On my way to Dublin I decided to make a stop at Clonmacnoise, but before I got there, I stopped at Shannonbridge. With a name like that, you can just guess what is coming next: a photo of a bridge over the river Shannon, and I shall not disappoint!
There was a motorcycle rally in town – I have never seen so many hairy people wearing so much leather – and I looked obviously out of place so I did not stay too long!
Clonmacnoise is described in ‘the book‘ as the “best monastic ruins in Ireland” so I could not miss that. I was somewhat concerned by the size of the car park (it is BIG!), but then it was mostly empty so I guess I was at the right time of year. For medieval ruins, the first statue I saw seemed to be anachronistic (much too modern) – but I still like it enough to take a picture. It is the pilgrim arriving at his destination…
There is a very good video to introduce the site – I had the choice of waiting 1/2 hour for the English version, or have the French version in 5 minutes – so I decided to go along with a bus-load of Frenchies. Around the ruins, some of the oldest high crosses in Ireland were found in excellent condition. They have now been moved into the museum to preserve them and replaced in the field with copies. They all date from before 1000 AD, much before most of the monuments left here.
This is called the South Cross and is more than 2.5 m tall – it is very impressive; unfortunately there was not enough room for me to get a complete shot, even with my wide-angle lens.
One of the attractions of Clonmacnoise is the location. On a shallow hill overlooking the Shannon River that passes lazily around the site. A small boat was leaving as I was looking around. Overlooking the river is also O’Rourke’s Tower. The top was destroyed by lightening in 1135 (there must be some record of this I guess!) but the rest is in rather good condition.
The ruins of the Cathedral – originally built in 909 AD – are just behind the copy of the Cross of Scriptures. The whole site is peaceful and almost mesmerizing.
Not far from the monastery, there are also the ruins of an ancient castle. Just in front of the moat was an interesting gathering; I am not sure what was happening, but I suspect that this was a religious gathering, and probably not Christian! O’Rourke’s Tower is in the distance.
I drove on to Dublin and checked into my hotel – I stayed at the Hilton, near the Grand Canal. Very nice hotel. However, I am discovering that cities do not inspire me to take a lot of pictures; I have very few of Dublin and none of the important monuments that I saw while there. I like to discover cities by walking, walking and walking some more. So that is what I did and ended up in St Stephen’s Green – the Fusilier’s Arch makes a dramatic entrance gate to the park.
However, I preferred this house which is too fancy to be the gardener’s abode, but I could not find out what it is, or why it is still in this park.
I also spent time at Trinity College, the premier university in Dublin. I took the walking guide offered by the students and really enjoyed that – it is worth it and gives you access to the old library and the book of Kells. That alone is worth the cost of the tour. The visit started in one of the main quadrangle of the university, where there are statues of important people who marked the history of the institution.
This gentleman has a particularly poignant story. He is probably the reason why we now say “Be careful what you wish for!”. As Provost of the school, George Salmon swore that girls would be admitted to the University only over his dead body. In 1904, the directors of the school voted to allow women to apply and George carried out his threat and died a few weeks later!
Very interesting statue in front of the Berkeley Library. It is called sphere with sphere by an Italian artist called Pomodoro (tomato – I kid you not!). I know I have never been to Berkeley University in California, where a similar statue is supposed to be, but I am sure that I have seen a similar statue before. I cannot remember where, and it bothers me!
It bothered me enough that I searched, and found 172 photos of “sphere with sphere” on Flickr. One is at the Hirshorn Statue Garden in Washington. I have been there in 2005, so that is where I must have seen this before. He is that statue.
In Dublin, I met up with Clare, whom I had originally met during my tour in Myanmar in 2008. She suggested that I should go visit Bru Na Boinne, which I had never heard of. To make it even more attractive, she offered to take me there herself – I could not resist such an offer. I am very glad I did. How often do you get to see a monument that is older that the Pyramids in Egypt? This is one of them! It is a huge mound of stones and earth with a small chamber in the middle. The entrance way has a very precise alignment with the rising sun of the winter solstice so this might have been a calendar; but the exact purpose of this huge edifice has not been determined.
We also stopped at another pre-historic site nearby called Hill of Tara. This is only rough designs in a prairie – not quite as spectacular as Bru Na Boinne but still very interesting. In the evening, we were actually joined by Joan who was also part of the Myanmar trip and just happened to be visiting Clare from Australia. A very nice coincidence.
But already my vacation in Ireland is approaching its end and I need to go to Belfast for a ferry to Scotland. On the way, I stop at Portaferry and go for a quick walk at Ballyquintin Point where there is a possibility to see dolphins and sea lions. I see birds!
and more birds
The second stop is more successful. I stop at the Mount Steward House and Garden, house that was owned by the Marquess of Londonderry as a country home (their may house was in London and I saw the horse carriage that they used to go to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation!). Unfortunately the house is closed on Wednesdays, and I came on a Wednesday, but the gardens are great to see as well. So I had extra time to walk around outside.
Spring flowers were everywhere
Some of the views reminded me almost of Japanese gardens. I almost expected women in kimono to appear from around the next bend on the path.
Closer to the house, even more flowers
and here too, more birds which do not seem to be afraid of the mean looking stone frog
I also stopped at Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetland Center. During the migration season it is a stopping place for many different breeds of birds, but at this season, it was quieter with a few geese and swans. In the distance, I was fascinated by this tower that seemed to dominate the whole landscape.
I went for a closer look and found out that this is rather recent, having been built in the late 1800’s in homage for one of the Marquess of Londonderry who really liked the view from the hill. In the morning, there was fog around the top which made the place even more mysterious.
I took the ferry from Belfast to Stranraer in Scotland early on Thursday completing my tour of Ireland.
Practical Information
I had two excellent dinners in Dublin at Eden on Meeting Square and at Seagrass near the Grand Canal.
Eden is in the Temple Bar area and has excellent food. There is always something going on at Meeting square and you can enjoy that while having your dinner – well worth it. Seagrass is a recent addition, outside of the center of town, but convenient for me near the Grand Canal. It offers an Irish version of the Tapas with small servings of many fusion dishes which are all (the ones I tried) excellent. You need to make reservations at both if you want to be sure to have a table.
To go from Dublin to Mount Stewart House, the best way it to take the ferry to Portaferry. It is a quick crossing and the ferry runs every 1/2 hour.
I spent the last night near Lisbane at the Old Schoolhouse Innand Restaurant. It may not be easy to find (it is very near the Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetland Center) but well worth finding. The dinner is excellent with a great wine selection.
I used Stena Lineagain to go from Belfast to Stranraer. I booked the new Super Fast Ferry which was very nice. The ferry docks have moved from where both my guide book and my car GPS showed it to be, so follow the signs and you will be OK. All the ferry terminals are now in the same area, North of Belfast.
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