2019 - Ireland by Van
10 April 2019 - In transit, Salt Lake City to London.
Above: Boudin Blanc (file image). Mayfair, London, UK. 11 April 2019.
El Contadore, Eton Mum, TIMDT, Bishop.
Escargot
Scottish steak.
Bordeaux.
Recommended...food and company. Well be back. — eating dinner with great friends at Le Boudin Blanc.
Addendum:
What fun to see Cafe Niche and the beautiful spring flowers in your photo diary! What a special time that was for us. Have a great trip to Ireland and take some photos there too…:)!
Piano and Tennis,
Salt Lake City, UT
Above: Enigma code breaking machine. Churchill War Rooms. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT booked in advance tickets for the two of us to see the Churchill War Rooms today.
Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister and his war time cabinet of eight supervised the British fight in World War II from this underground bunker. The German bombing "blitz" of 1939 and 1940 nearly destroyed London, but Churchill rallied the British people to resist, persevere and, later, go on offence against German aggression. Churchill's is one of the great stories of wartime leadership at times of extreme duress.
The Churchill War Rooms shows recreations of offices, living spaces, cafeterias etc. used by the command staff. We see the special, noiseless Remington typewriters used by the clerical pool. Apparently, Churchill didn't like typewriter noise. The typewriters were specially created for Churchill's war room by Remington of the United States.
Interesting is the nook where Chruchill would regularly talk via transatlantic cable to US president Franklin Roosevelt. During the war period the phone nook was disguised as an inconsequential closet area so onlookers would not be tempted to eaves drop on critical, high level, war time conversations.
There are fascinating diorama exhibits chronicling Churchill's life story and the important events of World War II.
Many today call Churchill a racist. He didn't have good things to say about Gandhi, and he is scathingly negative in his descriptions of Islam. Racist is an inappropriate term to describe Churchill. Racism is to denigrate another person solely on the basis of skin color. Churchill never did this. Rather, I would call Churchill a cultural supremacist.... and there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, there may be a moral imperative on the part of owners of superior culture to export strong cultural values to cultures where dysfunctional and venal leaders inhibit opportunity of their people to maximize potential for self fulfillment. All cultures are not equal. Preservation of culture is why we fight.
Brexit is a hot topic in Britain today. I thought how the Britain is in need of someone with Churchill's inspirational leadership capabilities today to resolve Britain's exit from the EU. In 2016 Britain's voters voted a separation from the EU. However, today, her leaders, most of whom likely disagreed with the "leave" vote, wiggle and waffle to sort out an "exit" that minimizes the pain of separation. With the current ambivalent approach the pro remain side seems emboldened that the public can be worn down to either hold another referendum or to accept a watered down "separation" that is a separation in name only.
My own view is that a hard exit will (or at least could) lead to a culturally reenergized Britain.. where the spirit that initialized the industrial revolution and energized a great colonial administration could re capture these qualities and channel them into accelerated economic prosperity and growth. This revival of British culture, in my view is far superior to allowing British culture and sovereignty to evaporate into the cultural vacuum of the Brussels bureaucracy. Britain can negotiate bilateral trade deals on her own, common. No one is going to ignore the British market.
Julian Assange was released from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London today. The embassy is near to the War Rooms, where we were. A chopper was hovering over our area to monitor the demonstrations at the Ecuadorian embassy as Assange was released. So... "we were there" at the time this historic footnote was written.
What would Churchill think of Assange? Probably, he'd not think very much of him. Churchill was head of a powerful central government during war time... a time where "loose lips sunk ships." Purveyors of secrets, like Assange, did not, and probably should not have, fared well at a time when national survival was at stake.
Yet, today, if you are a believer that powerful central government is a threat to freedom, you might come up with an argument in support of people like Assange. On the other hand, if you believe in rule of law, you would very much be for his prosecution for the crime of hacking government secrets and making them public. Without being explicit in whether Assange is a hero or a goat, I would put him ahead, integrity wise, of the reporters of the New York Times and Washington Post.
Above: Fortnam and Mason. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT was interested in some jewelry here that she saw yesterday. I had never heard of this place. TIMDT assured me that any body who is any body knows Fortnam and Mason.
Above: Pomellato. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
Bishop selfie. Look carefully.
Bishop awaits damage assessment for well deserved fiftieth anniversary present for TIMDT (16 May 2019).
Above: Liberty London. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT surveys her empire.
Addendum:
I have eaten at Michael Caines restaurant many years ago - The stories of the owners and their shenanigans is also quite interesting 👻
Markco,
Ojai, CA
Above: Buckingham Palace. London, UK. 13 April 2019.
Bishop ponders.
Marrying Meghan. Monarchy mishap?
Also, had Bishop known most locals were PIBS, he would have brought another wardrobe. — at Buckingham Palace.
Above: Bishop and TIMDT at Westminster Abbey. London, UK. 13 April 2019.
We didn't go in. Line was too long. We'd been inside before.
Walking London in a drizzle.
Above: Queen Elizabeth I. National Portrait Gallery. London, UK. 13 April 2019.
Above: Portrait Restaurant. National Portrait Gallery. 13 April 2019.
Beet root risotto. — eating lunch at Portrait Restaurant and Bar.
Above: Lobby. National Portrait Gallery. London, UK. 13 April 2019.
TIMDT checks device.
Above: J. Sheekey Restaurant. London Theater District. 13 April 2019.
At the bar. Eatin' good in the neighborhood.
Above: Nightcap. Bar, Chesterfield hotel. 13 April 2019.
Third round Masters on TV.
Tiger redemption?
Chesterfield. Well located in heart of Mayfair. .
Plus: Shower water pressure.
Minus: Poor socket locations.
Addendum:
Yes, of course I have been to Fortnam & Mason, as well as Harrod’s.
