Ah, Ireland

Today I am working on the slide show for the Celtic storytelling presentation I do with another storyteller. We decided to add more photos to the slides, and I spent a pleasurable morning looking back through my photos from my last trip in Ireland, in 2017. I thought I'd share a few of them here to celebrate this Irish holiday/holy day.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Brigid's Cross

Visitors to my house might have noticed the straw cross hanging on the wall. Some might have known what it was: a Brigid's Cross.

You might see these in many Irish homes. traditionally they were woven on this day, the feast day of St. Brigid, but the crosses pre-date the Christianized legend of Brigid.

You can read about St. Brigid here.  One of the most famous stories about her is the story of her cloak and how she approached the King of Leinster to ask for land to build a convent. She had found the perfect place in County Kildare, with forests, running water and green fields. The King refused, but Brigid went back and said, "I need only enough land on which to spread my cloak."

You can imagine the King's reaction to that. A cloak is not very big. So he laughed and agreed to her request.  Brigid instructed four helpers to each take a corner of her cloak and begin walking. The cloak grew and grew until it covered many acres. The King was a man of his word; he gave the land to Brigid, and later converted to Christianity.

My cross hangs near my kitchen, a reminder of our last trip to Ireland and of the Traveler from whom we bought it, high on the side of a mountain on an early morning in September, in Kerry.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Ireland, Day 6, Part 2: The Ring of Kerry

Such a long day and such beauty really deserves two posts.

The overlook above Watertown. Breath-taking. I had an apple that I'd brought from my tree here at home, and I tossed the core over the hill here. Maybe it will sprout? And um, was that illegal?

At one point along the road the stone fences in this photo made a giant X. I don't know if that was intentional or not. I think that might be a ring fort in the center.

Another stop, more beauty. The little islands really draw me.

A closer look.

Can you imagine living in that house down there? I think I'd never want to go anywhere else.

And up ahead, you can see the road we were on a few minutes later.

At this roadside, an entrepreneur grabs and opportunity for fast cash from tourists. And look at the conga line of picture-takers behind him! That made me laugh. Especially the nun!

Onward and downward, and then a sign to an ancient ring fort, a place we'd marked to see.

The way in led us past the prettiest little waterfall.

 A young couple from Germany were there, climbing like nimble goats on the stone walls.

I tried to climb too, but didn't get far. The old man, however, scrambled right up!

To enter the fort, one had to pass through this narrow opening. You can see what a deterrent that would be to attackers.

The area around the fort had a magical feel, perhaps aided by the moss and the lush greenness.

I do not know what kind of bird this is; it looked similar to a female Goldfinch, I thought. A chaffinch, perhaps?

And then back on the road, to follow this load of peat for quite a few miles. We didn't mind at all.

More on this day in my next post!
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Ireland, Day 6: The Ring of Kerry

After our long day on the road and out in the weather, we were ready for some comfort food and relaxation. The Anvil Bar
near our b&b in Castlemaine provided both, along with some interesting conversation--and the fish and chips was absolutely the best. Fresh caught that day.

The owner, a lively and friendly lady, told us she'd been spending some time in Lisdoonvarna--remember my post about the Matchmaking Festival? Well, this lady is single, but she said she wasn't interested in finding a mate, but went for the many dances held during the festival. I asked (of course) about ghosts in her inn, which is quite an old building, and she said she was sure there were some although she'd never had an experience with them--yet. I laughingly mentioned the fortunetellers we saw in Lisdoonvarna, and found that she wasn't nearly as skeptical as I was about them, as she had had some interactions with them that made her think there might be something to it. Hmmm.

We were up and out early again the next morning as we intended to drive the entire Ring of Kerry in one day. The route is about 130 miles long, much of it one lane and curvy, so we knew it would be a long day. But it was our last day in the west of Ireland, and the Ring was one place I had been told by many people was was a must-see. I admit I was disappointed at first; the route went through towns and some ho-hum scenery, but things soon changed.

One of the more interesting sights was a pair of Travellers on the side of the road, selling what we would call flea market stuff. Some people call them gypsies, which is considered a perjorative name. The Travellers are itinerant people and although there have been efforts to settle them into housing, most prefer their ancestral traveling lifestyle. These two men had a van and set up along the road to sell to tourists like us. We enjoyed talking with them and petting the donkey and the little dog who liked to sit on the donkey's back. I bought a Saint Bridget's Cross from them and it now hangs in my kitchen.

And then we were back into beautiful--no, stunning--scenery.

We drove down one steep road to the lighthouse, and were followed by an impatient man in a van. We found a place to let him go by, only to find him a little further on, walking his dogs along the road. I guess we interrupted his routine! And truthfully we were going slow because the countryside around us, and the sea below, was just breath-taking.

Sadly, I somehow lost a good many pictures after taking these. There was a little abandoned stone hut near the lighthouse that we explored. It consisted of 2 rooms, and you could see where the rafters had been for a loft above. There was a two-sided fireplace, and some nooks built into the stone walls.

It was intriguing to imagine what life would have been like in this place, with this view. I imagined that maybe the husband and sons were fisherman. The women would have kept a few sheep in the walled pastures, perhaps raised cabbages and potatoes, and picked the many berries along the walls for making preserves and wine or something? Days spent working the wool, cleaning fish, fixing nets, preparing food, drying seaweed for soups and other uses, cutting a stacking peat for the fires....I might be way off course, but looking at what was there and what might be possible with those resources kept my mind busy reconstructing those long ago lives.

My camera was being most uncooperative, but it was working again by the time we got to where I think was the furthermost point of the Ring, and the site of some scenes from the most recent Star Wars movie, apparently.

Although I took many photos here, I seem not to have more than the two above. Have to go back, that's all!

We stopped for lunch in Watertown, and I had to laugh because yes, here was another tractor parked in town, while its owner apparently had his lunch.

I also liked this bench with its tribute to a Mr. Lear: "So there you go, for good, smiling, Swearing,eyes thrown to heaven With never a drop of bad blood between you and the whole wide world." A good way to be remembered.

I will have to finish this day in another post as there is much more to share.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.