Ireland, Nov '08 Part III

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Part III: Cobh back to Dublin

This is the third and last part of the photo travel journal of brothers Chris & Paul and their friend Kevon (posting this), of their Ireland trip in November of '08.

Part III covers their journey leaving Cobh, heading east and finally north back to Dublin. Part II concluded with a walking tour of Cobh, then heading east for Waterford.

(Note: If you want to hear a little Irish music while looking at this, click here: and "minimize" the YouTube screen to hear it and continue reading.)


Leaving Cobh: View down West Beach Street.


Rainbow on the N25 bound for Waterford.

Waterford

At the Waterford factory and store, on the way to Wexford.


Crystal chandeliers on display.


Sports "cups" on display at Waterford. (Kevon & Paul are wondering if their friend Dave T. has drunk from any of them.)


In the Waterford factory, founded in the town that bear's its name in 1783.


Artisan engraving a 100-euro goblet at Waterford.


Unusual 3D-scene on a displayed vase.


The brothers bear gifts; they got the shopping gene from their mother, Rita.

Wexford

Church in Wexford. This is a multi-purpose shot: Shows not only a beautiful steeple in twilight, but the church's walled (and paved) grounds provided their parking spot for Friday night and Saturday morning ( for only 3 euros.) They got the tip from a kind local (in a pub of course.)


Statue of the Virgin in the midst of the church's car park, yet another reason it was safe to park there.


Inside The Church of the Assumption, they assumed, which is one of the "Twin Churches" (1858) in Wexford. They believe this to be the crypt of Rev. James Roche, priest at the church.


They stopped in Bugler Doyles and the friendly bartender, a kid of maybe 19, showed them their rooms and told them that breakfast was served across the street at Gusto's cafe the next morning. They were set.


In the front room of Bugler Doyles bar & guesthouse. Paul spotted an old man at a booth near them and asked if he knew of another good pub nearby. The man said, no, he didn't, since he only went to Bugler Doyles.


Next pub: The Sky and the Ground on Main Street.


At The Sky and the Ground, Wexford. (CP)


Pub scene, Wexford. (CP)


Heading down Main Street, chock full o' pubs.


Bar Undertaker, filled inside with the after-work crowd on an early Friday evening.


Barback at the Bar Undertaker.


Pub sign. (CP)


Front of the non-descript Mary's Bar on Johns Gate Street --but only non-descript from the outside. (Next-day pic.)


At the bar at Mary's Bar.


At Mary's Bar (CP)


Patron/artist unveiling his Christmas creation, a papermache reindeer.


Was Paul the model for this festive reindeer?


Chris had his Obama shirt on, and was asked several times at the pub to show it. (Amusingly, one of the older patrons, a Tip O'Neil lookalike who loved the shirt, spotted them the next day on the street and informed them that Hillary had been appointed Secretary of State.)


After Mary's they stopped in Robertino's Pizzeria, where they all had pasta for dinner, before heading down to the waterfront in search of live music.


Chris in front of The John Barry pub, with requisite empty kegs, at Lower King Street & Paul Quay.


Inside The John Barry, where the Three Amigos (but there were only two of them) played an eclectic mixture of Country songs and Mexican ballads.


Next was Simon's Place pub on Main for a pint.


Back at Bugler Doyles for a nightcap, in the third of three rooms connected by the long bar. Their beds, fortunately, were only a few steps away above them.

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Wexford to Rathdrum, Saturday, Nov. 22nd

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They hit the cafe for breakfast early before taking a walking tour of the town. Wexford was a booming place, with a forward-looking, bustling feel about it, quite different from the rural areas on the west coast.


Train passing on the quay at Wexford on Sat. morning.


Statue of John Barry, whom they named the pub after. He was an American naval hero in the Revolutionary War, born in Wexford.



Pleasure boats behind the breakwater in Wexford's harbour.




Line-up of offshore fishing trawlers on Wexford's pier.



Scenes at the pier.








Exhaust stacks on a large fishing trawler.

They twice tried to tour the ruins of Selskar Abbey at the other end of town, but both attempts found the abbey closed, despite signage that said it was open. They did get a decent view through the gates on the walk around the outside.


Ruins of Selskar Abbey, dating back to the 12th Century.




Henry II reputedly did penance at Selskar Abbey (for having Thomas a'Beckett beheaded.)


Selskar ruins. The first treaty between Ireland and England was signed here in 1169.



Scenes from the walk down Main Street in Wexford.




They drove north on the N11 to Arklow, then up the Avoca Valley and stopped at Avoca Handweavers, the oldest weaving shop in Ireland, established in 1773.


Stream running through the rural weaving mill.


The product: Avoca hand-woven sweaters and scarves from Irish wool and mohair.



