Garden Flowers, Bantry, ©2002 Janet Maher
Ruins on the Road to Dingle, ©2002 Janet Maher
Beach at Inch, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Peninsula Flowers, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Entry at Conn Oriel B&B, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Larchwood House Gardens, Bantry, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Larchwood House Bridge, Bantry, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Crosshaven, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Rose Window, St. Coleman Cathedral, ©2002 Janet Maher
Altar, St. Coleman Cathedral, Ireland ©2002 Janet
Maher
Page 2:
excerpts from our IRELAND LETTER - August, 2002
www.artmattersonline.net
Images and Text ©2002 Janet Maher
(w/Paul Powichroski in italics)
Sunday: Paul rented a car from the Cork airport and came out to fetch me in Beara. We took a walk soon after he arrived to the little town of Eyeries, just up the street, dotted with brightly colored houses. We had a pint (Paul's first on Irish soil!) in Causkey's Bar and spoke with folks there who used to have a bar in Cork and actually knew the Pride of Baltimore crew! If we were not anticipating leaving in the morning, one of the men would have wanted Paul to come out to his place and give him advice on a boat he's repairing. (Since this was Janet's last night at Anam Cara, she got to pick her "last supper"--grilled wild Irish salmon with all of the trimmings and fresh apple cobbler for dessert! ...)
Monday: In Beara we revisited my favorite places, including the small tidal pools on the huge rocks at Coulagh Bay, then traveled to Kenmare, which had a stone circle close to the center of town, and stayed at the Landsdowne Hotel. We saw the Hag of Beara along the way (an unusually shaped rock on a steep hillside overlooking the sea)--"An Cailleach Beara, a mythical goddess who has lived through seven periods of youth and survived seven husbands." People have left coins, stones, and flowers all over the boulder, turning it into a shrine.
We also stopped at the ruins of an amazing cemetary and church with a Celtic stone face incorporated into 6th and 7th century Christian architecture--flat, sharp stones buttressed into tight uncemented arches. We had our first on-the-road meal at a sailor's bar outside the city, and found Kenmare to be a perfect first stop, Kilarney being too "touristy" for our tastes, as we suspected (guided by Lonely Planet and advice from Anam Cara visitors, Sue and her friends). We would like to return and spend a few days in the National Forest leading into Kilarney, however, and see the wildflower garden park that we passed by this time.
Tuesday: Next through Castlemaine
(where we initially thought we'd stay at Murphy's Farmhouse B & B, but
found it would have been too much of a drive in the first day after all
our lovely wandering around Anam Cara and Eyeries, unwilling as we were
to leave the place), Boolteen, Beautiful Inch (with it's long, wide
beach), and into Dingle, where we stayed at Sean & Charlotte Cluskey's
B&B - just outside the main drag. Cleevaun Country House was wonderful.
Breakfast was terrific (the "best in Ireland" according to at least
one B & B rating bureau) and we bought a cookbook that has some of
Doyle's (also owned by the Cluskey's) recipes and delicacies from other
Irish B& B's for future dinners. (Paul is an amazing cook so we're in
for more treats!) We had reservations for dinner at Doyle's, but ended
up canceling b/c we weren't hungry yet by 7:30, (only slot available).
We ended up driving out to Ventry
and making a feast of peanuts and pints, which, though probably sounding
like a sacrilege (to cousin Al Sullivan, who urged us to have dinner at
Doyle's, =;-0), was the very thing we felt like that night. Good local
vibe in the bar, lots of people, some fair (impromptu) accordion
playing.
Wednesday: Next day out to Slea Head, Sybil Head, seeing the Blasket Islands, the Gallarus Oratory (a small "church" with an arched, stacked stone roof that still keeps the interior dry after 1300 years!!). Unbelievable! (The museum at the Blasket Center tells the amazing story of the islanders and their remote, rugged and now lost way of life; the last of the islanders were evacuated in the 1940s.) On the way we stopped into a pottery, Dun Chaoin, and got some matching coffee mugs to accompany the maple syrup pitcher that we use all the time, given to Paul from there many years ago. Also bought some pottery from Louis Mulcahy that will be shipping to us in a few weeks, one a wedding present.
