Never Enough Fun

We had a great time in Ireland. Fortunately, Jed and Chelsey were able to accompany us so Jed could do all the left-hand driving
and a myriad of other details, which he worked out with Geri. Thus, I could just relax and try to enjoy, especially on the days I wasn’t feeling all that great.

At the recommendation of my cousin Marty Reeder (who spent two years in Ireland), we flew into Shannon and spent our time exploring the West,       Southwest, and South. First, we went to Galway, which is about half way up (north) the west coast.  There we stayed in a bed and breakfast (B&B),   close to Galway Bay.  

After a full Irish breakfast the next morning, we headed south toward County Kerry, where we had rented a cottage in the little town of Glenbeigh as a base of operations for the next three days.  On the way south we explored  the Burren, a remote, desolate looking, moonscape area sprinkled with old rock forts and stone age burial sites.

Further down (south) the coast are some well-known sheer cliffs known as the Cliffs of Mohr.  These cliffs are 600-700 feet above the Atlantic.  Because there have been a number of people who have died by venturing too close to the edge in high winds, the government has installed fences to prevent folks from doing so.

We arrived at our cottage rather late in the evening, and since we were all suffering from jet lag, we didn’t get out until after noon the next day on which we decided to explore the Dingle Penninsula, which was just north of us. Some interesting things there were ring stone forts consisting of a circular stone wall enclosing a group of beehive huts, essentially stone igloos, which provided shelter for small families from 1,000 B.C. to as late as 1200 A.D.

An interesting thing about these stone structures and many remaining fences is that the stones were used for structures and fences without the aid of mortar, and they are still standing today. Today the fences are covered with plants so it is not obvious from a distance that they are built of stone. But the hillsides are divided into fairly small fields bordered by these stone fences.

Sadly, we were now halfway through our Ireland Adventure.