Waterfall and stream beside the Avoca weaving sheds, probably the power source to the mill at one time.


Roses in front of Avoca's weaving shed.

Below: Steps in the weaving process at Avoca's Handweavers.


Yarn or thread on spools to make the fabric's pattern.


Shot of the yarn being lined up in a multi-colored arrangement to create the warp for the loom.


The hand loom, with the warp on the roller in the foreground. The threads are separated by the heddle at the top to create a gap, or shed for the shuttle with the cross threads to pass through.


The wooden shuttle that passes perpendicular through the separated warp threads.


The comb pressing the crossthreads tight agains the warp, creating fabric or cloth. The weaver said this fabric is mohair, although it looked more like carpet. He said a brush is used to fluff up the threads and give it the classic mohair look.


Paul and Chris are impressed.


(Note: If you want to hear more live Irish traditional music while looking at this, click here: and "minimize" the YouTube screen to hear it and continue reading.)

Rathdrum

They decided to end the driving in Rathdrum, a one-street town close to their ultimate destination, the scenic Glendalough, an area known as "The Garden of Ireland." They stopped by Jacob's Well that was hosting a post-wedding/pre-reception pub-stop by the guests. A kind waitress broke away from the chaos to show them their room and give them a key so they could drop off their packs.


First stop was the Cartoon Inn (CP).


Kevon at the pub, its walls covered in an artist's graffitti. The 'tagger' here is an English artist who retired nearby, and who draws the cartoons on the walls when he stops by the pub. (They were told the artist has a bar stool reserved for him.)



Two shots of the artist's work on the walls at the Cartoon Inn. (CP)




The front bar at the Cartoon Inn.


The three amigos at The Cartoon Inn. (CP)




Downstairs at the pub, early evening on Saturday. It would be packed when they returned that night.


Alley beside the Cartoon Inn.


In the alley was a pub/restaurant, The Coffin Shed. First, the Bar Undertaker and now The Coffin Shed -- seems to be a death-obsession with the pub owners and their names.


They headed back to Jacob's Well for dinner in the adjoining restaurant. Eating healthy, Kevon and Paul had the stuffed baked chicken with a load of fresh vegetables, and Chris had the traditional Shepherd's Pie. They headed up for a brief rest in the room before hitting the pubs that night.


The Corner House, the next stop. Kevon had bought a phone card to call home to Debbie and this pub had the only public phone in town, but it wouldn't work. After their failure to complete the call, a sympathetic waitress tried and got the phone to "ring through," but they still couldn't hear each other.


Disgruntled over the phone not working, they marched out in a huff and went the eight steps to the pub next door, Geoghegan's, that shared a common bar with the The Corner House.

Over in The Corner House, there was a band playing country songs, and the music filtering through the connecting doorways was just low enough to not be annoying. Their pub, though, was quite unique. Kevon counted the patrons and came up with this statistic: Of the 40 persons in the pub, 32 were women, all dressed up and attractive, everyone of them in their 20s or 30s. The remainder were eight men: three at the bar in their 70s, two who were a couple of the girls' dates, and the three travelers. What a ratio! They never did figure out if that was the usual thing at Geoghegan's.

Eventually they headed back to the Cartoon Inn and squeezed into a tiny space next to the fireplace so Paul could watch the turf burn. They struck up a conversation with Ashley, who was seated at the table in front of them with her husband and three other people. She told them that she was a teacher at a Gaelic-language school nearby, that some of the people in the area commuted all the way to Dublin, that she had never had a Murphy's, and that many of the older pub patrons, who had been drinking Guinness for "donkey years," had switched to cheaper Beamish after a Guinness price-hike.

They also learned that her big husband was a former Gaelic football player. He was leaving for South Africa the next week for 10 days, volunteering with a group of Irishmen to build 200 houses in the townships for the poor. Ashley introduced them to her beautiful friend, Monica, and they notice that Ashley's husband was becoming a bit annoyed that she was ignoring them and focusing on talking to the Americans. So they came to the conclusion that it was time to leave.

They wandered back to Jacob's Well and had a final nightcap (Paddy's) before heading upstairs to bed. It poured rain in the middle of the night with a passing cold front.

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Rathdrum to Dublin, Sunday, November 23rd

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View out the window on Sunday. They woke to clear skies and a strong wind buffeting the window panes.

Kevon went wandering through the deserted town with the Canon to capitalize on the early morning light.






Storefront mannequin dressed for Christmas? Or Kevon was in a Holiday remake of the classic, "Children of the Damned."




St. Savior's Church (Anglican), at the far end of Rathdrum at sunrise.


Think the Catholics are having trouble finding priests? Even the marrying Anglican ministers are getting scarce.


