Ireland - Rediscovering Kathleen's Homeland

        After spending a week in Iceland on our "layover", we moved on to our first real destination - the Emerald Island of Ireland. Since she doesn't have an accent most people don't realize that Kathleen did not become a US citizen until 2000. Her Dad is Irish and her Mom is German so she actually was an Irish national before then. However she was born and mostly raised in Germany so actually had not been to Ireland since a young teenager. This trip was a long overdue chance to see Aunts, Uncles, and cousins to explore and discover her "native" land.

      After a night of sleeping on some benches in Gatwick Airport in London we took the short flight to Dublin with Ryan Air.

Our beds in Gatwick Airport

We had been warned about how hardnose Ryan Air can be about their rules but we had done our homework and had no problems with bag weights or sizes. Uncle Aidan picked us up at the airport and brought us to where we would be staying while in Dublin. Maura runs a bed and breakfast in outer Dublin but over the years has become a very good friend of the Egan's so it felt much more like staying at a friends house then at an "establishment". Her son Brendon was there also for the first couple of days. We had several delicious meals made by Aunt Eilleen and cousin Sarah while being entertained with poetry and song from Uncles Colm and Aidan. It was quite entertaining to hang out with the brothers. We just wished Kathleen's dad Joe was there to finish out the trio.

The Egan clan

     The first week was spent exploring Dublin and the surrounding areas. Maura and Brendon took us on a drive into the nearby countryside and showed us a Neolithic tomb that also is a solar calender called Newgrange.

Newgrange Passage Tomb

Uncle Aidan went over the top with playing tour guide. We were taken to where Kathleen's Dad grew up and went to school in Dublin. We also were taken to the Leinster cricket club to see the Wall of Fame. Turns out that Kathleen's Dad was on the National Championship Cricket team for several years during the early 1950's.

One of the several plaques with Joe Egan

 We were told that nowadays he could have made millions as an athlete but back then it was still an amateur sport. Amazingly enough, while we were there we ran into one of his teammates, Gerry Duffy who is famous in Ireland.

      Another highlight while we were in Dublin was when Maura's daughter Michelle took us to the Taste of Dublin. We were able to sample a variety of amazing delicious foods from restaurants that we would never have been able to afford to go to otherwise. There was also a large variety of wines and beers which we also love. An 80's music cover band called "Spring Break" played for the crowd and was a big hit. They looked like an Irish version of The Village People and a little girl got up on stage with them to dance and stole the show.

"Spring Break"

The second week we rented a car and toured more of the island. The roads are often only as wide as 1 1/2 cars with lots of blind curves. Between that and driving on the left side of the road it was a little nerve wracking but we survived without getting run off or running anyone off the road. We spent two days in Kilkenny at Brendon's house and then spent the rest of the week camping and exploring predominately the southwestern corner of the country where there are a series of mountainous peninsulas that jut out into the Atlantic ocean.

Kilkenny Castle

This is one of the most rugged areas of Ireland and the type of terrain we most enjoy. Ireland has a number of walking paths which make great trails for running. We did a long point to point run on the Wicklow Way near Dublin which Uncle Aidan drove us to the start for.

Lough Tay along the Wicklow Way

Djouce Mountain on the Wicklow Way

We also did a neat run on the Beara Way where you had to take a small cable car over the ocean to get to an island.

Cable car to Dursey Island

Signal Tower on Dursey Island

Dursey Head, Dursey Island

We also explored part of the Kerry Way and Killarney National Park.

Ross Castle, Killarney

Killarney National Park

Sheep in Macgillycuddy's Reeks

View west from Macgillycuddy's Reeks

Lunch break

     The last day of the road trip we went further north and climbed Ireland's holy mountain called Croagh Patrick where St Patrick is said to have fasted and prayed on the summit for 40 days and nights. There is a church at the summit. And a pub at the base. I found it great to go into a bar where 98% of the people are drinking Guiness, though I do prefer Murphy's Stout when they had it.

St Patrick at base of Croagh Patrick

The highlight of the week for me was getting to see Kathleen reestablish a meaningful relationship with her family after too many years. The Irish people were an absolute delight. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. They truly seem to enjoy Americans there and almost everyone has a relative somewhere in the US. The Irish kept telling us how expensive it was there but we found the prices to be fairly comparable to Seattle. If you are looking for a beautiful land to explore with friendly people (that speak English) then we highly recommend Ireland.

Sunset over Kilkenny