Tuesday, November 26, 2013

THE CLIFFS OF MOHER

The Cliffs of Moher are the most visited natural attraction.  The highest point of the cliffs is 702 feet high.  It is located in Co. Clare on the western seaboard of Ireland.  The view from the cliffs is one of the most spectacular sights to be seen in Ireland.  We had a very clear day when we visited the cliffs and enjoyed every moment we were there.


O'Brien's Tower
The Art Of Moher Cliffs
                
On the Stairs of the Tower














Enjoy theViews from the cliffs







 







Blarney Castle

The Blarney Castle Resting Place


                                                                   


   How the Name Came into Being



Part of the Group Gathered at the foot of the Castle




The Tale of the Cave

Entrance to the Cave


                                                                    



Views of The Castle







 





The Blarney Stone

 (No, We did not Kiss the Stone)


Saturday, November 23, 2013

The Place Of Our Roots



  We are on our way to the birthplace of my Mother and Grandmother.

A quaint little village with a lot of extremely friendly people. 

 Our tour guide Vincent Foley, was one of the most friendly people you would ever want to know in Ireland.  He went out of his way to help me find some people who might know about my ancestors in Oughterard.  He found a young woman who thought she might be a cousin.  Sadly she was not.  However she was able to lead me to a man named Sean who knew all there was to know about Oughterard and it's history. 






Sean, an extremely friendly gentleman gave me an address of his brother in the US who may be able to answer any of my questions.



My Grandmother's and Mother's church in Oughterard, Ireland


The priest, who has access to the records was not available to show us the records of my mother's birth, baptism etc.  These records are kept in the church.











The streets of Oughterard






After a long day in Oughterard, we stopped in Galway for a bite to eat.  We had a lot of fun on this trip to Oughterard.

Dingle Peninsula, Dingle, Ireland


What a way to spend my 64th birthday, it was so surreal.


This landscape, almost like all the landscape in Ireland, looks like a great big green quilt.  It is green everywhere!



More of the patchwork



Here's the group enjoying the sights along the way to the cliffs.  The views are spectacular.  We did a tour to the peninsular and it was worth every cent.





This our first stop along the cliffs of Dingle.  These cliffs were about four hundred feet high.  The road ran right along the edge of the cliff.  It was quite the experience.



This was a very interesting stop.  The beehive hut we saw was in the middle of a sheepfold.  


We had to be very careful where we stepped!  



These structures were used between 2000BC and 1200AD.  They are very well constructed



Donna and myself inside the beehive.  It was quite roomy and surprisingly dry.




A little perspective of how small this beehive really is.


This was a sign inside the restroom on the site of the Beehive







         More of the sights along the road of Dingle Peninsula


This house is One of the oldest houses in Ireland.  It is very well built and no rain water enters it through the layers of the stones.  They are layered on slight angles so as to cause the water to run off them.  The method of laying the stones this way is called corbelling.




We stopped in the village here in Dingle for a bite to eat.  The Marina Inn was a good place for a meal.  We saw this artwork around the village.




I found it quite interesting to see a palm tree on the left, a penguin in the middle, with the Irish flag on the right.  Seemed quite strange!!!