Back in Dingle, stopped in to see (distant cousin) Niamh, (previously unknown to us) and had a nice chat w/her. What great work she does! A fine, fine jeweler! The Connor Pass!!! Holy Tamoly! Like being on another planet. The wind was blowing so hard up both sides of the mountains that we could barely hold our cameras to try to take photos--clouds billowing up and over the ridge like smoke from a fire.
To Tralee, stayed at Conn Oriel - our first simple place, recommended in Lonely Planet Guide. Liked it and the folks who ran it. Ate at Kirby's Brogue Inn (great fried garlic mussels!) & heard excellent music downstairs afterwards in the Melody Bar, played by four friends who have been together forever--"Oilean"--banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and accordion...The bar was packed. A punker wearing a tee shirt that said "People = S--t" even turned his shirt inside out midway to belong more to the crowd, happily listening, talking, and cheering the band. On our walk back to the B&B, we dipped into the Old Oak Bar, hearing cool punk-psychedelia (Janet's favorite) spilling out the door as we walked past. This local band was really good--did obscure American covers with their own spin on them--mean, amplified acoustic with a good singer. Didn't stay too long b/c it was very smoky...
Thursday: Out to Fenit to see the replica of "The Jeannie Johnston", a tie to Paul's wooden ship community... They have plans to sail to the U.S. next year with a stop in Baltimore--Maryland, not Ireland--the original ship having made several stops here in the 1800s, and will, hopefully, dock alongside Constellation...
We drove through Glengariff (very touristy with a lot of small, expensive shops but seems to be a haven for gardeners) and stopped for a pint and a peruse on our way to Bantry. The Larchwood House in Bantry was the "Piéce de Resistance" of the trip--tied only with the majesty of the farthest coast of the Dingle Peninsula. The grounds of Larchwood House have been created (Aidan spent 10 years building an amazing network of beautifully made stone walks, terraces, bridges, retaining walls, etc. that seem to have grown out of the hillside and riverbed) and are tended by the husband of the welcoming and lovely couple. Aidan's wife, Sheila, is a gourmet chef. We "dressed" for dinner in an attempt to rise to the occasion of the splendor of this place. Natural beauty in a home environment, waterfalls and stone walks and terraces winding to a rain forest-like island, the owners unpretentious and "pure Ireland" from our points of view.
Paul and Aidan had a long talk in the morning, which could easily and naturally have gone on all day, having evolved into one about species of wood--one of them being a lover of trees exemplified by the art of his grounds, both being lovers of trees for what can be built with them. This gorgeous homestead, balcony off the bedroom, antiques, easy elegance was relatively inexpensive. Paul said the dinner alone would have (easily!) been (well) over $100 in the states (something we never do). Like a gem off the beaten track. (I just happened to find it in a B&B book I bought in Cork when I arrived.) We noticed that in Durrus you can rent an Irish cottage. A sweet little town, we thought that might be something to do some day...
Friday: Sheep's Head (more narrow roads and gorgeous rugged coastline) and on to Baltimore via Skibbereen (probably the town I'd want to live in if I were a student, though haven't been to Dublin yet). Lunch in an internet cafe. It was fun checking in as we could, if only to read. Paul was in contact w/Cobh folks along the way, as we headed there...
Abbey View B&B that night after lots of good photo ops, chuckles, and moments along the way ("McCarthy's Farm - Potatoes and Gifts") Good Irish Stew and Beef & Guinness at (another) McCarthy's Bar. Bought a CD of the Fiddle Fair in Baltimore, Ireland, recorded live at McCarthy's. Visited Bushe's Bar straight off to see the owners, friends of the Pride gang...The bar is full of artifacts from ships. It and the whole town has references to and images of Pride everywhere (the sailing school uses the broken jib boom from the first Pride as a flagpole!). Postcard writing the next morning on the open plaza full of picnic tables that folks just hang at looking out at the water. We could so easily see the Baltimore, MD, boat folks blending in here as soon as they docked...