Diane and I took a paddle wheel boat trip out of New Orleans in November, only to discover that the river is lined with petroleum plants of all sizes and locations. While the plantation tours were interesting, nothing prepared us for the absolutely spellbinding WWII Museum, five-building campus. We expected to spend a few hours there. It morphed into 3 full days to cover the European, North Africa and Pacific theaters of war. We stayed at a charming place in the warehouse district, north of Canal street. St. James Hotel at 330 Magazine St.
Izetta,
Chicago, IL
Not all laws are good laws. And, some will deem each one good, and some bad. At what point is it necessary to disobey? At what point is it proper to grant amnesty to the law breaker? How many have been so granted by our Presidents over the course of our history? Once again, what is right and wrong resides in the mind of the beholder.
Anyway, it all seems like such a frivolous diversion as all I see reported everywhere is how the earth is being poisoned to death...land, air and water.
But as you say, we've all managed to be born in the right place and at the apex.
Enjoy,
Kat,
Dallas, TX
Glad you are eating well and how nice that people were dressed up. I am so sick of seeing everyone in Jeans and sweats. Have fun and say Hi.
Comic Mom,
Park City, UT
Above: Sherbourne Hotel. Dublin, Ireland 14 April 2019.
Here, I spent my first night in Ireland. TIMDT informed me that there is a recent Amazon Prime television series showing, step by step, the restoration of this "grande dame" hotel.
TIMDT had been to Ireland, though not Dublin, some ten years ago while traveling with her cronies.
We met up with our tour organizers and traveling companions, Hoops and Bronx Girl, and dined at the hotel restaurant, Saddleback.
After dinner we walked over to O'Donahue's Pub and soaked up a bit of Irish folk music from a live group playing there. I'm not a beer aficionado, but, I felt I needed to try Ireland's famed Guiness beer. I asked the bar tender for the smallest size of Guiness I could have. He handed me about a finger's worth in a whiskey shot glass... all the while laughing his head off. I learned that 'half pint' is the way to order a small beer portion.
My brain is pretty much an empty slate re Ireland. While I have been an eager student of the British colonial period, whatever learnings I have acquired have been focused on Asia and Africa. I look forward, over the next ten days, to filling in pieces of the puzzle that make up Ireland.
Above: Nicholas Moss pottery. County Kilkenny, Ireland. 15 April 2019. (file image)
First stop. Four of us are in a hired, five passenger, Mercedes van, with local, Mary O'Leary as our hired driver and guide. Our first stop, heading southeast towards Waterford and Cork, is a shopping stop.
In the short distance driven to date, we're finding that Mary, a resident of County Cork, three kids out of the nest, is a fount of local knowledge and a competent driver. She and her husband once owned a farm in France.... somewhere near Bourges... Poitiers.... Limoges.
I've made fun, over the years of TIMDT and cronies' seeming propensity to elevate shopping ahead of sightseeing while touring, but, I have to admit that this pottery stop was impressive. Nicholas Moss stuff has a world class reputation. It was fun seeing the business at its source.
Above: TIMDTY and Irish bovines. County Kilkenny, Ireland. 15 April 2019.
Dairy and meat account for four percent of Ireland exports, $4 billion in 2018. Notwithstanding, as we travel the roads of rural, south eastern Ireland, farmsteads dominate the landscape.
Would you believe that pharmaceuticals, 53 billion 2018, at 32% of total exports, is Ireland's leading export?
Speaking of driving in rural Ireland... that means driving in most of Ireland. Greater Dublin, at 1.7 million, has a third of Ireland's population. The next largest cities... like Waterford, or Galway, barely crack 100 thousand residents.
Above: View from Cliff House, Ardmore, County Waterford, Ireland. 15 April 2019.
We were warned about the weather in Ireland. Still, this image bespeaks a stark beauty likely indicative of more sights we will see in the next ten days.
This place is advertised as five star, though it was a bit frayed. Notwithstanding, it was worth the stop. Views were spectacular and the meal was excellent.
Addendum:
Walking? Didn't want to pay the green zone auto fee which is reducing the carbon pollution which is tantamount to smoking ten Lucky Strikes a day. Good you benefit from this seemingly extreme regulation.
Privateer,
Hancock, ME
Absolutely right, Privateer. But for our sensibilities about saving the earth, we would have definitely hired a driver and an F350 to take us around downtown London. I feel so virtuous!
Hi Steve
How times have changed. In September, 1999, Sharon and I visited the Churchill War Rooms. We just showed up, paid 7 pounds and walked in--no reservations, etc. There was security of course.
Now, it would seem, tourist attractions are inundated--think the USA national parks-- with visitors.
Ohl,
Midway, UT
Assange was not released he was carried out by five or six man sitting in a chair; I think the word would be evection !! War room which I have seen on the tube looks to be very cool ! Enjoy- How is Dick feeling? 🏍😎
Markco,
Ojai, CA
As usual your wife is correct that stores been around since the beginning of the Empire 👻
Markco,
Ojai, CA
Above: Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. 16 April 2019.
Cobh...formerly Queenstown.
Departure port indentured servants West Indies 1600's
Departure port transported prisoners 17th century.
Departure port potato famine emigrants 19th century
Titanic last port of call 11 April 1912.
Lusitania sunk 20 miles off coast 07 May 1915. — at Cobh Port, Ireland.
Above: Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris France. Ablaze. 16 April 2019.
I was shocked, but not really surprised, to see, today, that Notre Dame Cathedral had gone up in flames. I have spent two years resident (between 1965 and 1968) in the Paris area and understand the iconic place Notre Dame has in the Paris physical and cultural landscape.
But, in a way, Notre Dame's destruction was inevitable. Christian churches have been suffering damage throughout Europe recently... a real time metaphor of Christianity's decline in Europe in the face of overpowering radical secularism, and, to a lesser extent, radical secularism's ally, resurgent Islam. It was only a matter of time that august Notre Dame would be tarnished.
Notwithstanding the waning influence of Catholicism in France today, a number of French billionaires have announced their intent to finance a reconstruction of Notre Dame.
The question is why?
