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March 25, 2026March 25, 2026

The Men of the West

there is an Irish song made popular during the fight against the genocide imposed by England called “the men of the west“ and popularized by the Clancy Brothers. The other song I remember clearly is “the hills of Connemara“ which is well known by my generation in the area around Galway and to the west. The song is about making moonshine and trying to avoid the tax man. You will enjoy the hospitality of the people here. The weather is a little rough but the beauty of the place is incredible and the landscape is very diverse and some very amazing. And of course you can visit the cottage of Patrick Pearse, one of the great heroes of Ireland who was hanged by England for opposing English oppression.

Achill

Sheep The Men of the West — They came to say hello

Baren land The Men of the West — It looks fairly baren in this area. It’s very windy and I expect to difficult to grow very much.

Carrickkildavnet Castle The Men of the West — Carrickkildavnet castle

Rescue boat Bill Smale — A rescue boat practicing

Church Bill Smale — The local church graveyard

Westport

Young musicians Bill Smale — The young musicians

Buncrana

Frank stagG — He was a famous hunger striker who died in opposition to British oppression

Three door doors — Obviously the same owner

Funeral procession — A funeral procession

Fisherman’s wharf — There is one not only in San Francisco

The beach — A view of the beach but a little cold to go swimming this time of year though there are a few who do

Volunteer bench — A memorial bench obviously of someone who people respected for her kind volunteer work

Agrarian sign — Obviously an agrarian area

Axe throwing — I’m not sure if this is just for tourists or if this is something that local people enjoy as well

Conemara

Incredible scenery — You have to visit this area of Ireland. It’s just incredible scenery

Lemon pie — A small café with delicious lemon pie

Map — It shows you how to travel along the Atlantic way from Westport down to Galway

KyleMore estate — If you have kids this is probably one place you would like to go since the children have a lot of things to do at this estate and Castle. Anyway it’s a beautiful place to visit

Water texture — It’s beautiful water texture and reflection

Beautiful yellow flowers — These beautiful yellow flowers are blooming everywhere

Patrick Pearse

Patrick was enamored with the Irish language, wrote an Irish and established to school to teach in Irish which were sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic. He was very much opposed to a British control of Ireland and so eventually joined the Irish brotherhood which became the IRA. Below you will see a speech he wrote at the funeral of a great Irish patriot of the late 1800s. The speech launched him on his political career. He helped write the declaration of freedom from Britain and helped to organize the Easter rebellion in 1916. He was one of the few who was hanged by the English government in Dublin for his part in the Easter rebellion, the effects which sparked the Countrywide rebellion against British control of Ireland.

This is Patrick’s cottage which he built in Rosmuck, not far from Galway.

Pearse cottage — This is the cottage where he came as often as he could to be with local people

The bedroom and memorabilia — The things in the cottage were contributed by the family

Aughnanure castle

The short history is that in the 12th century the Normans arrived and pretty much integrated with the local people, mostly Irish speaking. Henry VIII started the “protestant“ Church of England which worshiped him instead of the pope and so he didn’t want the popes people coming in from Ireland and that’s what started the great increase in oppression by Britain.

Irish Lord ships — Ireland was very clan oriented, divided up into all these different Lord ships in the 1500s.

I tried eating with a fork, this Chinese food, but I finally got chopsticks since it was so much easier eating with them.

A discussion

Poitin — This is Irish moonshine and it seems to be the most famous brand. I had moonshine made in Oklahoma many years ago and this has a very similar taste, like a whiskey without the smoky flavor.

March 24, 2026March 24, 2026

County Galway, Limerick and Tipperary

in order to see Ireland in a detailed perspective you really need to rent a car and drive around. Every time you stop in a town you need to go to a pub and talk with people. People are very welcoming and you will get a good glass of Guinness wherever you go.

A glass of Guinness County Galway — A perfect pour every time. I spilled a little on the way back to the table

Harp recital Bill Smale — A harp recital to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

County Galway Dancing at King John’s Castle — Outside King John’s Castle a group of dancers gathered

The Pogues Bill Smale — A fellow in the pub indicated I needed to listen to this song

two days before St. Patrick’s Day in Limerick

The Pipers Bill Smale — Of course the Pipers were there

People waiting Bill Smale — people lining the street

Small cars — In Ireland people like to buy small cars for economy and to fit the narrow roads. In Thailand everybody wants to have a big truck or SUV even if they can’t afford it

Cleaning crew — The cleaning crew after the parade

Chinese noodles Bill Smale — A restaurant called Wokking had some fairly good noodles since it’s a Chinese restaurant, basically. However they had no sauces at all which is very strange for a Chinese restaurant so I could not give it a really high rating.

