Wednesday October 21

Today started out rather overcast with an Irish mist hanging in the air. (A little further to the east, they call it a Scottish mist!) Sitting at breakfast, we were treated to the site of Molly out for her morning walk and inspection of the grounds around the castle. The couple at the next table to us had, along with their 2 children, met Molly the previous afternoon, and had pictures of her with their children. Irish wolfhounds, even the name sounds a little intimidating, they are not small dogs at all, but there didn't seem to be any fear shown by Molly or the children to each other. Deb and I took a walk in the woods around the castle and encountered Molly on our way back. She definitely is used to having people around her but was not overly friendly, perhaps a little watchful, not allowing us to pet her.

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Pack up and onto our next stop...Dublin for two nights before flying home. 

But before Dublin, we wandered the back lane ways to Newgrange, the 6000 year old Neolithic site that is older than the pyramids, and Stonehenge. Although its use has been speculated upon with no real conclusions drawn, it is described as a passage grave. It is an earthen mound approximately 25 metres tall, constructed of large corbeled stones which were then covered with earth to create this large dome shape. There is a passage approximately 25 metres long that penetrates the mound to an inner chamber, and once a year, at the winter solstice, the rising sun's rays penetrate this passageway all the way to the chamber. This was constructed prior to ferrous metals/tools were in use, so it would all have been done using very primitive means. We joined a tour that actually took a small group of about a dozen or so people back into the inner chamber, and to describe this as amazing does not do it justice. The other intriguing element is the art work, etched into the stones, that decorates the site, again, all done about 6000 years ago! We found this to be much more interesting than Stonehenge, and really leaves one with a profound respect for these ancient (really ancient) cultures!

View from distance, that is a person in white jacket on right side

Jon at entrance

Close up of side

From Newgrange, it was off to Dublin and the Davenport Hotel for two nights. Dublin is a very busy city! (That was an understatement!) Thank goodness for GPS and a little footwork to find the hotel.

Davenport Hotel in downtown Dublin

Once we found the hotel, and got the car parked (another story!), we set off for the Brazen Head Pub on Bridge Street for a night of traditional Irish storytelling, song, food and drink. We were very careful to look up the location, and decided that by the time we got the car out of its hidey-hole garage and navigated our way to the pub, and found another parking spot, we were actually better off to walk the mile or so....and so we did. A wee problem however....there are several Bridge streets in Dublin, or streets with 'Bridge' in them, and we got it wrong. When we inquired, we found out that we weren't even close, so it was 'hale a cab time'.

Irish Stew & Guinness for dinner

The Brazen Head is reputed to be Ireland's oldest pub, tracing its roots back to about 1200. Our evening was not a disappointment at all. Johnny, our host, introduced the group to the history of storytelling, and how it is becoming a lost art form, and the importance of believing in fairies to help explain things or events that couldn't be explained in any other way. This was embellished with stories and song, and of course food and drink! We each had an Irish stew, Deb the traditional Irish stew, and Jon, the beef and Guinness stew. (Can't say that we haven't eaten well on this trip!) Our evening concluded with a cab ride back to our hotel, shared with an American in Ireland for work, who kindly picked up our fare. To him we say 'thanks'.

Singers at Brazen Head Pub