France is a radically secular nation today. Very few French practice Catholicism. In fact, what remains of Catholic France is under assault. Paris' number two cathedral, St. Suplice, was torched by an arsonist a couple of weeks ago. Some eighty odd French churches have been vandalized in the last six months. Are the billionaires going to fund reparations for all of the damaged churches?
Likely, reenergizing France's religious sensibilities is not the motive of the billionaires. Rather the French moguls see Notre Dame as a secular symbol of the modern French state.... kind of like Tour Eifel, or Pont Neuf, or Les Halles… Like these other secular, cultural symbols, Notre Dame is emblazoned into Paris imagery. Notre Dame attracts tourists. To let it go would have adverse economic impact. Therefore, for practical, economic, if not religious, reasons, Notre Dame must be rebuilt.
Secular Europe has waning cultural energy. Notre Dame's reconstruction as a Catholic cathedral has little chance of arresting secular Europe's ongoing cultural and economic decline. France had cultural energy when its national identity was inextricably intertwined, like a double helix, with the Catholic Church. The Church is now a paper tiger, having little cultural impact on things French.
Secular Europe, today, including secular France, stands, culturally, for nothing more than untrammeled right of individual self expression within the broader context of growing, centralized, faceless bureaucratic control from the European Union of means of production and consumption. The result, among secular Europeans, is hopelessness about the future, a resultant decline in family formation, and falling birthrates.... "frog in the pot" cultural suicide over time.
In today's cultural miasma, dispirited Europeans resort to self centered carpe diem. Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. I recently read an article in the Economist, where the author was puzzled that notwithstanding apparent economic prosperity, Germans, crying in their beer, seemed unmoored... unhappy. It has to do with secularism's displacing old culture... with... a vacuum... and nothing uplifting or uniting more than freedom of self expression and submission to the growing, faceless, anodyne, administrative state. Is that all there is?
Islamic immigrants to France, and other parts of secular Europe, look at this growing, appalling cultural vacuum and say "no thanks, we'll stay true to our own cultural traditions even as we benefit from host country economic opportunity.
With its cultural energy and high birth rate, it's only a matter of a generation before Islam becomes the dominant culture of Western Europe. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Are the five pillars of Islam so bad? 1. Honor God. 2. One haaj to Mecca. 3. Alms to the poor. 4. Five times daily prayer. 5. Ramadan fast. Discipline emanating from religious belief correlates to cultural energy. Some culture is better than no culture, right? Christianity in Europe has run out of gas. Christianity's resurrection does not seem imminent. Maybe, culturally energetic Islam can pick up the slack.
Think, say, Abu Dhabi, where capitalistic prosperity and energized Islamic culture co-exist. A clone of Abu Dhabi's magnificent Sheikh El Zayad mosque, in fact, would be a fitting replacement for the destroyed Notre Dame cathedral, the recent destruction of which is more a symbol of Western cultural decay than it is of an aspirational future.
Istanbul, remember, was once Constantinople.
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
Above: Cobh Cathedral. Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. 16 April 2019.
Some 80% of Irish profess Catholicism, but, Church attendance is down in Ireland as it is in much of the rest of the Western world.
I sat quietly meditating in this beautiful edifice about the destruction of Notre Dame de Paris. In the foregoing commentary I noted, saddened, that Christianity had 'run out of gas.' There is a caveat. Christianity surges in many parts of the world. Asia. Africa. To some extent, Latin America. Perhaps, as those non western Christian congregations grow, they will send missionaries to revive Europe's dispirited and fraying culture. A dispirited Europe will "bite," and... the age old cultural rivalry between Christianity and Islam will be revived.
Above: Jameson Distillery. Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. 16 April 2019.
Image: TIMDT and Bronx Girl.
Basic Product: Irish Whiskey
Blend.
Triple distilled (pot still), 100% barley malt (60%)
Triple distilled (steam still) corn/barley malt (40%)
Aged 3 years, 2 yrs, used Spanish sherry cask, 1 yr, used US bourbon cask.
Many variations. Up to 18 years aging, 40% barrel evaporation, priced at upwards of $200 a fifth. — at The Jameson Experience Midleton Ireland.
The tour through the distillery was fascinating. Bourbon is singled distilled. Single malt Scotch is double distilled, malt heated with peat for smoky taste. Irish malt is is triple distilled with no peat or other "flavor" used in the malt heating process.
There was a very good exhibit showing how whiskey evaporates during the aging process. The evaporation is called angel breath. A full barrel of whisky immediately after distillation will only be 60% full when aged 21 years.
In Jameson's main aging warehouse there are 1.5 million barrels aging. If you were to go into this warehouse without filtering mask, you would be inebriated on angel breath after two minutes.
The Irish whiskey equivalent to Scotch single malt, is called triple pot still. Irish triple pot still is one barley batch distilled three times. Scotch, is one barley batch, malt heated with peat, distilled twice.
All very interesting. The tour was very well done.
Above: Ballymaloe House. County Cork, Ireland. 16 April 2019.
Irish country dining with Hoops, Bronx Girl and TIMDT.
Worth spending more time here. Delightful cocktail period in drawing room of this old farm house converted to a hotel. Professional bar service, deep, cushy easy chairs, high ceilings, windows looking out to green fields, fire in the fire place, chatting with good friends.
Then fabulous country style dinner:
Sangeovese
Potato soup
Terrine
Lamb and vegies
Assorted cheeses
Desert cart — at Ballymaloe House.
Addendum:
Hi Steve,
I started my banking career with my first posting being Citibank Dublin. At that point it was a small branch located across St. Stephen’s Green from the Shelbourne. As an aside, my first son was conceived in the Shelbourne as we were housed there for a month when we first arrived in Dublin. He was baptized in the same church as Yeats, the poet.
Times have changed. Citibank has established a major European Headquarters in Dublin employing several thousand people. There is a great Citi alumni group in Dublin headed by Jim Farrell. I keep in touch with several of them, and visited a couple of years ago. The old branch was a great place to work as a young banker.
