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Thursday, Nov 21,
2002
Our tour took us
next deeper into the peninsula (we had been skirting the coast
up to now) to yet another archeological site, this one dating
from (in different parts) the 6th-12th century, the Reasc
Monastery. Once an ancient Celtic sacred place, the area was
turned into a monastery in the early middle ages. Characteristically
of Celtic Catholicism (as opposed to Roman Catholicism), there
was no attempt here to subjugate or eliminate the earlier
culture; instead the focus turns to synthesis, a combination
of the two traditions, the newer Catholic one using the older
Celtic elements to explain itself. This has given Ireland a
unique flavor in world Catholicism, one Rome was not entirely
happy with for centuries, in which Celtic legend melds with
Christian belief in ways that preserve the ancient legacy
without relegating it to the realm of stories of devils and
demons, a boon when you consider the other option was Roman
Catholicism, which tended to impose itself and eradicate any
prior belief system.
This
pillar stone at the Reasc Monastery shows an ancient Celtic
design
capped by a Maltese-type cross, a perfect example of the
synthesis of
Christian and pagan traditions characteristic of Irish
Catholicism.
Nov. 21, 2002
From the Reasc
Monastery our tour kept the "ancient Christianity"
theme as we drove to the Gallarus Oratory. Built some 1300
years ago, this is one of Ireland's best-preserved
early-Christian churches. With your ticket you get a short
history lesson on the church, enough to know what you are
looking at. Note that it is made in the same way as Dun Beg
was, meaning only well-fitted stones and no mortar. Gallarus
is completely waterproof, a fact we got to corroborate while
visiting (did we say it rains a lot in Ireland?), with only a
little water getting in through the door and little window at
the back, both of which would have been covered with skins or
wood. The inside is spacious yet small, large enough for about
15 people perhaps; it is easy to imagine a monk or priest
giving mass in this small, stone upturned boat, his few
congregants huddled together in faithful reverence, asking God
to protect them in this isolated corner of the known world.
Truly a magnificent site to visit.
The Gallarus
Oratory.
Nov. 21, 2002
From Gallarus we
went to the last stop in our tour, Kilmarkedar Church, the old
Norman center of worship for this part of the peninsula. Built
around the 12th century, a great example of Irish Romanesque
architecture, it sits in the middle of a still-in-use
graveyard that has risen considerably in the last few
centuries. While trying to find our way into the church yard,
we stumbled upon an abandoned house just next to Kilmarkedar,
but we didn't take any pictures of it. It seemed to be from
about the same time as the church, perhaps a house for the
priest and other church staff.
Ogham
stone at Kilmarkedar Church. Stories say that locals
would
seal pacts by touching
fingers through the hole on the stone,
while standing on the
bones of their ancestors.
Nov. 21, 2002
In all honesty, with
the sun falling, and the bright orange light of the late
afternoon casting strange shadows, Kilmarkedar was creepy. We
went inside but there was a strange vibe in the air, and after
feeling a few tingles that one definitely does not want to
feel while in a graveyard (oh, like fingers crawling down your
back), we bid Kilmarkedar adieu and got back to town before
night fell (at 4:30 pm!!!). That night we went out to eat
something in Dingle, and to talk about our wonderful tour. So
far we had spent one full day in Dingle, and we would have
been happy to move into a house and call this corner of
Ireland home.
Friday,
Nov 22, 2002
Friday we decided to
spend it in town. We slept late, then drove down to Dingle and
walked pretty much every single one of its streets up and
down. The tide was low, and following Rick Steves' suggestion,
we decided to walk all the way to the mouth of the harbor.
However, we had arrived in Ireland just a few days after the
south had been experiencing a week-long period of heavy rains,
and the mud was unbearable, more than once almost succeeding
in stealing our shoes and socks! So we simply walked around
Dingle, checking out the local art, and buying a few things: a
traditional Irish wool hat for Danny; natural Irish soaps by
Gallunac; a stoneware mug from Louis Mulcahy Pottery;
"Twenty Years a-Growing", a collection of stories by
Blasket Islander Maurice O'Sullivan; and "Time to
Sail", a CD by local artist/teacher/musician at John
Benny Moriarty's Pub Eilis Kennedy (see the Links
for more info on these items).
Saturday,
Nov 23, 2002
Saturday was
Shabbat, so we stayed in our B&B up until midday, then
went out on a walk all the way to Ventry, some two miles away.
The day looked gorgeous, so we thought it would be OK... About
halfway to Ventry we could see the storm clouds rolling in
from the sea. We managed to get to Ventry, and decided to hike
back before the rain really started, only to have the rain
really start once we had past the last place we could have
taken shelter in. The rain was falling sideways, the wind
driving it like thousands of tiny wet daggers. On the plus
side, the left side of our bodies was pretty much dry,
compared to the utter soaking on the right side. By the time
we got back to the B&B, our host, Maurice, asked us
incredulously, "What happened!" We told him the day
had looked great so we had decided to walk to Ventry; he
merely looked at us with a smile that said "silly
tourists". He did dry our clothes and light up a peat
fire. We will forever associate the smell of peat with warmth.
Yvette
with a pint of Bullmer's cider at An Conair Pub.
It was the first pub of five that night.
Nov. 23, 2002
Given this was our
last night in Dingle, we decided to go for the Pub Crawl. Pubs
are everywhere in Dingle, including some that do double-duty
as stores during the day and pubs at night. Our crawl started
at An Conair Pub (nice place, but the music would be in two
hours), and from there we hit the Small Bridge Bar (packed,
very atmospheric), Lord Bakers for a little food, then Dick
Mack's (one of those double-duty, a leather shop by day and
pub by night), O'Flaherty's (where they had great music, and
the man on the banjo turned out to be the owner), and Murphy's
(with great rebel songs!).
Sunday,
Nov 24, 2002
Our hosts
at Ballymore House, Maurice and Theresa,
with Yvette
as we were getting ready to leave.
Nov. 24, 2002
We left Sunday
morning, but not without feeling that we had left part of
ourselves in Dingle, and that we would have to come back to
claim it. Thing is, for the rest of our lives, Dingle will be
the place where we spent the most peaceful days of our
honeymoon.
Yvette
& Danny at the Connor Pass observation point.
Nov. 24, 2002
Since Galway was our
next destination, we decided to head north via the Connor
Pass; seemed like a good excuse to drive up to one of the
highest points in the peninsula and enjoy the scenery. Once
you reach the summit, you can pull over to see the peninsula
from an incredible vantage point. The fields seem to undulate
with the wind, and the various lakes, ponds and streams
sparkle like quicksilver. In the distance we could see all of
Dingle town, waving us good-bye, and reminding us to return
one day. But for now, the road called, and our next
destination promised to be simply amazing.
Danny on
the side of a mountain on our way out of Dingle.
Note the clouds not that far away.
Nov. 24, 2002
Next: Cliffs
of Moher
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