Ann, Arjun, and I are off! We are touring Ireland for the next 10 days with an eye on Irish history, geography, and heritage. Our tour will include historical sites like Kilmainham Gaol, religious spaces like St. Brigid’s well in Kildare and natural wonders like Cavan Burren Park. We’ll also see lots of family on this trip which will be a highlight after our road trip concludes.
My primary audience here is Arjun; I want him to get the most out of what he’s going to see so teeing up what’s coming and then having some time for reflection is a good exercise, I think, But perhaps this can help others who may be interested in visiting (or revisiting) Ireland at some point. I benefit no matter what because I’m learning so much be preparing for this and then experiencing it.
Ireland, a brief overview
Similar to how the U.S. is carved up into 50 states, Ireland has four provinces. Going clockwise from the top, they are:
- Ulster to the north
- Leinster to the east
- Munster to the south
- Connacht to the west
On this tour we’ll be visiting seven cities across all four provinces. Here is our trip lined up in Google Maps:
We’ll start out on the east coast in Leinster Province in Dublin, where we will learn about the 1916 Easter Rising. We three on this trip are history buffs so I hope for a lot of interesting learning and dialog. We’ll then travel west to Kildare (County Kildare), home to St. Brigid and the Irish National Stud & Gardens. Horses are part of Ireland’s culture and also big businesses. We’ll learn all about the business and the cultural significance of horses in Kildare.
We’ll then travel north into Ulster Province, where we’ll visit Grandpa’s family heritage home in County Cavan. We’ll also taken in some of that region’s natural beauty, which “rugged uplands, lakes and forests…gently rolling drumlins” which “represent a complex Earth history dating back as far as 895 million years ago.” Wow!
We’ll then continue into Connaught Province towards Ireland’s west coast where we’ll visit Galway (County Galway) and the Aran Islands. Galway City and County are home to 35 heritage sites, 31 museums, and 10 art galleries and Galway. It has a thriving arts, music, and restaurant scene. The Aran Islands are located off the coast of Galway and there is much to see, including a seal colony.
From Galway we’ll then travel south, down the west cost, towards our family in Cork. So. that will put us in the fourth province – Munster Province where stop along the way at Ennis (County Clare), home to the “An Gorta Mor” Memorial which I would like to see, which I learned about on page 364 of “Atlas of the Great Irish Famine.” We will also visit the Burren and the Ennis Friary which dates to the middle ages and boasts Renaissance sculptures carved into limestone.
This picture is of An Gorta Mor from “Atlas of the Great Irish Famine”
We will continue south through Kerry where Mosie’s mom emigrated from (a town called Glenbeigh). We were last in Kerry in 2018 when we watched a sheep herder named Brendan with his sheep dogs, showing visitors how the dogs work to herd the sheep (an incredible visit – I have video here). A key destination in Kerry this visit will be Skellig Island (County Kerry), a famous site from one of the Star Wars movies, where Luke Skywalker is holed up in isolation. That location harks back to the historical monks who lived on Skellig during the dark ages, and we’ll learn more about them and hike the island (weather permitting).
We will end our history tour in Cork and we cannot wait to see family again!
My Notebook 