Enjoy Ireland, and the Guiness! While the weather may not be the best, it is a beautiful prosperous country with a booming economy and friendly people.
Thanks for sharing and have a great visit.
FlyingFish
Miami
Please add to your picto diary. Your account of the first two days is terrific. The entire trip with you and Margaret was terrific and great fun. You are both wonderful friends.
Hoops,
Pelham, NY
Above: Charles Fort. Summercove, County Cork. Ireland. 17 August 2019
Image. TIMDT and Bronx Girl listen to guide:
In 1689, Catholic, James II landed in nearby Kinsale with French support in an attempt to regain the English throne. In 1690, Protestant, Williamite forces, under the joint command of Marlborough and Wirtemburg, came to take out James' forces, holed up at Charles Fort.
After a 13 day siege, which included five days of continuous canon fire, a breach was made in the ramparts.
The defenders sued for peace and were granted an honorable surrender, 16 Oct 1690.
Brigadier General Churchill, brother of Marlborough, ancestor of Winston, and builder of Blenheim Palace, was appointed Governor.
Note: Very competent guide Brandon's accent played tricks on my ears. Its Phillip the third, NOT, Phillip the turd.
Look....just sayin'....There's every reason to say my accent is aberrant, not Brandon's. It just sounded funny to me. — at Charles Fort, Summercove, Ireland.
Above: Driver, guide Mary O'Leary. Kinsale, Cork, Ireland. 17 April 2019.
Driver/guide Mary great source of information on things Ireland...including Dino's, best for fish and chips lunch in Kinsale. — in Kinsale, Ireland.
TIMDT would often order fish and chips... lunch and dinner. Encouraged to do a comparative blog on the subject, she demurred.
Above; Porterhouse Restaurant. Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. 17 April 2019.
Food was good. Good live music. Service left a bit wanting as food took a while.
Addendum:
Thanks for all. The Irish church is especially lovely.
Tennis and Piano
Salt Lake City, UT
Steve
Matthew’s comment on Mayfair. He is back in Citi working in Consumer Credit Review in Singapore for the Asia Pacific, European and Australia regions.
Hamilton,
Sydney, Australia
Hi Steve,
I always like your travel logs. I started my banking career at Citi Dublin. At that moment in time, the branch probably had less than 70 employees. Now Citi Europe in Dublin has several thousand. If you want to meet some Citibankers, let me know. I keep in pretty close touch.
Skiing this year was great, but not enough of it. Stayed at the base of LionsHead. Some the back bowls at Vail are now groomed. Very few folks on the slopes, and great snow.
Enjoy Dublin and London.
Best,
Flying Fish,
Miami, FL
Steve, I love reading your writings..it's an adventure. Five hundred years ago, the other side of the world.
I find myself wondering what will be five hundred years from now, only a half-blink away in time, as you often note. Could I challenge you..or entice you..to venture a short script of musings on the subject.
Moreover, I think it would be really interesting if possible to get a number of 'smart' people to participate in such an exercise?
KAT,
Dallas, TX
Above: Newspaper clip of Soldiers of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in Hyde Park during their annual inspection by the commander of the Household Division. 11 April 2019.
We mentioned to Eton Mum that we had seen this event as we proceeded by taxi to the Chesterfield Hotel in London Mayfair on 11 April 2019. She forwarded us this clip.
Above: TIMDT ponders Skellig Michael. County Kerry, Ireland. 18 April 2018
"Holy grail of Irish monastic settlements."
Seven miles off shore.
"The most fantastic and impossible rock in the world." George Bernard Shaw
Populated by 12 to 20 Irish Catholic monks from circa 600 AD to 1100 AD.
King of Norway, Oleg Trygvason, who introduced Christianity to Norway, was baptized at Skellig Michael in 993 AD.
Skellig Michael remains a place of pilgrimage and penance for the devout to this day. — at Skellig Ring.
From around 500 AD to 900 AD , after the departure of the Romans, Europe entered the dark ages. Christianity was suppressed, classical knowledge was not preserved.... barbarism prevailed. But, not in Ireland. Catholic monks flocked from Europe to Ireland, built and peopled monasteries, and kept classical knowledge and Christianity alive. Monks in these communities created copies of scriptures and the classics by writing them down in Latin. By circa 1000 AD, monk missionaries traveled to Europe to bring the message of Christianity to Euro cultures emerging from tyranny. Many historians claim that without the efforts of the Irish monasteries, Christianity would not have survived in Western Europe.
Visits to Skellig Michael are only allowed in the summer... and then only with pre booking. Visitors can clime the five hundred stone steps to the summit where beehive shaped stone houses and other stone structures can be found.
Skellig Michael reminded me of Mont St. Michele in Normandie if for no other reason that both Skellig Michael and Mont St. Michele are unique rock islands a short distance from the mainland.
Seeing Skellig Michael left me with two thoughts. 1. I'm somewhat ashamed to not have heard of this place before I came. While there are many important monastery ruins in Ireland. This one stands out as special. It is as far away from mainland Europe as one can get. I try to imagine the lives of the ascetics who lived here... the passion for the message of Jesus that would bring them this far away for a life commitment. 2. I'd like to come back here when I can actually visit the island... climb the steps... and attempt to channel the spark that ignited a world movement.
Above: TIMDT views chariot used to carry Irish hero, Daniel O'Connell from Dublin prison. Derrynane. County Kerry. Ireland, 18 April 2019.
Derrynane House: O'Connell family home from time he was four years old.
O'Connell liberated Ireland from the last oppressive anti-Catholic penal laws...1830's. He organized a massive, non violent, grass roots movement that formed the energy necessary to eventually accomplish Irish independence in 1921.
O'Connell died at the apex of the potato famine in 1845. — at Derrynane House.