Daley gelato — And of course you need to have gelato every day

The CODFATHER

The Still house pub — The still house. The place to come for music in Limerick

Limerick flag Bill Smale — Just approve I was here

Five euro coupon — This is an interesting solution. Since Covid it’s difficult to get people to work in hospitality especially in cleaning. This hotel, the George, gives you five euro a day each day you do not use the cleaning for the room. This can be used in the restaurant downstairs. This benefits the hotel since it cuts down on the need for cleaning crew, it benefits the customer and it also benefits the restaurant since a large number of Hotel customers don’t use the hotel restaurant.

The hotel restaurant was all decked out in St. Patrick’s Day decorations

Pre-Latin language — The pre-Latin written language, Ogham, a clever series of strokes

A catholic grave — I thought this was interesting since after Henry VIII the churches were modified for the protestant Bent, the Church of England and they were called “the Church of Ireland“.

This castle was built after King John’s reign but named for him

The Norman sections — Excavating the Norman portion of the castle

Ocean explained the Ogham system of writing which is a series of strokes or lines. In the very north of Ireland, in Donegal, there is a standing stone with this old writing on it. It was deciphered. He explained it has the traces of the Irish sarcastic humor. It says, “turn around“.

Norman portion of the castle — The old Norman portion of the cast

Arthur’s Quay Park festivities — The festivities begin in Arthur’s Quay Park

She is Patricia to celebrate Paddy’s day

I met some interesting people to chat with here

Guinness lined up — All lined up and ready to be topped off

English language school? — It’s nice to see English is taught properly

Old store — An old store, green grocer and news agent

At Doolan’s pub the Kilkennys were playing

Experienced musicians — And then a small group of experienced musicians and singers playing for the pub goers

Time clock — How do you spell day? It doesn’t really matter. It’s not a language clock, it’s a time clock. I guess somewhere you punch your time card.

Cart racers — Take me back to my childhood

Limerick shopping District — The shopping District in Limerick

Clean undertaker — If you want a clean undertaking this place looks very spic and span

It is this organization that Frank McCourt’s mother used to get charity from as you will find from reading the book “Angela’s ashes“.

““Angela’s ashes”. This book is an accounting of Frank McCourt’s childhood in Limerick and his house is a tourist attraction but it’s not really his house it’s just a museum. If you happen to be interested in this book which some describe as dark and dismal”Angela’s ashes“. This book is an accounting of Frank McCourt’s childhood in Limerick and his house is a tourist attraction but it’s not really his house it’s just a museum. If you happen to be interested in this book which some describe as dark and dismal. Get the audiobook version in which Frank McCourt himself does the reading, narration. If you do that you will encounter Irish humor as he reads it and understand that part of the culture and why he words it the way he does but it must be through his reading that you get this humor.

This was the pizza that only cost me €3.50 because of my five eurocoupons for not requesting the room cleaning

Add to now you can see the “Codfather”. Go to the Still house pub at about seven or 8 PM and you might bump into the 87-year-old Paddy Fish.

Nengha

Terryglass

Some of these boats at the harbor needed some repair

The garden at the church with some religious flexibility

Look at these decorations. I would never expect to see gremlins or fairies here

Portumna

March 22, 2026March 22, 2026

On to Kerry

I was very lucky there were a couple days with absolutely beautiful weather. I think you can appreciate how nice it is to drive around when you can get out, walk around and enjoy a cup of coffee outside and not have to worry about the rain. So it was on to Kerry.

Adare

Hatched roof house On to Kerry — Not only is this house with a patched roof but on the left you can see a little gazebo type structure which is all made of wood and a attached roof

Monastery On to Kerry — This is the monastery described to below with an interesting, unique history.

Foynes

I went to this place because I was told of an interesting history, all of it true or not is something that I have not confirmed. I talked to somebody in a pub about the origins of the Irish coffee. As I remember what I read there was a fellow who got a concession at Shannon airport two provide some beverages to people who arrived from the US on this closest airport in Europe to the US. He devised the Irish coffee in the 1950s I believe. It might’ve been in the early 60s. The fellow said that the first Irish coffee was served at this airport which was the first airport connecting the US to Europe with direct flights but they were on pontoon planes which would land here in this inlet. But the information here indicates they stopped these flights in 1945 which seems to be a little too early for Irish coffee to have been invented but more investigation is in order. Anyway, there is a museum in this little town with the aircraft which flew the Atlantic nonstop. It was closed when I went there but it should be open in April.

