I Am Starting Over

It has been a long time since I was able to post here.  I moved from Kentucky to Pennsylvania five years ago.  I was blocked from this site because of a "glitch" in my Google account.  I believe that has been fixed, thanks to local techie expert helpers.

If this continues to work I shall resume posting.  Wish me luck.

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Autumn Drive in Bucks County

Our Week in Ireland, Part Two

This is Part Two of our trip in Ireland with the John Byrne Band.  We traveled with them in southwestern Ireland, seeing so many beautiful places and accompanying them as they played sessions in a series of pubs.  The scenery, the music, the learning about Ireland… so much wonderfulness in a week's time.  

In Part One, I celebrated the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry.  Now we go forward on our way to Dublin.  

Rugby was happening and the fans were going crazy in the pubs!

We took a ferry to Garinish Island, in Bantry Bay.  It is maintained with gardens and pavilions and can only be reached by ferry.

Our Captain:

While we were out on Bantry Bay, we saw the house that belonged to Maureen O'Hara:

And we saw some seals sunning themselves on the rocks:

They seemed to be curious about what we were doing there.

Our last stop on the trip was in Dublin.  Wow!  It's a busy, bustling city, like an Irish version of New York City.  Quite different from all the bucolic scenes we saw in the countryside.  As we entered the city, I took this photo from my window on the bus.  It was some kind of memorial and it stunned me; it just kept going up into the sky.  I couldn't even see the top of it.

We passed street after street of Georgian houses.  Our guide told us why all the doors are painted different colors.  Queen Victoria of England ordered that all doors be painted black in mourning when Prince Albert died.  Once that era was over, Dubliners have exercised their right to paint colors of their own choice.

While in Dublin we took a tour of Glasnevin Cemetery, with an amazing guide who gave us a fascinating look at Irish history as he showed us the graves of many of those who played major roles in shaping that history.

Our learned guide… he wasn't just a guide, he was a very knowledgable teacher.

At Michael Collins' grave.  He told us about a lady who lives in Paris who provides the flowers.  She admires this Irish hero so much that she sends fresh flowers every week.

Here we are at the resting place and memorial for Daniel O'Connell, another Irish hero, known as the Emancipator and the Liberator.

This is the tower above O'Connell's grave:

I was in awe at this cemetery.  I've never seen anything like it.  So many unique monuments, so much history.

The sky was overcast for the first time this day.  Kind of lends some atmosphere.

Why is he holding a skull?  Whose skull is it?

What is this man pointing to?  Was he making a point?

Here he is from a different angle.  Still mysterious.

Interesting story about this family.  I learned things that made me want to learn more.

The monuments seemed to go on as far as the eye can see.  I wish I could have captured the scale of it.

Yes, you could say I was impressed by this place.  I can't imagine coming to Dublin without seeing it.  Then I noticed this sign, which seemed a bit humorous to me.

I have saved the best for last.  Our final evening in Dublin, with our band playing at a place called the Mercantile.

John Byrne is on the right.  The man playing the bodhran is his brother who lives in Dublin and joined the band for the evening.  

You could feel the electricity in the air.  The band was inspired that night and that came across to the audience.  They were playing and singing with their hearts.  It was just a fabulous end to the tour.

As a last note, this is a sign I saw in Kinsale.