Brief Ireland Research Stint

Although I visited Ireland for two weeks, only three days was spent researching in Dublin. I accessed reader's cards in the Berkely Library at Trinity College ("home" to the famous Book of Kells - there's a story there), The National Library of Ireland (where there was a fabulous exhibit on W.B. Yeats), and the National Archives. I must admit that I was a little dissappointed to find that I did not have enough background information to secure much information of value to my project. Perhaps I should have visited Edinburgh first, but alas - a return trip to Ireland would not be much of a burden!

In addition to my research, I was able to visit the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Archeology, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and of course, the Grafton St./St. Stephen's Green Park areas. I traveled on foot through Dublin, but took the commuter trains in and out each morning from a town called Donabate, where I was staying.

In addition to my time in Dublin, I traveled around the Irish countryside quite a bit - thanks to my friend, Noel. I visited the Hill of Tara, where the High Kings of Ireland resided, as well as Trim Castle (where Braveheart was filmed). I explored the burial and mesolithic community sites of Knowth and Newgrange. I walked to the Hill (and Castle) of Slane (very near Noel's home). The picture I'm posting today was taken there. We drove across the border to Northern Ireland and back again through the Cooley mountains, where the I.R.A. used to train, and along the Irish Sea through places like Laytown, Skerries, Rush, and Lusk.

We also took a road trip to the west (Atlantic) coast, avoiding the traffic going to the Galway races, where possible. I spent my birthday visiting the Burren near Ballyvaughan. The next day we visited the Cliffs of Moher, went to the seaside town of Lahinch (famous for it's golf course), and into the village of Lisdoonvarna (known for it's fall match-making festival). We heard some delightful traditional Irish music that night at the Rathbaun Hotel by an all-girl "band."

And, if you've never seen an Irish hurling match, you're missing out! It can only be described as a combination of rugby, soccer and cricket. Hurlies are used to knock the slithers either through the goal (three points) or over the goalposts (one point). I became a fanatic while I was there. Cork and Waterford played a quarterfinal rematch the day before I left, with Waterford coming out on top to advance to the semifinals of the All-Ireland.