Motorcycle group Bill Smale — There was a group of bikers with a variety of Japanese and BMW motorcycles. It reminded me of my motorcycle group in Japan.

Country road view Bill Smale — Just a nice view on a country road. You will notice how narrow the roads are

Tarbert Bridewell courthouse and jail

Courthouse Bill Smale — This courthouse and jail was closed for renovations

Listowel

St. Mary’s Church Bill Smale — Saint Mary’s Church

March 21, 2026March 21, 2026

around Limerick area

I was coming into Limerick a few days before St. Patrick’s Day to prepare for the celebration and to look around the town and find some pubs with some good music. I was overwhelmed with the interesting people, music, conversation and activities in town. One thing that amazed me is there are a large number of barbershops when 50 years ago there were only two. Walking around for one hour I passed 20 of them.

Killaloe

An old church around Limerick area — An old church

Brian Boru around Limerick area — Brian was a Chieftain in the 1200s and his future relatives became the O’Brien‘s since the name meant “of Brian” or ““son of Brian”.”son of Brian“.

Ponte Vecchio had some pretty nice pizza

Taken Bill Smale — This is also the famous title of a movie with Liam Neeson. A lot of of the story is pretty much the same as the movie but I looked at the movie information and it does not say it is based on this book. But Liam, as you will know, is Irish and this book is written by an Irish fellow.

Killloe Canal Bill Smale — A view of the canal

Canal water Bill Smale — Again, the texture of the water was just so interesting

Bridge flags — The national flag along the bridge

View from the bridge — It’s a nice view from the bridge in this cute small town

Parade Float — The guest house I stayed in won the first prize in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in their small town

Ennis

Vegetable soup Bill Smale — A very delicious vegetables

Ennis Friary

Clare Museum

Eamon de Valera Buick — In this town also is the county museum. What was really interesting was this Buick which Eamon de Valera, the longest serving president off and on in Ireland, purchased in the US and brought to Ireland and used for official occasions. This Buick is sometimes used in parades but it seems it may have been retired a few years ago.

This history is a little bit difficult to read but he is from this area. As you may well know he was against the treaty signed with the British government for the free state of Ireland. It was granted its own ability to govern itself but under the king of England. And the north was kept as part of the United Kingdom. He vehemently opposed anything less than a complete, independent republic and fought against the treaty and caused the Civil War after the treaty was signed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Éamon_de_Valera

Killinny

Kilmacduagh monastery

Many named Patrick in Ireland are known as Paddy

Abby graveyard — For an abandoned Abby this is an amazingly well cared for graveyard

I was wondering if this is the famous Finnegan from the book Finnegan‘s awake by James Joyce

March 14, 2026March 14, 2026

From Galway to Kilkee

the roads from Galway to Kilkee are narrow so you have to be careful but they are very beautiful areas to visit so I highly recommend driving these roads. The people are extremely friendly, expecting a lot of tourists from the US, some which they understand are looking for their ancestors. Go into the pubs and talk to people. They are very interested in striking up a conversation and they have a lot of interesting things to say. Galway is very close to Connemara were the people still speak Irish (Irish Gaelic) and the song that came to mind was one of the Clancy Brothers about the hills of Conmemara where people made moonshine and had to keep away from the taxman.

Doolin to Kilkee

Doonagore Castle Galway to Kilkee — Doonagore Castle

Liscannor Galway to Kilkee — Looking down on Liscannor from Moher cafe

Bill Smale Spanish point — Spanish point

Bill Smale Doolin cave — This cave was more than €17 (senior price) and it is something to do but I have been to many caves that are 10 times more interesting since this is just one stalactite as the main attraction.

Low pathway — Hard hats were necessary since some of the pathway was very low

500,000 year growth stalactite — This is it. I think it’s worth five euro but not more than that. The estimate is this has been growing for about 500,000 years

Two stalactites — You can see the two different colors on the stalactite. The dark part on the left is not growing anymore possibly because the water started dripping off to the right and starting a new stalactite. There is a stalagmite below but underneath is slippery clay so it keeps breaking off and falling to the side and so probably will never join the stalactite

Artificial light in the cave — It’s about 6 km to the ocean from here. The light is artificial.

