Our Trip to Ireland - Chapter 5
We visited the little congested town of Sneem which was undergoing a lot of construction work to improve it. We stopped to grab a bite to eat and do some more shopping for souvenirs in Moll’s Gap. We laughed as we looked up a hill to see a sheep mooning us! He just stood there on top that hill with his rearend to us!
We started back to continue our ride on the “Ring”. A big truck came along and was driving on the road at a time he shouldn’t have been. That was the only time I was concerned about our bus being pinned up against a mountainside. Thank God for being able to drive on the left side of the road in Ireland! Everyone in back of the truck looked concerned. Tony opened the window on the right-hand side of the bus and yelled to the driver of the truck, “You are going the wrong way”! “You are supposed to be going on the Ring counter-clockwise”. In Ireland the Garda are the police. They are not allowed to carry guns! The military police will come in if things get too violent for the Garda to handle. Garda in Gaelic means “Keepers of the peace”. We were told later on after we got through this traffic jam that the Garda had to come and help the truck get turned around.
While on the “Ring” we saw so much of the countryside and listened to many legends. I could tell that our driver, Tony, was a big fan of Daniel O’Connell otherwise known as the “Liberator” or the “Emancipator”. He was a barrister (lawyer) who lived from 1775 to 1847. He became a defender of Catholic tenants and small-landowners.
We also talked with him about the movie, “The Matchmaker” which I had seen before leaving home. He said the “Matchmaker Festival” is real! This is a week-long event held in every year. Single women and single men come from all over the world to go to this festival for fun and for finding a mate. Irishmen often married later in life because as the oldest or surviving son they had to stay at home to help their parents with the farming. In the words of Barry Fitzgerald in the “Quiet Man”—“What woman would come into the house with another woman in it”? If the man’s mother was still around, he wouldn’t feel comfortable marrying. Some men married well into their 30’s or even older.
We also drove by through a town called Killorglin where the annual Puck Festival is held every year. Under the watchful eye of a veterinarian a goat is chosen to become King Puck. The goat is placed in a cage up high on a pedestal where the townsfolk can admire him during the Festival. A Queen Puck is crowned and other fun activities are planned. Legend has it that goats took flight and warned the townsfolk of this village that the “Roundhead” (Cromwell’s men) were headed towards them to do them harm.
We headed back to our B & B (the Egan’s house). Mrs. Egan prepared a nice dinner for us which was served to us shortly after we arrived and got freshened up. We had potatoes and some type of mashed potato dish which had a pastry crust on it. We also had pie for dessert. We didn’t have a lot of talk interaction with the Egans. They seemed to want to serve us then leave us to ourselves. Perhaps, they thought that is what we wanted?? The other guests complained amongst themselves because they wanted to interact more with the Egans. The woman from Germany was talking about dinner later on and said the meal was “non-descriptive”. I had no problem talking with the Egans whenever they were available. I don’t think they had been in the B & B business for very long, and not everyone is a gourmet cook or even a good one. I thought the meal was fine, myself.
Tony told us that if anyone was interested we could go into town and go to Danny Mann’s Tavern. Mr. Egan provided Bryan, Greg, and myself with a ride to the tavern at 5 Euros a head for a round trip. Jessica, John, Bryan, Greg, and I had a fun time there listening to traditional Irish tunes (once again the “Black Velvet Band” was performed) played by a trio. They asked if there were any Americans and heard all of us yell and cheer. They responded, “You can always tell when they’re here”! We looked around to find most of the 46 people on our tour in the same place we were. Jessica suggested that Greg try a new drink that night. He had his first “Jager Bomb” which he enjoyed. We all laughed as he jugged it down. He only had one. After that he had a Coke. He knew I didn’t want him to overdo and get sick on top of having a cold now to contend with. Through it all, he laughed and enjoyed himself to spite the cold. One of the members of the band had a round, Irish, jovial face. I watched him play the Bohdran and was fascinated by the fact that he held the drum on with a chain around his neck. The chain didn’t look very comfortable, but he didn’t seem to mind?? The three men sang wonderfully, and one whistled another tune. He was the best whistler I have heard for a long time--if not the best ever!
