Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations Visited: Dublin, Ireland.  Cork, Ireland (and Blarney Castle). Galway, Ireland (and The Cliffs of Moher), and Belfast, Northern Ireland (and the Giant’s Causeway)
Languages Spoken: English and Irish
Words Learned: Ceol- Music. Dia huit- Hello. Go raibh maith agat- Thank you

First off, I want to apologize for how long it has been since my last post.  Following Scotland, I went to London with Marie and her family for a few days.  I decided to take this time as a break because I knew I would be coming back to London after Ireland with a special guest, and I saved many of the big things for then.  I’ll share it with you once I do my next post!  Now, onto the good stuff.

Welcome to Ireland, the Emerald Isle!  Ireland has been a country I have always wanted to visit for one reason in particular- the music!  All of my students know, I love Irish music, dancing, and it is consistently one of my favorite units of the year back in my classroom.  I’ve dreamt of getting to sit and listen to the traditional live sessions myself and taking the time to learn more about the culture.

Ireland’s history is one of crazy conflict, conquest, and a fight for national identity.  Throughout the years, the country was conquered by the Normans, the Vikings, and the British.  The primary religion has changed with each new dominating power, and each left positive changes as well as stress and oppression.  I won’t bore you with the details here, but I encourage you to check not out- there is such a rich and interesting history here.  I could write a years worth of blogs just on it alone!  English is spoken throughout the country, but there are pockets where people speak the original Irish language as well tucked alongside the western half of Ireland.

My favorite part, though, is the folklore that comes from Ireland.  The Fae, or faeries, witches, and even the holiday of Halloween comes from the ancient druid culture of Ireland.  Pieces of this history remain scattered throughout the country, and I have a few to show you here in a bet!  So welcome to Ireland- the land of leprechauns, faeries, castles, clovers, and beautiful music!  Let’s dive right in!

Dublin, Ireland

I arrived in Dublin after riding a ferry across the water from Wales.  Dublin is the capitol of the Republic of Ireland and cutting through the city is the River Liffey.  Dublin comes from the Irish words dubh (black/dark) and Lind (pool) and basically means “Black Pool” after a tidal pool that was in the castle gardens.

My time in Dublin was relatively short.  I only had one full day, so I signed up for a free walking tour so that I could see as much of and learn as much of the city as I could with what time I had.  The tour was amazing.  Below are some pictures from it!

What do you notice about the city?  Did you see the old castle?  There’s one more really cool place I want to show you.  It’s a cathedral that shares it’s name with someone that you all should know.  We celebrate a holiday every spring that share’s his name, and many times our classes are ransacked by leprechauns!  That’s right- it’s Saint Patrick himself!  A Christian Missionary back around 400AD, he is credited with “chasing the snakes out of Ireland.”  This basically means that he was responsible for chasing out the old, pagan religion of faeries and magic and converted the people of the country to Christianity.  Now he has become a symbol for Ireland and it’s culture (Even though… he wasn’t Irish!  He was actually from Wales!) and we celebrate that every year for St. Patrick’s Day.

Cork, Ireland and Blarney Castle

My next destination was the city of Cork in the south of Ireland.  This was a really cool city from the moment I got off my train.  Live music filled the streets as buskers (musicians playing in public for cash) played different music on every corner.  What instruments do you notice below?  How does this music make you feel/ what does it make you think of?

Cork itself is a smaller town, and I wandered through it a bit before making my way to where I was staying for the next two nights.  I won’t lie- I didn’t explore as much as I could have because I had an entire room to myself and I was excited to be able to have some quiet for once.

The next morning after arriving, I got up early and jumped on a bus to the town of Blarney where the Blarney Castle resides.  This is one of the must-do’s of visiting Ireland, and I have always wanted to be able to come here at some point in my life.  Built in the early 1200’s, people come here from all around the world to climb to the top of the castle, hang off the side of it, and kiss the “Blarney Stone.”  Kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give you the “Gift of Gab,” or the ability to speak to confidently and clearly in any situation and make people want to listen to you.  Basically… good luck y’all, because now I’m just going to talk even more than I already did.

So check out this photo.  See that hole at the VERY top of the castle?  THAT’s where the Blarney Stone is.  You have to hang upside down off the castle from that high up to kiss the stone and receive the “gift of gab.”

The legend of the stone itself isn’t very set in stone.  There are multiple theories of how it got it’s magical powers, ranging from witches’ spells to sacred stones from Scotland.  I’ll share a few below from atop the castle, but I challenge you to see what you can find.  Which version do you think could be the real story?

The castle and the stone aren’t the only highlight of the visit, though.  Surrounding the castle is a stunning park, long winding trails through the woods that look fresh from the page of a fairy tale, and a location called the Rock Close- an area with fairy homes and circles, magical wishing steps, and other pieces of ancient druid culture.  Take a look below and see what you see.  Can you find the fairy homes?