Straw like stalactites — Small straw like stalactites forming but they keep falling off

Ancient coral petrified — Here you can see some ancient coral petrified on the side of the cave. This is millions of years old

Kids having fun — The kids were having fun and asking very good questions

Galway to Doolin

Kinvara

in this little town I stopped for coffee at the wild beans coffee shop

Kinvara history — Explanation of the town and some of the history

Connolly spelling version — Look how the name Connelly it’s spelled. There are many Connellys in this area and many of them have different spellings for the name. On the photo below you can see another version of the name spelling even on the same building.

Saint Joseph’s Church kinvara Bill Smale — The local church (Saint Joseph’s) was closed so I did not go in

Ancient Abbey — I stopped to see this ancient Abbey which is in complete ruins

Heart symbol — You will notice that this heart symbol is the same as the one in the statue above. I’m not sure what the significance or deep meaning is but it obviously has some story to tell.

This is what the hills look like around here. It is many miles of layered limestone Hills at limestone rubble everywhere. Burren

You might think I got a little carried away with the photos of this amazing geologic site but I study geology and I find it fascinating. There is almost an endless supply here of limestone rock for fences around Ireland. And as you travel around Ireland you will see most of the fences are made of stone.

Limestone Hills of Burren — The drive was not exactly like a corkscrew but it was a very twisty road up the hill

You can probably get more information from this QR code

Traditional musicians — Local musicians in the pub playing traditional music

Galway

The harp — This harp is from the 15th century and it’s called the Brian Boru harp but he was in the 12th century so obviously had nothing to do with him. But it is the symbol of Ireland and also of Guinness

The rulers of the area — The explanation of the people who controlled this area before the Normans invaded

Irish language writer — The effort to increase the Irish language

Galway museum — A view from the museum in Galway

Burger shop — Of course everybody has a story including hamburgers but if you look carefully at the sign it includes birds and snakes which I did not know were customers of this burger shop

A Discussion in a Pub (click here)

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Gelato — I needed to stop for some gelato, cherry chocolate with mango sherbet on top

Green spot whiskey — My two favorite whiskeys were a specific bourbon and then also Jamison Irish whiskey. But the fellow eye was talking to at the pub recommended this one and it is extremely smooth and a little sweet, definitely my new favorite.

Redbreast whiskey — This was recommended to taste which I did not and it is said to be fairly expensive. I will try it at some time

March 10, 2026March 10, 2026

Riga and blackheads

In Riga, Latvia a group was formed 600 years ago of merchants and traders who became known throughout Europe and made alliances with many different cities around Europe and other parts of the world. As you go through the photos you will gradually see the story of Riga and blackheads.

Riga cathedral Riga and blackheads — Riga’s cathedral

Shortest street in Riga Riga and blackheads — This is the narrow list and shortest street in Riga

The reason for the blackheads Bill Smale — This explains the term “blackheads” and the significance of the founding of the merchant union

Maurice is celebrated Bill Smale — Why Maurice is celebrated

Founding of the city — Riga was founded in 1201

The founding of the blackheads Bill Smale — So in 1413, or thereabouts, the blackheads were started and they were a traveling merchant group of people.

The first Christmas tree — They are suggesting this is where the idea of the Christmas tree came from. I have not checked that information but it’s very interesting

The building is mostly destroyed — It’s unfortunate this building was completely destroyed but it has been rebuilt

The Russians destroy the building — Completely destroying the building was in line with the anti-capitalist ideology but the remnants of the building were probably a danger in any case.

The blackhead building is rebuilt — The blackheads building is rebuilt as a monument to the power of the city and the country

A gift to the new blackhead building — This crystal was a gift for the opening of the new building

Artifact explanation — This is an explanation of the beautiful artifact but I forgot to keep the photo of the artifact

Blackheads meeting room — The grand meeting room

Lubec Association — A long time associated group in Germany is celebrated

Street food — OK, now we get down to the street. This is all different kinds of street food available with prices in euro

pulling from memory, there is a story of how the Russians became aligned with the Greek version of Christianity. One of the Russian Ivan’s were shopping for religion. If he allied with Rome he would have to bow to the pope. However, if he allied with the orthodox church he could claim that he is the intermediary between God and the people, kind of like being a pope.

There are reasons the three Baltic states are three different countries and a lot of it has to do with history and a major part of that history is language.