Headstone at St. Savior's, only a few feet from the church's walls.


They headed up to the large church overlooking the town. Shadows on the church lawn.


"Solarized" statue of St. Michael in front of the church.


Church front of St. Mary & St. Michael church, on the hill above Rathdrum.


Bell tower at the back of the church.


St. Mary & St. Michael church, made of local granite, was built in 1856.


An end of the rainbow on the way to Glendalough. (CP)

Glendalough

After the church, they drove the scenic route to do a short, 5K hike near Glendalough, tucked into steep hills, in Wicklow Mountains National Park. They parked the car and did the Miners' Road Walk, past the "Upper Lake" to the ruins of miners' homes and waterfalls. They were at the trailhead in sun, but by the time they were within sight of the ruins they were in a driving rain and a 30-knot wind coming down the valley -- that abruptly ended fifteen minutes later.


Scots Pines on the Miners' Road, Wicklow Mtns. NP.


Dying ferns and tree trunk.


Pines and Upper Lake, Glendalough.


Kevon at a sign for the cave of St. Kevin (sp.) above his head. The saint lived there as a hermit. Both St. Kevin's bed (cave) and cell were on that opposite bank. They decided not to hike over there since they were expecting to find St. Kevin's cell: a shrine with an old Nokia in a plexiglass case (how else did hermits communicate?) Monks and priests were hermits or in hiding in the 1600s since they were considered "outlaws" by the protestant English who ruled them.


Up the Miners' Road Walk, with feral goats on the opposite hillside.


Trying to stay warm in a blowing, cold wind on the walk.


The upper reaches of Upper Lake.


Chris and Paul, with waterfall.


Ruins of the miners' village.


Stone-stepping to stay dry at the miner's village.


Waterfall above the miners' village.


Serious hikers (that excluded the three travelers) heading up into the heath.


Rock, or giant lion about to eat the Wicklow Mtns. Nat'l Park education center as they head back to the car.


Scots pines and path, lower end of Upper Lake.


Moss-covered trunk in the bog below the lake.


Paul & Chris in forest.


Tangible proof that it rains there.


Bridge and limbs, Wicklow Mtns. Nat'l Park.


A stop in Wicklow for coffee before the long drive to Dublin Airport.


The Clarion at the Dublin airport, within walking distance of Budget Rent Car -- and a pub.


Packs in the room, rental car returned, and the three ready for the 10:30 a.m. flight, they walk to Kealy's pub and restaurant for some final stout.


Paul & Kevon in Kealy's (CP)


At Kealy's restaurant, the waitress, a college girl who said she was Number 4 on the Irish surf team, tells them that if they want to hear some traditional live music that they need only hop on a double-decker bus out front and ride it to the civic center and take a cab back to the hotel. So they have a good dinner and find themselves on a bus heading downtown.


Downtown Dublin, not far from the Temple Bar area.


Dublin had lit its Christmas lights for the season that night.

They went upstairs at the Palace Bar, where eventually eight musicians gathered, including one on the pipes. Hearing that they were all born in Texas, the pub's owner (and singer/flute player and guitarist), sang them a song by ------- from Austin. The room was packed by an enthusiastic crowd that listened.


The evolving band of musicians, in their circle, playing traditional Irish tunes at the Palace Bar.


The wainscoat makes a nifty Guinness spot at the Palace Bar. (CP)


Paul listens to the session, with Fionnuala, an artist, behind him. (See her web site at . To the far right is Cari, a news editor from Chicago, and her aunt. They had arrived in Dublin that day for a week-long visit and were the three travelers' replacements from America.


Fionnuala, the artist. (Paul's photo.)


The talented young string player, sitting in.


Final song: The group of eight in their session at the Palace Bar, a great way to end the trip.

They caught a cab to the hotel and had a nightcap in the lobby bar, another Paddy's, before heading for bed at 2 a.m.; they could always sleep on the plane.

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Dublin to Chicago, Monday, Nov. 24th

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They flew home. (CP)

Final image:

Forget those Three Irish Tenors: Paul & Chris and the three Irish stouts, in the after-hours sitting room of The Commodore Hotel, Cobh.

The End

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Comments

[Ann Rogers]

Fantastic pic , lads and how many pubs do u reckon you went into??
I thoroughly enjoyed looking at your very good pics of Ireland! Actually made me feel a little homesick, was born and grew up in the Emerald Isle and now settled in Australia( another amazingly beautiful country! ) these past 15 years. I go back every 3 years or so,. next trip due 2010 with my eldest daughter, Brianna who will be 12. Looks like you guys had a really good time..i have to say " there is nothing like an Irish pub in Ireland for atmotphere- not to mention the Guiness, it is the one thing i missed for a long time when i emigrated!!! Slainte Ann