March 30
th – April 16
thWhat a hectic month April has been so far. The last couple of days of march and the first couple of days of April were just normal work days.
On Saturday the 4th Em and I were on the road after a relatively relaxed morning. We went up to Dublin, at a nice relaxed pace, stopping at a few places along the way. By late morning we were getting quite hungry to we stopped in at Port Laois (Port Leesh), which is about an hour outside of Dublin. It was a nice little town, with some really nice looking shops – colourful terraces on narrow, winding streets. We pottered around for a while, and got some lunch to take back to the car. When we got back to the car Em noticed that we had a flat tyre! It still had enough air in it to get around the corner to the petrol station, where we put some air in it, and got directions to the nearest tyre shop. It was our lucky day really, apart from getting the puncture. We went to the tyre shop, and got there about 30 minutes before they closed. Once we pulled up, they were onto the job, and had us sitting down eating our lunch. Within 15 minutes, and only €10 later we were back on the road. It was fantastic service and really made our day.
We arrived in Dublin in the early afternoon, checked into our B & B and dropped off our bags, then headed to Olive and Austin's house. Austin is the brother of my grandfather and I was really looking forward to meeting him.
After a few guesses and phone calls we found their house in a lovely part of South Dublin, Dalkey, which is near Dun Laoghaire (Done-Leary). It was great to meet Olive and Austin and we had a lovely afternoon with them. It turns out there was a five year gap between Austin and my grandfather, and they never were particularly close. Nevertheless we really enjoyed getting to know them, and will definitely be back to visit them. Austin was the Head Gardener at Malahide Castle, North of Dublin, until he retired three years ago. Early that evening we went out to dinner (in a castle!) with Olive and Austin, and their three children Sally (with her husband Colm and two children), David, Richard (with one of his daughters Aibhin - Ayveen). We had a really nice evening and it was great to meet them all.
On Sunday, after a small sleep in, we had breakfast and then headed into Dublin. It was a nice day, which was a nice change from when we last spent any time in Dublin city centre. It was warmer, and sunnier than previously, and we enjoyed having a wander around, and a bite to eat next to the River Liffey. After an early lunch we went to the O2, which is a newly completed entertainment venue in Dublin. There we went to Cirque Du Soleil 'Quidam', which was Em's Christmas present. It went for just over 2 hours and was absolutely amazing. It consisted of a number of different acts, telling the story of a young girl lost in the real world, until she finds her own world. Quidam is Latin for anonymous passer by. It was the best stage production I think we will go to. There was so much variation during the performance – acrobatics, aerial stunts, dance, juggling, with a live band and singers. There was a fantastic clown, who chose members out of the audience to perform mime skits in which he took the lead in. He was brilliant. We were both sad when the show finished and would have more than happily sat through it again. Once it had finished it was back on the road to Limerick for work on Monday.
The week went by quickly as it was a four day week. It was a very busy week at work, but that seemed to help it go by.
On Friday, good Friday, the 10th, we were back in Murphy and back on the road. We had planned a 5 day trip around the North of Ireland. Our first stop was Ballyclare, just North-East of Belfast. We made a few stops on the way up. First stop was Rush, a small beachside settlement about 30 minutes north of Dublin. We found a nice spot to eat lunch, and have a cup of tea. After that we got some 'local' directions to Rush golf course (luckily – we would never have found it). My grandmother's parents had a holiday home there, which was bought by the golf club when it was set up, and the house was used as the club rooms. When we arrived it was pretty quiet, but we managed to find someone who gave us a book about the golf club to read, then we had a wander around. We were not quite sure, but felt pretty certain that small building standing next to the new club house is still the original, with a few modifications.
After a good look around there we were on the road for a short time to Newgrange, which is a passage tomb dating around 3000BC. Unfortunately we arrived there too late, as they limit the numbers of visitors each day, so we will have to try to see this another time. From there we went to the site of the Battle of the Boyne. As we were running a little behind our rough schedule we did not go into the expedition there, instead deciding to get back on the road.
After being stuck in traffic for a while, we got to our destination of Ballyclare at around 6pm. The B & B we stayed in there was nice, close to the small town there, and the owner was very nice. After getting Chinese for dinner, we were both pretty tired so had an early night.