Saturday: To Crosshaven, a lovely little sailing (yachting) town (the home of the Royal Cork Yacht Club--host to many regattas and international sailing competitions) before Cobh. The Dromberg Stone Circle, in Glandor, transported us somewhere. The weather was misty, so the whole experience of being in and among these massive ancient stones was even more ethereal. There were ruins in the same area for sleeping quarters (the elders?) and a cooking pit. Each of these would have had their own thatched grass conical roof atop. The circle itself was a burial ground, but also works cosmologically at solstices. There were other stone circles and Ogham stones around, but this was really remarkable in terms of seeing layers of time disappear, and the setting was spectacular.
The Compass Rose B&B in Crosshaven turned out to have its own charm... The couple were very friendly and once again the men hit it off famously the next morning. That sailing/wood connection runs deep through Ireland, it seems (as well as through my Polish/Italian love). This breakfast, of all the "Traditional Irish Breakfasts" (a vegetarian would cringe) was the very best--Cluskey's being a close second, by our votes. (I still can't bring myself to eat the black pudding, though I did give it a valiant taste.) (Paul, however, being the adventurous eater, liked it, so there were no left overs!)
Sunday: Cobh was maybe our favorite town of all. Although history and sense of place is everywhere, Cobh felt almost medieval. It was so beautiful--houses tiptoeing (steep!) uphill against each other, ancient stone and brightly colored fronts, flowers everywhere (as all over Ireland) in window boxes and sculptural stone pots.
The Cathedral of St. Colman was on the level of Chartres or Notre Dame... The Cobh Heritage Center's presentation of the famines and emigrations had me weeping within the first 10 minutes. I suppose Ellis Island has that kind of resonance too, though I haven't yet been. The sound effects, I think, are what put me over the edge. Paul made contacts with the museum folks and left info w/them about Constellation's refuge trip to Cobh. They may help identify some people in a photo he has of US/Irish dignitaries on Constellation.
My experience of Cork was certainly different with Paul than it was when I first arrived--glad that I managed to figure out (w/help) how to take a bus from the airport and meet the van that would take us strangers to Beara initially. (I slept a good part of the way.) That first day I had time to kill and wandered the streets, finding three businesses w/the name of Maher in the first five minutes. Never had seen my name on a sign before. (Two were sporting goods stores, one was "Maher's Pure Coffee")
On this first stop in the city I had missed seeing how close I was to the river that flows through town, so hadn't gotten a handle until our last night as to where things were mapwise in Cork... We stayed at the Cathedral B&B, the only not-that-great place the whole trip, but the outside ambience was beautiful at night and it was a good location for wandering around. Made me think back to college days and New Haven, Cork being a relatively big city and places to stay more chancy. Lots of students and bars w/music...We had a fantastic meal that night - my second duck(!) of the trip - at Clancy's...
This certainly was a vacation in the spirit of "abundance"...We really didn't do that much traveling, staying just to the southwest coast, but even the little we did could have easily been stretched into weeks. There was so much subtlety and variation in every place, and the pleasure of open time was a vacation in itself. Another time we'd like to visit Connemara and thereabouts, even though that would probably preclude going back to our favorite places from this trip.
We found that having a bit of a plan was good, if only to have something to alter as it suited better. I'm so glad to have direct roots to this place. To be able to say my name and have someone respond as if they know my family before me, to feel linked to an ancient thread...Am much looking forward to picking up our geneaology, finding what is possible...and for us to come back one day.
-Janet and (Paul) August 8, 2002
Cemetary on the Road to Kenmare, ©2002 Janet Maher
View from Cleevaun, Dingle, ©2002 Janet Maher
EnRoute to the Blasket Islands, Dingle, ©2002 Janet
Maher
Connor Pass, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
The Jeannie Johnston, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
To Baltimore, Ireland, ©2002 Janet Maher
Stone Circle in the Rain, ©2002 Janet Maher
Flower Box, Petunias, ©2002 Janet Maher
St. Coleman Cathedral,Cobh, Ireland ©2002 Janet Maher