Ireland

Trip Date: November 2016

From Northern Ireland we made our way into Ireland proper. The transition was seamless, without so much as a border, a check-point, or even a sign. The only indication we had left Northern Ireland was the speed limit signs were no longer in miles-per-hour, instead they were now in the Metric kilometres-per-hour. With all the violence in Northern Ireland in the recent past I had expected a patrolled border between the two nations, but that was not the case.

Ireland's Flag

Ireland, officially known as the Republic of Ireland, covers five-sixths of the island of Ireland; the remaining sixth is occupied by Northern Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin and the country's population is just over 4.7 million people. The official languages are Irish and English.

Ireland (dark green) as part of the European Union (light green)

Driving in the Irish countryside is quite the adventure. Not only do you need to get used to sitting on the opposite side of the car and driving on the opposite side of the road, but there are numerous traffic circles and the roads are very narrow. Passing vehicles going in the other direction is a heart-stopping experience to say the least!

After a long, stressful day in the car we were more than happy to see the lights of Kilronan Castle glowing in the dark of night. Kilronan is a historic castle that was originally built in 1820 and is now a luxurious hotel and spa. The castle underwent numerous renovations and you can see the difference between the original castle and the new additions just by looking at the exterior of the building.

It was neat walking around the castle as there were old suits of armor and swords hanging on the walls. The room was spacious and comfortable, except for the telephone. Just as we were going to bed the telephone rang. When I answered it there was a sound like children laughing on the other end, but nobody answered when I said "Hello". I hung up and didn't think too much about it, potentially just a wrong number, however the telephone continued to ring throughout the night. Every time I answered the phone the line went dead. This happened several times before I unplugged the phone from the wall. You can imagine the look on my face when the phone rang again and still nobody was there. At that point I called the front desk and inquired about the mysterious ringing in our room. I was told to just unplug the telephone and they'd look into it in the morning. The phone never rang again that night. We only spent one night at Kilronan and when we checked out the next day we asked the front desk staff about the odd occurrences in our room. They were blown away by our story as that had never happened before and Kilronan isn't supposed to be haunted. I have a feeling their opinion on ghosts might have changed after our stay!

Kilronan Castle

Before leaving we went for a short hike around the castle grounds. The fall colours were still clinging to the trees and the sun was shining, making it a beautiful morning outside.

The beautiful grounds of Kilronan Castle

Kilronan Castle sits on Lough Meelagh, a picturesque lake

Unfortunately we couldn't stay long as we had another decent day of driving and site-seeing ahead of us. Our first stop of the day was Lough Key Forest Park, which is home to Castle Island. We went on a short walk through the park and encountered some friendly waterfowl that were looking for handouts.

There is references to Castle Island as far back as 1184. The area was originally known as Moylurg and the castle was the official residence of the McDermott's who were the Kings of Moylurg. The McDermott's ruled this entire area until the 17th century when land ownership was transferred to the King family.

Close-up of a Mute Swan who was looking for treats

Castle Island

Ireland is a very rocky place and as such the stones unearthed from the land became the principal building material. The fields needed to be cleared of stones for livestock to graze, so landowners built stone walls. The walls outlined property lines and contained livestock within. They are still in use today, but due to their instability (the walls are nothing more than piles of boulders with no mortar) they require constant maintenance.

Typical stone wall in Ireland

The country is known for its sheep population

Our final stop for the day was Galway, a coastal city on the western edge of the island. We only spent one night in Galway and had fun exploring the town centre and the pedestrian streets that surround Eyre Square.

Morning reflections in Galway

We were up early again the next day as the Cliffs of Moher were waiting! We were really excited to see the cliffs in person and wanted to spend enough time there to really soak it all in. The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland's most visited natural attraction with over one million visitors each year. The cliffs run for 8km (5 mi) as the crow flies along the Atlantic coastline. They reach a maximum height of 214m (702 ft) just north of O'Brien's Tower. In the ancient Gaelic language, the word 'Mothar' means "ruined fort" and a 1st century fort once stood where Moher tower now stands. Although any trace of the original fort has long since disappeared the Cliffs of Moher still carry the name proudly.

