After breakfast we left the Seabourn Ovation to resume exploring Dublin and western Ireland. No, it is as if we launched from an ejection seat onto the dock. The crew has the gargantuan task to efficiently move 600 passengers and their luggage off the ship and cheerfully welcome 600 more passengers and their luggage aboard, all in the space of a few hours. Consequently, the ship’s crew closely follows a tight script to effect an orderly process. As you depart, it seems the crew is saying, “We love you forever. Come back soon, but for now please step along. We have much to do!” Thank you, Seabourn, for a marvelous time, and we will see you again, hopefully soon.
A Day of Exploring in Dublin
We checked into the Jury Hotel, in the oldest section of Dublin, across the street from Christ Church. The Jury is a landmark hotel in Dublin. Its location is ideal for exploring old Dublin.
Christ Church
Christ Church Cathedral, formally known as The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is unique in that it is the cathedral of both the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches of Ireland (https://christchurchcathedral.ie/visit-us/). The 12th century church was a wooden structure adjacent to a Viking village. In 1171 Henry II attended Christmas services here and received holy communion, his first after his knights murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury.
There was so much to see in this church that we could have spent the entire day. In addition to the sanctuary, there is a large crypt below that is the oldest working structure in Dublin.
The crypt holds many priceless objects such as the silver plate presented to the cathedral by William III following his victory at the Battle of the Boyne. The church also holds its own copy of the Magna Carta.
Jameson Distillery
We moved on from Christ Church to Jameson Distillery. Call this a study in contrasts, I suppose. An old friend from my cavalry days, Nigel Dunkley, a Scotsman in the British Army, reminded me that John Jameson was a Scotsman, a fact not prominently advertised in the Irish distillery.
As with Guinness Storehouse, the Jameson Distillery presents its products in an engaging multimedia walkthrough that includes a taste testing. And certainly exploring Dublin and western Ireland would not be complete without a stop at Jameson’s. We had the opportunity to taste and compare an American whiskey, Jack Daniels, with Jameson’s and with another Irish whiskey. Susie made a college-aged young man very happy when she passed her samples to him. His head was buzzing a little bit as he left the tasting! We enjoyed the bar area in the old production facility. It appears to be a favorite with locals. Jameson now produces from a production in southern Ireland in County Cork. The facility we are in is the historic production plant.
Discovering Irish Linen
As we were leaving the Jameson Distillery, we spotted a little linen shop next door, so we stopped in to have a look. They made the beautiful embroidered linens that we saw at the Book of Kell museum when we first arrived in Dublin almost three weeks ago. We had a friendly chat with the folks. We think we would like to get embroidered family crests to display in our home. Unfortunately, in the midst of the conversation, I picked up their smart phone and left with it. An hour later, I received a frantic call, and we were able to meet up and right the wrong. Lucky we had left our contact information with them!
Exploring the Western Countryside
We decided we had to get out of Dublin for the day and tour the Irish countryside, especially the western side. Trip Advisor and other sources cautioned us that the weather is frequently wild and stormy on the western coast. We risked a 300 kilometer journey to see fog blanketing the fabled Cliffs of Moher. Okay, so maybe we will get lucky.
We planned to see the cliffs and then travel northward along a path known as the Wild Atlantic Way. We planned to enjoy some time in Galway, a tourist destination notable for buskers, Irish street performers. It turns out that thousands of people shared the same desire to visit Galway.
We booked with Wild Rover Tours and felt like we really received our money’s worth. We gathered at the bus stop down the street from our hotel before sunrise to begin our trip. Tara, our tour guide, took note of Susie’s soon-to-be-replaced knee and put us in the first seat of the bus. Bingo!! What a great view!
We rode in comfort and after two hours made a pit stop at the Barack Obama Plaza. Seriously. It seems President Obama has a 19th century Irish relative, Falmouth Kearney (1831-1878), a maternal great-great-great-grandfather. Should we spell the former president’s name Barack O’Bama? (https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/obama-irish-ancestor) .
After a couple more hours and one more castle, we made it to the Cliffs of Moher. Cloudy and windy but wonderful visibility. We rolled the dice and won! Bigly.
Cliffs of Moher
Wild Atlantic Way
We drove over 300 kilometers in a 55-passenger tour bus through backcountry roads and little villages. The countryside was incredibly scenic.
