Friday, October 05, 2007
Ireland Part 2
We rang John and Pauline McCurdy (Alexander relatives) last Sunday, and found they were packing to go to France the next day for son John's wedding to a Spanish Starlet! And on the front page of 'Hello!' magazine. So it was off to Malahide on the North side of Dublin where we spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking to them, with their daughters Helen and Caroline and their kids.
A day in Dublin Monday, checked out the Book of Kells (one of the world's oldest books, handwritten and illustrated on calf skin), tried to contact Paddy Waldron but he has retired from Trinity College, but has since contacted me by email (for our next trip :-).
Lunch in this nice pub in Temple Bar district and a double decker bus tour with a very witty commentary.
Statues of 'Molly Malone' and 'Two Hags with Bags'.
Nice modern trams and the Millennium Spire ('erection on the intersection' to the locals).
Out to Daingean, County Offaly. It was set up in 1556 as Philipstown, named after King Philip of Spain, and Offaly was renamed King's County during the period of English 'plantations'. The Irish names were re-used after the 1920 Independence. We found a derelict church, and discovered it was the Protestant church, semi-demolished in the 1950's when there was only one remaining Protestant family in the town, and the slate tiles used for renewing the Catholic Church. The graveyard was totally overgrown, but we were assured that there were no Grattans in there. Spooky with the black ravens circling!
The Grand Canal reached Daingean in 1797 and some prosperity followed for about 50-60 years as most freight and passengers travelled that way. About $NZ 0.50 in today's money to go to Dublin.
Yesterday was clear and sunny and we walked around the Glendalough valley, created by glaciers in the Ice Age, with two lakes separated by a gravel delta from the mountain stream and waterfall. Photo taken by a friendly coach-driver. My birthday, too!
Here's how they park their cars in Ireland - any side of the road is fine! Road signs are irregular, some point the wrong way and Gertrude the GPS thinks we are off-roading as there are no roads showing outside the main centres.
# posted by Doug @ 9:19 PM 
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The Molly Molone statue is universally known as "the Tart with the Cart" to the locals. I believe the official name for the Hags with the Bags is "Two Ladies". And nearly everyone has coined a name for the Spire of Dublin (as the official stuff calls it these days). I'm fond of "The Bertie Pole" myself (referring to local would-be public pork project named the Bertie Bowl by its laughing detractors), though most people just call it "The Spike". The site used to house a concrete sculpture of Anna Livia in a fountain with blocky industrial appearance; the nickname given to it ("the Floozie in the Jacuzzi") started this fun local tradition of renaming public art.
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