On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It seems to me that evap’s trip to Ireland, and her telling of it in words and pictures, is a metaphor for what we are all going through with with this pandemic. We start with plans, then they have to change; then we have a testimonial of man’s inhumanity to man, followed by something breathtakingly beautiful, in this case an inlet with rocky seas. ~WaterGirl
evap
I spent the second week of March in Ireland with my spousal unit (who is Irish) and a friend. At the start of the week, things were fairly normal, but by the time we left schools, museums, etc had all shut down. It was interesting to watch the shutdown happen in real time. We had planned to spend a large chunk of the summer in Ireland, but at this point it’s not clear when we will be able to go back. *sigh*
After a few days in Dublin, we hit the road. Our first overnight stop was Kinsale, one of my favorite places in Ireland. On the way we stopped at Kilkenny castle, which was build in 1195 after the Norman conquest of Ireland, and was used first as a defensive castle and later as a family manor. It is now a national monument and is outfitted with furniture, etc. from the Victorian era mainly. This picture was taken in the Great Hall, which is relatively modern, built in the mid-19th century. Very interesting ceiling and the crossbeams have heads of mythical creatures at the end.
We spent two days in Kinsale, a beautiful town in the southwest. We toured Charles Fort, a star-shaped fort built in the late 17th century and used by the British for protection against invasions from Spain and France from the sea. Kinsale was a major port for a long time and was the closest port in Ireland to mainland Europe.
We had lunch in the Bulman Bar, a delightful pub that has been around since the 1800s. They have excellent food and, of course, good beer.
On the way to our next destination, we stopped in Skibbereen, which is in an area that was badly hit by the famine. Just outside the town, there is a cemetery where a large number of famine victims were buried in a mass grave.
After Kinsale, we headed further south to the area around Schull. This is the part of Ireland where there are a bunch of narrow peninsulas pointing west. We explored Sheep’s Head peninsula and then Mizen Head peninsula, where we stumbled on this beautiful inlet. The sea was very rough, as you can see.
After a few days on the road, it was time to head back to Dublin. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel on the way back, which is one of the most visited tourist sites in Ireland — with good reason! The Rock of Cashel is a castle and other buildings on top of a hill. The oldest buildings date back to the early 12th century and it contains a beautiful 13th century Gothic cathedral. Alas, it was closed due to COVID-19. I believe this was the first day that all of the national museums and historical sites were closed down.
Sloane Ranger
Ah, Ireland, lived in the North between 1969 and 1973.Such a beautiful country. We would go for picnics on nice summer Saturdays and Dad would sometimes accidentally get on an unapproved road landing us in the Republic. We’d enjoy our picnic without realizing until he tried driving us back a different way and we ran across signposts in English and Gaelic.
debbie
Thanks for these beautiful photos!
satby
I love Ireland too. I’ve been three times, but mostly w ent west from Dublin (my ancestors were from around Mayo). I can see by evap’s beautiful pictures I’ll have to go south next time!
MelissaM
Ireland is a dream destination for me. Thanks for the pitures!
arrieve
I love these vicarious travels. Thanks for sharing!
sherparick
Western Ireland along the sea has such a haunting and special light. Thanks for sharing and keeping up Alain’s tradition.
Spanky
@satby: Castlebar refugee here – well, 3 generations removed. I too love the West, but I gotta say Mizen Head is spectacular in person.
Google street view gets you close in a geographic sense, but no where close, really.
SkyBluePink
Lovely! Thank you for sharing
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
The portrait gallery in Kilkenny Castle was a great shock to Mrs. Rasputin when we saw it 20 years ago. One portrait showed a very, very glum woman in a yellow Regency dress with matching gloves who was the spirit and image of Mrs Rasputin’s unloving and hard to love grandmother. We were shaken for the rest of the day.
J R in WV
Wonderful selection of pictures, I’m sure picked out from hundreds of other nearly equally great photos. I’ve never been to Ireland, would love to visit and tour the countrysides. Hope the Brexit nonsense on the part of England doesn’t harm the delicate situation in the North.
My own Irish background is Orange, Scots who were sent to Ireland on behalf of the English monarch, and who then fled to North America ASAP. I personally am not Protestant nor Catholic, and so I view that whole mess as, well, a mess. So similar to Israel’s and India’s and Afghanistan’s problems, and so many others as well, the Balkan country, and, yes, the US. Hate is such a terrible cheap poison.
JustRuss
Spent a couple weeks in Ireland in 1985. The southwest coast is amazing.
Quaker in a Basement
I was supposed to go in March/April, but the ‘rona kept me home. Thanks for the photos.