The cliffs were one of my favourite stops in Ireland and we were lucky to have bright sunshine for most of the experience. The winds were strong and they blew in a massive rainstorm just as we were finishing our visit. We were completely soaked by the time we finished running back to the car, but it was all worth it in the end!

Country viewpoint along the road to the cliffs

The Cliffs of Moher

Cliff Selfie!

The area immediately north of O'Brien's Tower

O'Brien's Tower standing on the edge of the cliffs

We spent the rest of the day making our way to Dublin where we would meet Christine's sister, Sarah, who would be spending the final week of our vacation with us. As previously mentioned Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland and sits at the mouth of the River Liffey. All three of us were looking forward to getting out and exploring the city.

Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university and was founded in 1592

A few of the buildings on campus were covered in these colourful vines

The Spire of Dublin, also known as the Monument of Light, stands 120m (390 ft) above O'Connell Street. Construction of the tower was completed in 2003.

The Spire

A statue of the famed Irish novelist and poet James Joyce

Dublin Castle officially opened in 1204 and has served various roles throughout its history, including a defensive fortification, a royal residence, parliamentary offices, and a military garrison before eventually becoming a major Irish government complex.

The Record Tower (right) and Chapel Royal (left) make-up a portion of Dublin Castle

Dublin City Hall was built between 1767 and 1779

It's rare to have two cathedrals in the same city, but Dublin is an exception. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland while Christ Church Cathedral is designated as the local cathedral of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough.

Christ Church Cathedral was founded in 1030 and is the elder of the city's two medieval cathedrals

St. Patrick's Cathedral was founded 1191 and is the tallest and largest church in Ireland

A quick selfie with St. Patrick's Cathedral from St. Patrick's Park

St. Stephen's Green is a popular park in Dublin and was still showing off its fall colours!

The sisters standing on a stone bridge in the park

A statue of Molly Malone, the fictional character from the song of the same name that has become the unofficial anthem for Dublin

A Grey Heron hunting for breakfast along one of Dublin's canals

This canal was right next to our hotel

We really enjoyed our time in Dublin and were sad to see it come to an end so quickly, but we were already looking ahead to the final leg of our journey through the English countryside. The next morning we hopped on a plane and flew into Birmingham for the trip's final chapter.

Northern Ireland

Trip Date: November 2016

After a great few days exploring London we boarded a plane and headed to Belfast, Northern Ireland. There were quite a few things we wanted to see in Northern Ireland, so we rented a car for ease of travel. We spent a couple of days in Belfast before hitting the road and heading for the northern coast. 

Northern Ireland's Flag

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries that make-up the United Kingdom (the others being England, Scotland, and Wales). The capital and largest city is Belfast, while the population of the whole country is just over 1.8 million people. The flag you see above is the official flag of Northern Ireland, but there has been a lot of civil unrest (commonly called The Troubles) within the country since the late 1960's and there's a strong division amongst the population. The unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants, consider themselves British and want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, whereas the nationalists/republicans, who are predominantly Catholic and consider themselves Irish, want to separate from the United Kingdom and create a united Ireland. The unionists fly the flag you see above, while the nationalists will fly the Irish tri-colour to show support for their beliefs. The Troubles officially ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement in 1998, but there has been sporadic violence since then.

Northern Ireland (dark green) as part of the United Kingdom (light green)

We weren't nervous to be in Belfast, but we had read that tensions still run pretty high in certain places so being smart and aware (like you should while traveling anywhere) were important during our time in the country. I am happy to report, however, that we did not experience any negatives our entire time in Northern Ireland and it was a spectacularly beautiful place that I would have liked to have spent more time in. As previously mentioned we started our trip through Northern Ireland in Belfast. Our hotel was quite central so we were able to walk to most of the sites including City Hall, which was completed in 1906.

Belfast City Hall

The Big Fish is a large sculpture of a salmon that is adorned in ceramic tiles, which are covered in news stories relating to the history of Belfast

Close to the Big Fish is the Albert Memorial Clock; Belfast's version of the Leaning Tower in Pisa! Built in marshy land atop wooden piles the Albert Clock had a substantial lean until recent renovations corrected the issue. It remains in Queen's Square as it has since being built in 1869 as a memorial to Queen Victoria's late Prince Consort, Prince Albert. Today the clock is one of Belfast's best known landmarks.