On Saturday the 11th, after an Ulster fry, which consists of potato bread, soda bread, rashers (bacon), eggs, and tomatoes, we went into Belfast. We were lucky with the weather and managed to see lots in Belfast. We spent the first couple of hours wandering around Belfast city centre. We saw Belfast city hall, the Albert Memorial Clock (which is actually on an angle), and the two big cranes, Samson and Goliath, which were used to build the Titanic. After a bite to eat we went to a few different attractions around Belfast. The first was Belfast Castle, which seemed like more of a mansion to me. Nevertheless it was a grand old building made of the local red sandstone, with a brilliant view of Belfast, and fantastic gardens including a cat shaped topiary. From there we drove through the two areas of Belfast, Shankill Road and the Falls Area. These are the Protestant and Catholic areas, and there is still a lot of passion in these areas. We saw a few of the large murals that are painted on the buildings, the fence which divides the two areas (called the Peace Line), and a memorial on the Catholic side of the fence. While we were visiting the memorial, we started talking to a man who was doing some cleaning of the memorial. He was a very passionate local area, and gave us a very clear insight into the situation. It was certainly an eye opening experience, talking to that man (who was a member of the IRA), seeing the murals, the rubble around the areas which would have been the result of bombs, the fence dividing the two areas (standing about 6-8m high) and the backyards of those houses right next to the fence, fully enclosed by wire mesh, which we assumed would be to keep bombs out.
From there we went to The Stormont. This is the parliament building of Northern Ireland. It looked very grand in books we had seen, and it was in real life as well, dominating the hill it is built on, with great lawns around it. It was something we were keen to see, but did not spend long there.
After a busy day, we were back on the road, and drove the Causeway Coastal road around the North-Eastern coast of Northern Ireland to Ballycastle, County Antrim, to our next B & B.
When we arrived we were greeted by a very hospitable couple, Norma and Martin. It was an amazing house, built only 18 months ago. We had a beautiful room, with an Easter egg waiting for us. When we arrived they gave us tea, scones, and baking, and sat down for a chat. After we had relaxed for a while we went into town for some dinner, then came back to Norma and Martin's, played pool, and then watched a DVD. It was very nice to relax, and they made us feel very welcome. After a nice sleep we got up to a very nice breakfast, including fruit salad, cereal, yoghurt, and an Ulster fry (including home made potato bread which was fantastic).
From there we set out on our day of tourist stops. First place was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which we had seen in photos. It was relatively quiet, and really enjoyed the view, especially as there was no wind, and the sun was breaking through. Then we drove a few km down the road to the Giant's Causeway; an eye grabbing natural rock formation. It was fantastic to see in real life and was very spectacular. The way the rocks had formed in such a uniform pattern was extraordinary. Legen says that a Giant was trying to get to Scotland to see his love, and threw stones into the sea to make a pathway – there is a matching rock formation over the sea in Scotland (which we could see off the coast!).
We went to Dunluce Castle, which is perched right on a cliff edge. It was built in the 1200s, and was last inhabited in 1613, when during a storm, the kitchen and all of its staff fell off the cliff into the sea!
From there we headed towards Derry, and then back into the Republic, towards Letterkenny. On the way, we made our last stop, the Grianan of Aileach, in Co. Donegal. It is a big ring fort, on top of a hill, with views to seven counties. It was very impressive, and has been very well preserved.
By the time we made it to our B & B in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, we were both starving. I was craving Indian, and believe it or not, we found a restaurant, and we were the only ones in it. It was great. We both loved it, but unfortunately could not finish the meals.
On Monday, the 13th of April, we were back on the road, destination Donegal town. We went via the Slieve League, a part of the coast line on Donegal's west coast, which has the highest sea cliffs in Europe, at over 1200ft. It was a misty day, but they were spectacular. It was hard to really put them into proportion, but looking over the edge gave you indication of just how high they are – you could hardly hear the waves below. The countryside up there was rugged Irish west coast, with turf bogs and sheep in fenceless paddocks everywhere. There is nowhere else in Ireland quite like it, and it was great to experience it.
We arrived in Donegal town mid-afternoon. Once we were there I managed to contact Jean, the half-sister of my grandfather, so we went and visited her and her uncle. It was very nice to meet her, and she showed us around a few places in Donegal, including the grave of my great-grandfather (John McLeery), and the house where my grandfather lived when he was younger, which was nice to see. Jean, and her uncle Ernie were very hospitable, and they had us around for dinner (another Ulster Fry – 3 kinds of pork!), before we headed off to our B & B to stay the night there.
Tuesday the 14th meant we had to get on the road and head back to Limerick. It was only a 4 ½ hour drive, and we just took our time – stopping on the way for a cup of tea, and also to see the grave of the poet W.B Yeats. That afternoon we made use of being home to catch up on a few things we hadn't done over the weekend like washing and groceries.
Wednesday was back to work, trying to use the three days to get as much done as possible, before we head off for 11 days to London (4 days) and Turkey (8 days). In Turkey we will be going to the dawn service at Gallipoli on Anzac Day, and a number of other WWII sites in Turkey as well as some Turkish attractions such as the Blue Mosque. We're both really looking forward to this trip!
Till next time...