I loved watching our bus slide past oncoming buses on these narrow, rock-walled two lane roads. With literally an inch or two to spare, I would describe these encounters as “Mating Dance of the Buses!” As for Marshall, our driver, he is a bus maestro and such encounters are all in a day’s work.
Galway
Galway…. It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and it appears as if all of Ireland decided to go there. Hordes of people jammed the streets. It also seems that everyone with a musical instrument decided that it was a good time to entertain. After a long day on a bus, it was quite refreshing to walk around and take in the sights and sounds.
Exploring Dublin Once Again
After a long day touring western Ireland and back in Dublin, we set out to find something to eat. It seemed right to try Dublin’s oldest pub, The Brazen Head. American tourists, Croatian waiter, Irish food, pretty international, don’t you think? Excellent dinner here and then a walk around Temple Bar.
Last day in Ireland. Going home tomorrow. Elizabeth Neeld, writer and lifelong friend, told me that I must see Oscar Wilde’s statue. I am glad I heeded her advice.
Oscar Wilde, author, poet, and playwright, casually lounges on a stone in Merrion Park while looking into his childhood home at #1 Merrion Square. The colors of his statue are not paint but gemstones. The smoking jacket is carved Canadian nephrite jade. His pink lapels and cuffs are from semi-precious thulite from central Norway. Wilde’s face and hands are Guatemalan jade.
His pregnant wife, Constance, gazes accusingly at him from her perch atop a stone pillar. Inscriptions on the pillar are quotations of Wilde. A couple of my favorites, “No gentleman looks out of the window” and “Punctuality is the thief of time”.
Leaving Town for the Afternoon
Despite the rain which began to fall in earnest, we took the train out of town to visit the Malahide Castle and to see the fishing village of Howth.
Malahide Castle
The castle built on the outskirts of Dublin had its beginnings in 1181 when Henry II granted land to Sir Richard Talbot. For a reference point, this was shortly after the construction of the Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. The Talbot family built the castle. It remained in Talbot family hands until 1973 whereupon the family sold the estate to satisfy inheritance taxes. It is remarkable to see a structure that survived over 900 years of often tumultuous history while remaining in the hands of one family. There was an 11-year break during the reign of Oliver Cromwell, but otherwise the Talbot family called this castle home for a very long time.
A Fishing Village
Our last sojourn exploring Dublin and western Ireland was to take the train to the seaside village of Howth. It is very much a working fishing village. We went there to enjoy a seafood meal, and the Oar House did not disappoint. The oysters were to die for. Unfortunately, our last day in Ireland was a time of heavy rain and cold, turn your umbrella inside out, wind. Today was the only day of foul weather in our entire time in the British Isles. We made the long train ride way back to the Jury Hotel to prepare to depart in the morning. But before we leave, I have to show you Christ Church one last time.
So, our time in the British Isles has come to an end for now. We have enjoyed every minute. Everywhere along the way, the people of Ireland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland were exceptionally warm and friendly. Moreover, when we set out on this cruise we did not anticipate the breadth of sights, sounds, and experiences that this journey would present to us. Every cruise we have taken has been unique, so we should have expected to be surprised.
Final Thoughts
This trip broadened our perspectives of immigration by looking at our family and the families of Irish, Welsh, English, and Scottish origin that established the colonies and founded the United States. No doubt our perspectives would broaden even more with the study of European, African and Asian emigration to the United States. It is easy to see how this mix of people created such an amazing nation.
It is always surprising, though it probably should not be, that the people of these lands watch the United States so closely and look to our nation for leadership. I worry that in these days, we are letting them down. I am confident in my hope that times will change, and we will again be the leaders the world expects to see.
Ascending to the pulpit for one last thought…..
One important lesson that we share is not to rely solely upon Trip Advisor. TA has become such a force that the tourism industry follows its recommendations slavishly.
Many tourist industry vendors have learned to game the system such that a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence is meaningless. Trip Advisor Forum “Destination Experts” can sometimes be somewhat dogmatic about which sites and vendors constitute a perfect vacation. Consequently, their recommended top attractions get heavy pressure from tourists and can be overrun.
Our advice is to get off the Trip Advisor path. Get other opinions and discover your own way. You will likely find an undiscovered world with fewer tourists and rich experiences that the mainstream missed.
Next Time…..
This post completes a series of posts on our September trip to the British Isles. It has been great fun to relive the experience with you. Next time, I think we will stay closer to home with a day in the Smoky Mountains, one of the world’s most gorgeous places in the autumn, or almost any time, really.