Irish History Condensed:
The Celts (500 BC to 450 AD) - A warrior people with more than a hundred petty kings, they feuded constantly with rival clans and gathered in ring forts for protection. Druid priests conducted pagan, solar-calendar rituals. Celtic world lives on today in the Gaelic language and legendary heroic figures such as Finn MacCool. In 55 BC, the Romans conquered the Celts in England, but Ireland and Scotland remained independent, their history forever skewed in a different direction... Gaelic, not Latin.
Irish Monks (450 AD to 800 AD) - Gaelic Ireland was unaffected when ancient Rome fell in Europe and took the achievements of Roman culture with it. Ireland became a beacon of culture for the rest of Europe. Ireland's patron saint, Saint Patrick, came to Ireland in 432 to launch a period of Christian monastic settlements dominating Ireland for four hundred years.
Vikings (800 AD to 1000 AD) - Rape and pillage of monastic settlements... but, later intermarriage, settlement and integration into the Gaelic/Christian culture. Vikings created the coastal cities... Waterford, Dublin etc.
Anglo-Normans (1100 AD to 1500 AD) - By 1250 Anglo-Normans occupied two thirds of the island. Anglo-Normans were big time administrators ushered in a new age in which society (government, cities, and religious organizations) was organized on a grander scale. The Black Death came in 1348 and spread more rapidly and fatally in the tight Norman quarters than it did in rural, far flung Gaelic clan settlements. The plague, along with Normans intermarrying with Gaels, eventually diluted Norman identity and shrank English control.
End of Gaelic Riule (1500's) - Rise of oceanic exploration increased strategic importance of Ireland for empires... English, Spanish, Portuguese... To forestall Spain's using Ireland as staging area to face off against English, English control of Ireland increased. The Reformation, and Henry VIII's embracing Protestantism, exacerbated divide between Protestant English controlled city areas and Catholic/Gaelic rural areas. France got into act by using her belief in Catholicism to leverage Irish Catholics against their English/Protestant overseers.
English Colonization and Irish Rebellions (1600's) - Skirmishes and power struggles between English/Protestant and Gaelic/Catholic Ireland. England's power concentrated in larger port cities. Area around Dublin was called "The Pale...." hence the expression "beyond the pale." Following his coup d'état over King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland, and brutally obliterated the last of the Royalist (Catholic) forces. Thus began a heavy handed Protestant rule over Ireland that persisted through the end of the 18th century. The Penal Laws were one of the most brutal manifestations of this period of Protestant rule. Catholics couldn't vote, hold office, buy land, join the army, play the harp, or even own a horse.
Protestant Rule (1700's) - Ireland thrives See above imageeconomically. But, "beyond the Pale" rebellion is never far from the surface. 1801 England forces Ireland into union... British Isles. From this point on, those opposing Irish independence called "unionists."
Potato Famine (1800's) - Daniel O'Connel (see above image) known as "The Liberator," campaigned for Catholic equality and for the repeal of the Act of Union (seeking Irish independence. Any hope of Irish revival was snuffed out by The Great Potato Famine (1845 to 1849). Up to 1MM starved to death and 2MM emigrated, mostly to the US. Irish/English relations deteriorate further as Irish blame UK for lack of assistance to Irish in time of need. Some Irish believe Britain's insouciance towards Irish was calculated. Culturally, the old Gaelic, rural, Catholic Ireland was being crushed under the Industrial Revolution and the political control wielded by Protestant England. Ireland turns out a series of influential writers: W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce.
Easter Rising, War of Independence, Partition, and Civil War (1900 to 1950) - Irish political parties ranging from less militant (Sinn Fein) to more militant (Irish Volunteers) organize and gird for independence. Britain pre-occupied with WWI. Easter 1916 1500 Irish Volunteers march on Dublin. England strikes back. Attempted revolt fails and 300 Irish Volunteers are killed. Most of Ireland, not ready for frontal assault on Brits says 'meh...' until Britain executes at Dublin GPO sixteen Irish Volunteer leaders. Now Irish are mad... ready to back a more forceful attempt at independence. 1918. Irish rebels mount insurrection. Kill police officers. Britain retaliates with WWI vets, known as "black and tans" with exceeding brutality. Britain, worn down by WWI gives in... agrees to independence. Northern, mostly Protestant counties, one quarter of island's population, don't want to leave Britain. The rest of the island, mostly Catholic wants full independence. Two separate, self governing countries are created, both part of British Commonwealth. Militant, Catholic Irish don't like partition. They want full independence. They form the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Civil War. IRA wages street war on the armies of the Irish Free State, whos leaders supported the political settlement as a stepping-stone to future independence. Dublin ravaged. Irish Free State, led by Michael Collins, emerges victorious. IRA goes underground. 1949 Irish Free State left the Commonwealth and officially became the Republic of Ireland.
Republic Rising/Northern Ireland "The Troubles." 1950-2000 - 1950's Ireland hemorrhaged its best and brightest and emigration soar. 1960's Republic of Ireland begins transformation into modern nation. 1973 Republic of Ireland joins European Union. New continental markets were opened to Irish trade. Through 1990's Republic becomes fast growing, globalized economy. Favorable tax laws attract foreign investment. Ireland earns moniker, "Celtic Tiger." Meanwhile, Northern Ireland experiences "The Troubles." Catholics militate for equality under Protestant domination. IRA cells militate for Northern Ireland to be absorbed into the Republic. From 1970's to 1990's, northern Ireland a low level battle ground with IRA using terrorist tactics to achieve its ends. 1998. Good Friday Peace accord... suspension of hostilities.
2000 and Beyond - Good Friday Peace Accords allow for Northern Ireland to join with the Republic on majority vote. But, majority vote not accomplished. IRA ceases hostilities in 2005. British Army removes forces from Northern Ireland in 2007. 2016. Great Britain voters vote to leave European Union. Anxieties, in both the Republic and Northern Ireland grow about possibility of a new hard border between the two countries. Rumblings of renewed sectarian violence with recent killing of reporter in Derry.
