this was only the second time I was in Dublin, the first time being 1985. Things have changed quite a bit but a lot of things have remained the same. I noticed quite an increase in tourist traffic.





































christ Church Cathedral



































this was only the second time I was in Dublin, the first time being 1985. Things have changed quite a bit but a lot of things have remained the same. I noticed quite an increase in tourist traffic.





































christ Church Cathedral



































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





Westport


Buncrana












Conemara



















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.




















Aughnanure castle













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.
Listowel and John B. Keane
I didn’t know who Keane was but when I got into town and went to the pub people explained his literary creations.






Portumna castle



Ennis












on to Limerick




two days before St. Patrick’s Day in Limerick





























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“.























““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.



Nengha




Terryglass





Portumna

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



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.




Tarbert Bridewell courthouse and jail

Listowel




I saw some people posting somewhere that the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Limerick we’re not what they used to be. I’m sure things have changed but what was interesting was the participation. You would see many young people and kids with their own groups and self created decorations among the groups marching in the parade. This gave it a very family oriented feeling as opposed to the very commercialized in giant St. Patrick’s Day parades in some places in the world. It was a very fun and refreshing treat to be in Limerick on this day.



The milk market




the parade

























































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









Ennis

Ennis Friary



Clare Museum



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

Kilmacduagh monastery










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













Galway to Doolin
Kinvara
in this little town I stopped for coffee at the wild beans coffee shop




























Galway





A Discussion in a Pub (click here)








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.




























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.


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.













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.