The rest of my day was spent wandering through the gardens since I basically had the whole place to myself.  Other friends have come in the summer and had to wait hours to kiss the stone and walk around, and I didn’t want to pass up the peace while I had the chance. I eventually made my way back around Cork and wandered around a bit more before heading in to catch my bus in the morning for my next stop on the journey.

Side note: It’s crazy cold here…

Galway, Ireland and The Cliffs of Moher

Galway is such a cool city.  Live music rings throughout the streets, through all the buildings, and around every corner.  I love it.  I have some videos for you below to check out some of the street musicians playing some traditional Irish music!  Remember hearing some of these songs in class?  I spent most of the day just exploring the city and listening to all the music.

The next two are traditional Irish music sessions found throughout towns.  People gather, catch up, dance, listen to, and play music!  This group of musicians in particular were different people who all gathered that evening from all around Ireland and they did not know each other save for a few.  They would sit together, and one would begin to play one piece, and then the rest would join in once they heard what they were playing.  They didn’t have to talk about it, they just all knew the music and played together, enjoying the moment and making beautiful music!  Guys… I’m not going to lie, this was one of the best moments of my life getting to just be here and listen.

The next morning I got on a tour to go see and hike the Cliffs of Moher as well as see some castles and the country-side of Ireland.  A friend I made the day before, Keith, joined me on this trip and we got on our bus.  We were super excited because the weather finally improved for the first time since I got to Ireland.  The sun came out, and there was no chance of rain!  Perfect day to go outside and hike!

We stopped at a few locations, Dunguaire Castle being the first.  Ireland is filled with ancient castles scattered around the country, and this one was just so cool. We only had time to do a quick walk-around, though, and unfortunately we couldn’t go inside.

The star of the day was the Cliffs of Moher, though.  These are cliffs that run along the western edge of Ireland and are one of the most popular places for people to visit when coming to Ireland.  Keith and I spent two hours wandering along the cliffs and enjoying the view!  What do you notice about them?

We ended the day with a drive back to Galway with one more quick stop to see an ancient stone structure that’s been around longer than the pyramids!  Not too much is known about this area, but it stands on the limestone that makes up most of western Ireland.  When I got back, I got a chance to even try a traditional Irish flute! Spoilers: I’m not that good…yet!  Practice makes perfect.

Belfast, Northern Ireland and the Giant’s Causeway

Welcome to Northern Ireland!  For those who don’t know, Northern Ireland is actually separate from the Republic of Ireland and is part of the UK alongside England, Scotland, and Wales.  Belfast is the capitol, and is where I decided to base myself for a day trip in the morning for the Giant’s Causeway.

Just like my trip to the Cliffs of Moher, I jumped on a bus for a day trip to the Giant’s Causeway.  Our first stop was to walk around Carrickfergus Castle.  Like the last bus trip, we couldn’t go in, but I got a few really cool pictures from the outside!  We then made our way to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which is an old swinging bridge between the mainland and a small island off the northern coast.  Being afraid of heights, I was still super excited to get to go across it!  What I didn’t expect was a total downpour of ice cold rain and crazy winds making the bridge swing!  Honestly, though… it made it so much more fun!

We got back on the bus and headed next towards the Giant’s Causeway.  Here’s some backstory: Long ago, two giants sat on the shores of Ireland and Scotland facing each other.  Both went about their everyday lives, but could hear the other from across the water.  The giant from Ireland, Finn, decided to pay the giant, Benandonner, from Scotland a visit because he was going to attack Ireland and he wanted to stop him.  He built a bridge across the water using the stones from the mountain, but when he got across to Scotland, he found Benandonner was MUCH larger than he thought.  He didn’t stand a chance against him… but unfortunately he was spotted!  Finn ran back across the bridge to Ireland with Benandonner quickly following!  Finn was quite smart, though.  He ran home and dressed himself up like a baby, and when he was found, Benandonner ran screaming!  He thought that if this was the size of the baby, then he definitely didn’t want to see the father!  He ran back home to Scotland, destroying the bridge as he went, leaving what now remains of the causeway.

That’s what local Irish folklore says.  Science says the causeway was made through volcanic eruptions and a special process of lava cooling and hardening creating the hexagonal columns we see now.  It’s a really rare stone structure, and it is incredibly cool to see.  Check them out!  Which version do you think is true?

Ireland was amazing, friends.  7 days was nowhere near enough time here, and I know I’m definitely coming back to listen to more music and see more of the countryside and castles.  This country is truly amazing, and I 100% recommend coming here one day when you can!  Next up, I’m heading back to England with a very special guest.  Stay tuned to find out who!

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil