I stayed at the Mercantile Hotal in the Temple Bar area and didn't like it as much as the Jury Inn. It was much louder and the people weren't as nice. I got up and walked to the nearby tourist office on Suffolk street to join my Extreme Ireland tour of Celtic sites. It was ok, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other tours. I don't know if it was the guide, the other tourists or the sites themselves.
We were on a small bus - there were only 10 of us. We drove throu the Boyne valley. Out first stop was the Hill of Tara.
It was the political and spiritual center of Celtic Ireland. The hill was the seat of the high kings. There is a statue there of st. Patrick who converted the area.
We got to go in a passage tomb and see the carvings. I am hoping to get to New Grange where there are supposedly great ones. We went to Trim Castle in Trim which was a Norman stronghold on the Boyne river. It was freezing cold but we walked around the castle. Trim was the backdrop of Mel Gibson's "Braveheart"
We visited Clonmacnoise a medieval monastery. There were some beautiful Celtic Crosses there. Scenes from the Bible were carved into them to teach the Bible to illiterates.
We stopped at a pub near Slane for lunch. It was warm and served turkey,stuffing, carrots, and mashed potatoes. thanksgiving on the last day of June! Hill of Slane is where st Patrick is said to have lit the paschal fire as a challenge to the pagan high king of Tara. The event symbolized the triumph of Christianity over paganism.
Our last stop was Drogheda. It is a Norman port near the mouth of the River Boyne. St. Peter's catholic church is there and house the head of Oliver Plunkett, an archbishop martyrred in 1681. He was hung and drawn and quartered and the pieces of his body burned but a follower got his decapitated head and it is on display in the front of the church by the alter. Weird.
Got back the Dublin around 6.Got some food, walked around and read my boom "leaving microsoft to change the world" from the guy that started Room to Read.
It was the political and spiritual center of Celtic Ireland. The hill was the seat of the high kings. There is a statue there of st. Patrick who converted the area.
We got to go in a passage tomb and see the carvings. I am hoping to get to New Grange where there are supposedly great ones. We went to Trim Castle in Trim which was a Norman stronghold on the Boyne river. It was freezing cold but we walked around the castle. Trim was the backdrop of Mel Gibson's "Braveheart"
We visited Clonmacnoise a medieval monastery. There were some beautiful Celtic Crosses there. Scenes from the Bible were carved into them to teach the Bible to illiterates.
We stopped at a pub near Slane for lunch. It was warm and served turkey,stuffing, carrots, and mashed potatoes. thanksgiving on the last day of June! Hill of Slane is where st Patrick is said to have lit the paschal fire as a challenge to the pagan high king of Tara. The event symbolized the triumph of Christianity over paganism.
Our last stop was Drogheda. It is a Norman port near the mouth of the River Boyne. St. Peter's catholic church is there and house the head of Oliver Plunkett, an archbishop martyrred in 1681. He was hung and drawn and quartered and the pieces of his body burned but a follower got his decapitated head and it is on display in the front of the church by the alter. Weird.
 |
| St. Oliver's head is in there! |
 |
| Supposedly a Relic of the True Cross |
Got back the Dublin around 6.Got some food, walked around and read my boom "leaving microsoft to change the world" from the guy that started Room to Read.
No comments:
Post a Comment