March 7, 2026March 7, 2026

the Warsaw ghetto

Warsaw is a large city and I was not very interested in the surroundings since very little seems to be of historical interest except for the remnants of the Jewish ghetto. There is a museum there and this is from the museum.

Tall building Bill Smale — You can see it’s a big city by the very tall buildings

Vodka drinkers at night — On a medium sized street this is what you can see in the morning. They were filled with some kind of vodka

Good schedules train schedules — Train travel is very organized. You can buy your tickets online and the schedules seem to be fairly accurate

March 6, 2026March 6, 2026

Dungloe to Culdaff

The road from Dungloe to Culdaff going up north to where I stayed this evening has some interesting attractions and it’s worth taking this path rather than the faster road.

Dunlewey lake Dungloe to Culdaff — Dunlewey area was stunning views of the Lake which feeds down into the river and then the ocean

Glebe house Bill Smale — I went to the Glebe house and garden but the house was not open so I walked around the garden and down to the lake since it was such a beautiful day.

Opinion — Someone who had an opinion posted this on the monument sign

These two photos are looking down on the valley and the lake from the Grianan of Aileach

These are just some photos of the estuary going down to the beach in Culdaff

A portable sauna in the beach parking lot

Portable sauna — This is one of the pamphlets I saw looking through the windshield of the truck

Free books — This was a first. This is a little cabinet on the beach where people can put and take books. I’m sure it’s a free service since there’s no monitoring.

Bed-and-breakfast — This is where I stayed. It’s not that expensive and it’s very comfortable.

March 4, 2026March 4, 2026

Scintillating Sligo

how do I remember scintillating Sligo? There is a song sung by the Clancy Brothers back in the 60s called “the Irish Rover”. They mentioned “the best Sligo rags. So when I saw the village on the map of course I had to stay here a night or two. It’s a cute little town where you will definitely want to visit especially if you come north of Galway.

Fish and chips Scintillating Sligo — At the hotel, Riverside Hotel, which is very pleasant by the way, right on the river. Make sure you get a Riverview room, the Reception person recommended the fish and chips at this restaurant. The fish was really excellent, not soggy and you get too decent pieces and you can order an option to “chips” such as the salad which was recommended and was very tasty.

Riverview room Scintillating Sligo — This was from my room which was of course a Riverview

Old post office Scintillating Sligo — This is kind of a very interesting old post office

City Hall Scintillating Sligo — The Sligo City Hall

City Plaza Scintillating Sligo — The city Plaza

Ancient burial site Bill Smale — Below you can see one of the ancient burial sites. The entrance was closed so I took a photo from the distance.

Burial site Bill Smale — This is one of the ancient burial sites

Horse and buggy Bill Smale — It’s a little difficult driving and taking photos at the same time but I was able to snap this one horse buggy going by deep in the countryside

Looking at the farms — Looking out at the farms and some residential area

Sligo country — I didn’t know at the time this was the place of Yeats. He is buried in Sligo and you will see the photos below

This is the Knocknarea mound and on top is the burial site of queen Maeve.

Ancient mound 6000 years old — This mound on top of this hill is almost 6000 years old.

Rough pathway — It’s a rough pathway up the hill

Trail explanation — An explanation of the trail in the area

Hilltop view — Beautiful views from the top of the hill

Reminds me of Pakse — This actually reminds me of Champasak in Lao which is in the Pakse area

Pathway down — This is the view of the path while walking down

Sligo view — You can see the city of Sligo in the distance

Top of the mound — Here is the mound and on top of that you can see the top of Queen Maeve’s tomb

Strandhill beach Bill Smale — Then I went down to Strandhill beach

Yeats graveside — On my way to Donnegal I saw a sign for “Yeats grave” so I decided to stop by.

Disrepair graves — There are some very old graves here which have been neglected and fallen into disrepair

Yeats grave — The grave of William Butler Yeats

Spanish or modern shipwreck — And then there is a memorial to the great disaster shipwreck the three ships of the Spanish Armada and thousands of sailors dead

there is a tale of the “black Irish” having black hair and therefore descended from the Spanish Armada sailors who landed or worship wrecked off of Ireland. Of course the Spanish did try a mass attack of Ireland in an effort to defeat the British. But it seems the term “black Irish“ was really a derogative term against the Irish. There were probably very very few survivors of the shipwreck who were able to stay hidden in Ireland. The English and the Irish rounded them up and the English executed most of them. So the term “black Irish“ does not refer to descendants of the Spanish Armada and in fact there are probably no descendants of the Spanish in Ireland.