Above: Staigue Ring Fort. County Kerry. Ireland. 18 April 2019.
Staigue or Staig is a ruined stone ringfort three miles west of Sneem, on the Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The fort is thought to have been built during the late Iron Age, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king. — at Staigue Ring Fort, Ring of Kerry, Ireland. See historical review, above, to put Staigue Ring Fort into historical context.
Above: Celtic Steps. Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. 18 April 2019..
This presentation was excellent in every way. — at Celtic Steps The Show.
A friend told me that the reason Irish clog dancers move only from the waist down is because during the period of the penal laws, dancing for Catholics was illegal. British penal law enforcers would pass through villages and see seeming immobile people through the windows, not realizing that real dancing was going on out of their sight line. Just saying... I haven't researched it. But, why do the Irish dance in this fashion?
Addendum:
Hi Steve,
I was interested that they didn’t want you to do any activities after Mohs surgery. I had it on my nose and went from the surgery room back to the office. No one at the clinic said anything about restricting my activities. Anyway, after the pain medicine started to wear off, I remember sitting at my desk and feeling like someone hit me across the bridge of my nose with a two by four. It took several days for that pain to subside.
Best wishes in your recovery.......hope to see you at the Big Dog Ride this summer.
Take Care,
Tim,
Colorado Springs, CO
1st trax plate belongs to a friend of mine. Former golf pro who skis on first chair group on Silver Lake Express. I bought his Rossignol Sky 7s.
The Actuary,
Park City, UT
Above: Owner/master craftsman, Sean Daly. Dingle Crystal. Dingle. County Kerry, Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Bronx Girl, Hoops, and TIMDT listen to Sean.
Emulating Bono, a Dingle Crystal customer, we bought some hand etched, autographed, crystal tumblers.
Above: Cathair na gConchuireach. Dingle Peninsula. County Kerry, Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Ringfort.
Enclosed farmstead during early Christian period. Building technology dates to ancient times... 2000 BC. One of the five stone houses here is marked with a cross.
Houses are usually round, like a beehive.
Image: TIMDT, Bronx Girl, Hoops examine stone house. — at Dingle Peninsula.
Above: Beach Dingell Peninsula. County Kerry. Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Above: TIMDT observes stone fencing. Dingell Peninsula. County Kerry, Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Above: Bishop and Zoe. Dingell Bookstore. Dingell, County Kerry, Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Bishop, who can never pass up a bookshop sans going in, entered this one. He was approached by Zoe Ui Fhaolain who was doing an art project requiring participation in a recorded interview about why he liked books.
PROJECT 8/TION-SCNAMH 8
Income earned by writers, composers, visual artists and sculptors from the sale of their works is exempt from tax in Ireland in certain circumstances.
Above: Harpist. The Earl of Thomond Restaurant. Dromoland Castle. County Clare, Ireland. 19 April 2019.
Today the image of the harp as a national symbol of Ireland is almost as well recognized as the shamrock. It appears on the Irish Euro coins and is the logo for Guinness, considered by many to be Ireland’s national drink.
Above: Chocolate Easter eggs. Dromoland Castle. County Clare. Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Above: Bishop, TIMDT, Bronx Girl, Hoops. Dromoland Castle. County Clare. Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Irish Travelers.
Above: Cliffs of Moher. County Clare, Ireland. 20 April 2019. (second image is file image)
We didn't hit this important vista on a good day. As can be seen from my image we did "see something." There were a lot of disappointed tourists here today.
Above: Burren. County Clare, Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Burren. Literally "rocky place."
10 square-mile limestone plateau.
1650, Cromwellian surveyor: "...a savage land, yielding neither water enough to drown a man, nor a tree to hang him, nor soil enough to bury him."
There is flora, adapted to the stone structure since the ice age. Also a number of pre historic and early Christian sites. — at Black Head (udde i Irland, Connacht).
Above: Bangers and Mashed. Wild Atlantic Lodge, County Clare, Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Above: Chocolate Covered Easter eggs. Ashford Castle, County Mayo, Ireland. 20 April 2019.
A good sized chocolate egg, produced by the hotel chef, was provided in each guest room.
Above: Bishop at Ashford Castle. County Mayo, Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Above: Cocktails at Ashford Castle. County Mayo, Ireland. 20 April 2019.
Pre dinner cocktails with Bronx Girl, Hoops, and TIMDT. — eating dinner with great friends at George v Dining room in Ashford Castle.
Above: Lake Corrib. County Mayo, Ireland. 21 April 2019.
Above: TIMDT at Kylemore Abbey. County Mayo, Ireland. 21 April 2019.
Built 1860 by US MD with a large Inheritance. This extermal image best aspect. Dedans, pas grand chose. TIMDT poses in foreground. — at Kylemore Abbey.
Above: Monkey Puzzle Tree. Kylemore Abbey Gardens. County Mayo, Ireland. 21 April 2019.
I walked a two mile round trip from the abbey to the abbey gardens.
Above: Pat, Jean, Bishop, TIMDT Bronx Girl. Ballynahinch Castle Hotel. Connemara. Ireland. 21 April 2019.
30 year reunion with Pat Mullan and wife Jean. Pat and Mwah (sic) worked together for three years In late '80's on an S and L turnaround project for Citibank in Miami, FL.
Mullans returned to Pat's native Ireland in 1993 whereupon Pat became a writer. He is now working on his sixth novel, a scientist fiction thriller set in China. Jean, is a school teacher. Pat and Jean have two daughters. Pat has four other children by a previous marriage.
'Technology has replaced Catholicism as Ireland's national religion." Pat Mullan — feeling delighted with Margaret Taylor at Ballynahinch Castle Hotel.
Above: Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne in "The Quiet Man," John Ford Film, 1952.
THE QUIET MAN
Filmed nearby. Watched last night.
Learnings about Ireland from movie.
1. Lots of time drinking and singing in bars.
2. Irish villagers are busybodies.
3. Strict protocols for courting.
4. Refreshing absence of subtle politics. — at Ashford Castle in Ireland.
John Wayne in "The Quiet Man." John Ford film, 1952.
