lovely details, including stained glass windows and painted doors and ceilings that were commissioned by George Jameson himself.

The writer's museum was one of my favorite things.  There was an audio tour and lots of information about Irish writers such as W. B. Yeats, John Synge, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker (yes!  He's Irish!), James Joyce, Bernard Shaw, Brendan Behan (who just got a postage stamp this year) and the list goes on and on and on! It really got me thinking and reading!

One of the things that really stuck in my mind was a story about Patrick Kavanaugh who  had written a poem titled "The Great Hunger".  According to the Museum information, several lines were intentionally omitted in publication, so he went to the book seller's shops and wrote them in by hand!  The museum has such a copy on display.


Though you cannot take photos on the first floor, (oh, here they would call that the ground floor) you can take photos on the second level (which here would be called the first floor).  There were many paintings, books, and photos and the decoration of the home itself was quite lovely.

I just love Oscar!

Painting of James Joyce.

James Joyce's piano.

Photo of Joyce at the piano.

Laurie took this shot at the museum - all those errors made us laugh, and then made us wonder how that EVER got by in a Writer's Museum?!

From there we walked a few blocks to the James Joyce Center.  The Center has a self-guided tour and there is a lot of information available about James Joyce.  I think they also do a walking tour of places that are used or referenced in his writings, but those are on specific days in the mornings I think.

Below is the actual door to No. 7 Eccles Street.  In his novel, Ulysses, (which they pronounced "U - lissees" on the audio tour - with the accent on the U) Number 7 Eccles Street is the home of the Bloom family.  It was an actual home that Joyce had been to and he knew the family who once lived there.

The above is a picture of Patrick Kavanagh and friends who saved the door from demolition!

At the James Joyce Center, we were able to sit and read some of his writings.  One was a children's book called "The Cat and the Devil" that he wrote for his nephew.  The copy at the Center was donated by the nephew and it had an inscription by James Joyce.  I loved it!

This picture of the book was actually taken at the Writer's Museum.  The copy at the James Joyce Center was a bit larger and the cover had a different picture on the front.

From the museum, we walked down O'Connell Street to find his statue.  Laurie and James Joyce chillin' in Dublin!