Ireland
Sept./Oct., 2018
The Cliffs of Moher, approximately 300 million years old and rising to 700 feet at their highest point, have been a part of the local lore since the Celtic Age. We were there on a cold and wet day that made for a bit of physical discomfit, but, definitely, only added to the mystery of one of the most striking landscapes of Ireland. The week also took us to Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, where its 250 residents still speak Gaelic. Then there was Galway where a group of us played Gaelic games before walking through the city’s medieval streets.
Oscar Wilde described Connemara as a “savage beauty” and our three mile hike here did not disappoint. Lakes, bogs, mountains, beaches, and inviting villages make up a charming quilt of beautiful sights.
The Benedictine monastery of Kylemore Abbey with its complex history, romantic and tragic, is the jewel of a 1,000 acre estate that includes a six acre walled Victorian garden that, with its sculpted flower beds, trees, woods, and water, is a place of simple grandeur and serenity.
Life in rural Ireland means sheep and there are a lot of them! Farmers put a dye mark on each animal so that ownership is clear; it’s hard to tell one sheep from the next. The day after visiting the sheep farm, we met with a family of weavers in Donegal…the wool was made right there and all the garments were handmade...and yes, I did shop...and shop...
The castle and gardens of Glenveagh are another example of Ireland’s magic…yet, another feast.
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