Above: Sri Lanka Easter bombing of Christian Churches. Columbo, Sri Lanka. 21 April 2019.
Addendum:
I certainly think Scotland should be on our ride list as I enjoyed it thoroughly, are you going to be near Inverness as the Inverness Castle is a very very special place to stay also it's very near Lockness-Enjoy
Markco,
Ojai, CA
Global warming 350 million years ago?
The Burren is underlain by limestones of the Lower Carboniferous (Visean) period. The limestone formed as sediments in a tropical sea which covered most of Ireland approximately 350 million years ago.
AND scientists have long believed that lobster-like crustaceans first appeared on planet Earth about 360 million years ago.
Imagine, surviving all that warmth.
Note: See feedback on "The Enemy," and "Educated" book reviews in Addendum.
Above: Giant monkey puzzle trees. Ashford Castle gardens. Ashford Castle, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Connemara ponies. County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Tractor rally. Aclare. County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Gorse. Aclare, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
This prickly, yellow flowered bush is ubiquitous throughout Ireland. It lines the highways, the hedgerows and can be seen in untended fields. The plant is inextricably tied up in Ireland's history and mythology.
In times of yore, farmers and shepherds used gorse in hedging their fields. It kept livestock in, and intruders out. Gorse was seen to be a good flea-repellent. And, ground up, gorse made excellent animal fodder.
Gorse is fast growing and rather invasive. So, farmers would burn back the old growth. The ashes would provide good nutrition for the soil.
The plant has been used from everything to flavoring whiskey, to medicinal purposes, to dying cloth. In old times, an infusion of the flowers would be given to children as a cure for scarlet fever. And, the seeds were considered beneficial as a laxative. Gorse was mixed with honey and used as a mouthwash. Strewn about the floor of a dwelling, gorse was thought to repel fleas.
A pagan association with yellow gorse meant that it was believed to harbor witches in its spiky domain. On May Day, gorse would be set alight in the hope of flushing out any witches hiding there. It was believed that they would transform themselves into the shape of hares and thus evade the flames by leaping swiftly for safety. Any hares found would be killed.
Above: Hoops grandfather's house. Aclare, County Mayo, Ireland 22 April 2019.
Grandfather's house, in the immediate vicinity of the crumbling stone structure, where Hoops' father was raised, was built for granddad in the 1930's by his kids (including Hoops' father).
Today we traveled through Hoop's ancestral lands. We saw the stone house where his father was raised. We saw property he and Bronx Girl jointly own with a cousin. We visited with his last surviving, 92 year old, aunt. Bishop loves Hoops' sense of family and is impressed with him keeping in touch with his extended family of cousins living in the UK, Ireland, and the United States.
Above: Marina, (Hoops cuz) Bronx Girl, TIMDT, Bishop, Hoops, Seamus. Kiltimagh Park Hotel, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Addendum:
Great stuff.
'Cake,
Park City, UT
Steve, Kylemore Abbey is in Connemara, County Galway, NOT in County Mayo. :-(
Oscar,
Connemara, Ireland
Comments on "The Enemy" book review.
We both liked this one.
Hippo and Survival
Hatch, UT
Comments on "Educated" book review.
Blue leftists love to define the Right, rather than just observing reality.
Reno,
Lehi, UT
Not my favorite. Couldn't wait to be done with it.
Bling,
Albuquerque, NM
I just finished it too, I think your observations are fair and accurate. My hat is off to her for the initiative she took to change her trajectory, but, I thought she was woefully inadequate in giving credit to those who really helped her. et. the people at BYU and in the Church generally.
Apple,
Salt Lake City, UT
Interesting that you reject her description of HER OWN FAMILY as based on stereotype, then assume that her words speak for all of the "educated blue America."
GC,
Minneapolis, MN
Her father was sadistic and mentally ill. And, if her father's blessing was coming from "God," then that certainly isn't a kind of god that women would ever care to follow or believe in. She was a hero to escape the abuses and make her own way in the world. I applaud her with every page turned. Every abused woman understood.
Academy,
Salt Lake City, UT
I think you are probably correct Steve as It was a “sensational” book. Perhaps to put it in perspective we should keep in mind the words of the brother of the author of “Angela’s ashes” who said, “I don’t know what house he grew up in but I don’t remember most of that.” He was feted all over NYC. People often improve on a story as they tell it. It is very human and the Irish are famous for embellishments.
Comic Mom,
New York City, NY
Above: Stained glass windows. Our Lady Help of Christians church. Swinford. County Mayo, Ireland. 23 April 2019.
Hoops' parents married in this church. We toured the church with Hoops' cuz, Marina and her husband, Seamus.
Above: Clonmacnoise Monastery. County Offaly, Ireland. 23 April 2019.
An Early Christian site founded by St. Ciarán in the mid-6th century on the eastern bank of the River Shannon. The site includes the ruins of a cathedral, seven churches (10th -13th century), two round towers, three high crosses and the largest collection of Early Christian grave slabs in Western Europe. — in Clonmacnoise, Offaly, Ireland.
Hoops, Irish Hoops, TIMDT, Bishop, Tipperary, Bronx Girl. — eating dinner with great friends with Chris Gallagher and Margaret Taylor at The Ivy Dublin.
Irish Hoops is son of Hoops' cousin Chris, with whom we had breakfast at Ashford Castle a few days ago. Tipperary is Irish Hoops' girl friend.
Above: David Conner. Tailor. Lewis Copeland Clothiers. Dublin, Ireland. 24 April 2019.
Bishop mines Pierce Brosnan's tailor for a new jacket.
Above: Plaque on Oscar Wilde's house. Dublin, Ireland. 24 April 2019.
Hoops, Bronx, Girl, TIMDT and Mwah (sic) took a city tour on a hop on hop off bus.
Above: Guinness Brewery. Dublin, Ireland. 24 April 2019.