Albert Memorial Clock

St. Anne's Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, was completed in 1904 and is the focal point of the Cathedral Quarter in the city.

St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast

While walking down Donegall Place the clouds parted revealing a crescent moon high above a glowing City Hall

During our second day in Belfast we ventured a little farther afield, which required our rental car. I wanted to see the Peace Walls that were erected across the city in 1969. The intent of the walls was to separate Catholics from Protestants with the hope of reducing the violence that plagued the city. The walls range in length from a few hundred metres to over 5km (3 mi) and some even have gates that are open during daylight hours but are still closed at night. Viewing the walls was a sobering experience and I couldn't help but wonder why the walls remain even after the signing of the Good Friday agreement in the late '90's.

This section of the Peace Wall is covered in graffiti

Belfast Castle is located on the slopes of Cavehill and overlooks the city. It was originally built as a private residence in the 1800's, but today is a popular venue for conferences and weddings.

Belfast Castle

Christine on the back steps of the castle

RMS Titanic was built in the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast between 1909 and 1911. Today, on the exact spot she was originally constructed, there is a large monument and museum dedicated to the ill-fated ship that sank after striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage in 1912. Titanic Belfast opened in 2012 and is dedicated to the city's maritime history, especially the Titanic and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Brittanic.

I actually had three great grandparents who purchased tickets for Titanic's maiden voyage, but luckily all three somehow missed the boat! I guess sometimes it's okay to be late!!

Titanic Belfast sits in the Titanic Quarter of the city

This is the slipway where Titanic was constructed. The blue line indicates the outline of the massive ship.

After thoroughly exploring the city, and enjoying more than one of Belfast's historic pubs, we were up early to hit the road. We had a long day of driving and site-seeing ahead of us. Our first stop of the day was the Dark Hedges. This eerily beautiful row of 200-year-old Beech Trees was made famous by HBO's hit series Game of Thrones. Today the Dark Hedges are one of Northern Ireland's most photographed natural phenomenons, which is saying something when the country is also home to the Giant's Causeway. We were more than surprised when we arrived at the Dark Hedges only to discover that we had the entire place completely to ourselves. We spent a fair bit of time walking the roadway and photographing the trees without ever seeing another sole! Isn't off-season travel the best?

The Dark Hedges

Next up was one of Northern Ireland's most popular tourist destinations; the Giant's Causeway. According to legend the Irish giant Finn MacCool was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. In order for the two to meet to do battle MacCool built the Giant's Causeway across the North Channel. It has also been said that the 40,000 interlocking basalt columns are the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. Whichever version of events you believe, the Giant's Causeway is filled with mystery and awe and is more than worth a visit! The Giant's Causeway was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and a National Nature Reserve in 1987. I had wanted to see the Causeway for a long time so I'm really glad we made the trip to the Causeway Coast. Even though it was raining throughout the day we still managed to enjoy ourselves exploring the unique geology of the entire area.

Christine standing beside the Organ formation

The Giant's Causeway

The Causeway stretches all the way into the sea

The rain made all the rocks very slippery

Chimney Stacks in the distance

This unique rock, known as the Giant's Boot, is said to have belonged to Finn MacCool

Our final stop in Northern Ireland was Dunluce Castle. This now-ruined medieval castle is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The castle was built about 1,500 years ago and now stands as a relic of the past. Due to the rain and extremely cold wind blowing in off of the water I had the entire place to myself (Christine was too cold from the Giant's Causeway to explore the castle with me).

The ruins of Dunluce Castle

Exploring the castle while trying to stay warm

The Gatehouse controlled entrance to the inner-workings of the castle

View of the castle from the East Tower

Dunluce Castle perched on the edge of steep cliffs

We really enjoyed our time in Northern Ireland, but we had to keep moving. Our next stop was Kilronan Castle, an ancient castle that had been transformed into a luxury hotel. We drove across the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland in the dark and the only indication we had entered a new country was the change in speed limit signs from Imperial to Metric. We were both excited to see what new adventures awaited us as we entered Ireland for the first time!