Even from the airplane, there were two things I immediately noticed about Ireland: there are a lot of rocks and a lot of green. We arrived in Dublin airport on May 16 and waited patiently for our group members who wouldn’t be joining us until later, due to inclement weather delays. So with half of our team there we met up with Debbie McNair of Discovery Sligo Tours and, via private coach, headed off to our first destination -- Galway.
We arrived at the Eyre Square Hotel which had very nice rooms and accommodations although there was a problem with the drinking water. This wasn't a problem though; a quick stop at the quick-mart across the street to get bottled water
fixed that. After a walk around town and dinner ,we dragged our jet-lagged bodies to bed and instantly fell asleep.
For me, much of that first day there was very hard to recall; I had a
horrible time dealing with jet lag and was dead tired.
The next day, May 17th, began with a trip to the house or Nora Barnacle Joyce, wife of James Joyce. Nora was more than just the wife of Joyce though: she was also the inspiration for many of his writings. Prior to meeting Joyce, she lived in Galway with her family until her uncle sent her away to live in Dublin after learning of Nora's personal affairs with a local Protestant boy. It was in Dublin where she met James Joyce in June of 1904. That same year the two left Ireland for Europe where they eventually set up a house and a family. Nora and James married in 1931, although it is believed that this was only done to please Joyce's dying father.
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After lunch and a quick walk around town we regrouped and set out on a very interesting and informative walking tour of Galway. Our tour started in the middle of beautiful EyreSquare where we received a very interesting history lesson at every turn we tooked. One stop that caught my attention was inside of the Eyre Square Shopping Centre. The centre is built around the original 14th-century, recently restored, wall that protected the city. I was very interesting to see the modern design of today's architecture blending with the ancient stone wall. |
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Right around the corner stood a lone wall with a skull and crossbones carved in stone under the window. This memorial caught everyone's attention, and our tour guide told us the story behind the Lynch Memorial Window. In 1493 the mayor James Lynch condemned his own son to death. It was from this window that his son was hung for the murder of a Spanish youth while out at sea. |
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On May 18th, our designated Yeats Day in Galway, we visited many beautiful
places, including Thoor Ballylee, Coole Park, and one of my favorites, the Cliffs of Moher. Our day began with our visit to Thoore Ballylee, a
tower-house of W.B. Yeats. It was interesting to visit the place where Yeats was inspired and wrote some of his poetry. After exploring around you could see that this was a very calm and relaxing
place whose atmosphere that might have help Yeats produce literary masterpieces
as "The Winding Stair" and "The Tower".
The Winding Stair
The Tower
Afterwards we made our way to Coole Park, home of Lady Gregory.
Isalbella Augusta, Lady Gregory, was an important figure in the Irish Literary Revival. Coole Park served as a important work place for many literary figures. Yeats wrote five poems about or set in the house and grounds: "The Wild Swans at Coole", "The Shadowy Waters", "In the Seven Woods", "Coole Park" and "Coole Park and Ballylee". He spent many summers there, and the famous 'Autograph
Tree' on the estate still bears his signatures. W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and other literary revivalists started the Irish Literary Theatre where Yeats's plays were performed;
it later became the Abbey Theatre. Coole Park's famous "Autograph Tree' is a massive cooper beech with the autographs of famous writers who came to visit. Coole Park offered more of Irelandss amazing scenery, every area on the gounds
was a great photo opportunity. While walking throughout the different paths in Coole, we got to see all the forest
"fairies" sparkling in the trees as we walked by.
We then made our way to our last stop of the day, the amazing Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were one of the most incredible things I have ever seen, a massive cliff side with huge waves of water crashing into it. There where huge stone barriers in place so that nobody could go to the edge and get swept away by the roaring winds. The winds were so fast that while I was walking I had to hold my glass to stop them from getting blown off. I would suggest bringing ear muffs or a head band because the winds were so rough after about 30 minutes my head felt like it was going to explode from the inside.