Arguably most notable symbol of Ireland is Guiness Brewery, brewer of world famous Guiness Draught. The brewery was founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a British company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997.
The brewery was leased to Arthur Guinness in 1759 for only IRL45 (Irish pounds) for nine thousand years. Guinness became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838, and the largest in the world by 1886, with an annual output of 1.2 million barrels. Although no longer the largest brewery in the world, it remains the largest brewer of stout.
Above: The Book of Kells. Trinity University. Dublin, Ireland. 24 April 2019.
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland and may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created in 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible, known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle l of Insular illumination. It is also regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.
Above: Trinity College University Library. Dublin, Ireland. 24 April 2019.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there, free of charge. It is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the United Kingdom. The Library is the permanent home to the Brian Boru harp which is a national symbol of Ireland, a copy of 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and the Book of Kells. Two of the four volumes of the Book of Kells are on public display, one opened to a major decorated page and the other to a typical page of text. The volumes and pages shown are regularly changed. Members of the University of Dublin also have access to the libraries of Tallaght Hospital and the Irish School of Ecumenics, Milltown.
Parting comment...
So ends a ten day trip to Ireland, my first experience travelling there... and, about the 120th country I have visited.
If asked to cite the most important insight coming from the visit, I'd have to note the incredible resiliency of Irish culture in the face of centuries of effort by England, in its various incarnations.... ie. Normans, Cromwell, Henry VIII and Protestantism... to assimilate "colonial Ireland" into "The British Isles."
Notwithstanding English efforts to bring Ireland to heel, Ireland has remained Gaelic/Catholic Ireland for the most part. The intrusive, English, Protestant Ireland, first centered in The Pale (Dublin environs), has worked its way to the northern six counties of Ulster, where the majority unionist population sides with England, and by vote, has remained separate from the Irish Republic as part of the United Kingdom.
But, the more part of the Irish island, the Irish Republic, remains some combination of secular (growing) Gaelic and Catholic (diminishing), and continues to lay emphasis on a culture unique and quite apart from its former oppressor, England. Though most Irish don't speak Irish, the state insists that the language be preserved. Irish law is written in Irish (a Celtic derived language related to the Gaelic languages of Scotland and Wales) and then translated into English. Public school teachers must learn to speak, read and write in Irish, even though most of the instruction today is done in English. There are parts of Ireland, mainly in some western cultural enclaves, where the government encourages the common use of Irish.
So, Ireland pushes hard to retain its Irish culture while enthusiastically participating as a full fledged member of the European Union. I don't see other European nations working as hard as Ireland to preserve a national culture in the face of a growing Brussels bureaucracy. Where once French culture was anchored by the strong influence of the Catholic Church, French culture today stands for nothing more than the state ensuring the right of individual self expression in an increasingly centralized bureaucratically driven European Union working ever harder to regulate the means of production and the rules of consumption. Ireland pushes harder, it seems to me, than, at least, the French do, to assert a national identity in the context of the European Union.
To be sure, the influence Church in Ireland, is waning. The Church's reputation has been battered by child abuse scandals. Also, secular life generally, along with growing prosperity, has taken a toll on the Church's role in Ireland. But, Ireland, unlike other European nations who have ceded cultural control the EU bureaucracy, has buttressed waning Church cultural influence with its assiduous promotion of uniquely Irish and Gaelic identity, by boosting Irish language, for one, as a cultural identifier.
Also, the role of technology as a cultural identifier in Ireland needs to be cited. Making a cultural comment, over a delightful lunch at Ballynahinch Castle in Connermara, my Irish author friend, Pat Mullen said that "technology has replaced Catholicism as Ireland's national religion." Because of favorable tax laws, and a well educated, English speaking people, a disproportionate number of the world's leading technology companies make Dublin their European headquarters. As tech companies have rushed to make Ireland their headquarters, the need for new employees has turned Dublin into a San Francisco- like housing market. A taxi driver informed us that six thousand new jobs were put on hold because of insufficient availability of affordable housing. Religious in the traditional sense it may not be, but, techno culture is a growing, bonding influence in Ireland today.
Another cultural bonding agent is Ireland's encouragement of writing. Income received from writing and other arts is not taxed. In encouraging literature, the Irish want to build on the foundations established by her great writers... Oscar Wilde, James Joyce et al.
Ireland still maintains a close tie with the land. Farm and dairy exports, though diminished relative to the total, remain an important part of Irish identity...;. not to mention Jameson and Guinness.
To me, Irish culture has a resiliency not seen in other European cultures being absorbed by the European Union. Perhaps Ireland can have her cake and eat it too.
Addendum:
Irish Hoops 😊 is Pats son.
Pat Gallagher is Chris cousin on his dads side with whom you had breakfast in Dromoland.
I'm his mom. I don't give anyone else the credit for giving birth to my children... 😁😁
I'm enjoying the write ups.
Nora,
County Clare, Ireland
Hey! I knew that! Sorry for the goof, Nora. Enjoyed the breakfast conversation at Dromoland Castle.
On my book review of "Educated."
I read this book quite differently. Yes, two sides the story. But, when your parents abuse you in that fashion you have a right to emerge to the dark side in full colors. She was not given an education. For goodness sakes, no one ever told her what the holocaust was. She was not taken to a hospital when ill. She was abused by a sibling and her parents turned a blind eye. Her father was crazy (bipolar). She is not estranged from everyone in her family. And, unfortunately, I think you are very wrong about BYU not espousing that a women’s place is in the home still. Of course, they do. I don’t really see her bashing Mormons or BYU in particular. This was her way out actually and I think she appreciated that. Anyways, I think you grossly read this the wrong way. I am sure not entirely true as we don’t have the other side. But, wow, I can see why she went to the complete other side given how she was raised. She was abused for goodness sakes.
FeeBee,
Park City, UT
Whatever her motivations in writing the book, embellishments or not, she deserves a lot of credit for her sterling academic accomplishment.