Mr. Egan came to pick us up at 11:30 as we requested him to do earlier. Mrs. Egan had gotten us the “Night Nurse” cold medicine which I paid her for the next day. She was wonderful to do this for us as I had been very concerned about Greg. He was upset because he wasn’t feeling well when we were riding for a long period of time on the bus. I felt helpless not being home and being able to doctor him properly. He got a good night’s rest, though, and felt somewhat better the next morning. We had a nice breakfast in the morning then left to do make out way to Blarney Castle.
We started back to continue our ride on the “Ring”. A big truck came along and was driving on the road at a time he shouldn’t have been. That was the only time I was concerned about our bus being pinned up against a mountainside. Thank God for being able to drive on the left side of the road in Ireland! Everyone in back of the truck looked concerned. Tony opened the window on the right-hand side of the bus and yelled to the driver of the truck, “You are going the wrong way”! “You are supposed to be going on the Ring counter-clockwise”. In Ireland the Garda are the police. They are not allowed to carry guns! The military police will come in if things get too violent for the Garda to handle. Garda in Gaelic means “Keepers of the peace”. We were told later on after we got through this traffic jam that the Garda had to come and help the truck get turned around.
While on the “Ring” we saw so much of the countryside and listened to many legends. I could tell that our driver, Tony, was a big fan of Daniel O’Connell otherwise known as the “Liberator” or the “Emancipator”. He was a barrister (lawyer) who lived from 1775 to 1847. He became a defender of Catholic tenants and small-landowners.
We also talked with him about the movie, “The Matchmaker” which I had seen before leaving home. He said the “Matchmaker Festival” is real! This is a week-long event held in every year. Single women and single men come from all over the world to go to this festival for fun and for finding a mate. Irishmen often married later in life because as the oldest or surviving son they had to stay at home to help their parents with the farming. In the words of Barry Fitzgerald in the “Quiet Man”—“What woman would come into the house with another woman in it”? If the man’s mother was still around, he wouldn’t feel comfortable marrying. Some men married well into their 30’s or even older.
We also drove by through a town called Killorglin where the annual Puck Festival is held every year. Under the watchful eye of a veterinarian a goat is chosen to become King Puck. The goat is placed in a cage up high on a pedestal where the townsfolk can admire him during the Festival. A Queen Puck is crowned and other fun activities are planned. Legend has it that goats took flight and warned the townsfolk of this village that the “Roundhead” (Cromwell’s men) were headed towards them to do them harm.
We headed back to our B & B (the Egan’s house). Mrs. Egan prepared a nice dinner for us which was served to us shortly after we arrived and got freshened up. We had potatoes and some type of mashed potato dish which had a pastry crust on it. We also had pie for dessert. We didn’t have a lot of talk interaction with the Egans. They seemed to want to serve us then leave us to ourselves. Perhaps, they thought that is what we wanted?? The other guests complained amongst themselves because they wanted to interact more with the Egans. The woman from Germany was talking about dinner later on and said the meal was “non-descriptive”. I had no problem talking with the Egans whenever they were available. I don’t think they had been in the B & B business for very long, and not everyone is a gourmet cook or even a good one. I thought the meal was fine, myself.
Tony told us that if anyone was interested we could go into town and go to Danny Mann’s Tavern. Mr. Egan provided Bryan, Greg, and myself with a ride to the tavern at 5 Euros a head for a round trip. Jessica, John, Bryan, Greg, and I had a fun time there listening to traditional Irish tunes (once again the “Black Velvet Band” was performed) played by a trio. They asked if there were any Americans and heard all of us yell and cheer. They responded, “You can always tell when they’re here”! We looked around to find most of the 46 people on our tour in the same place we were. Jessica suggested that Greg try a new drink that night. He had his first “Jager Bomb” which he enjoyed. We all laughed as he jugged it down. He only had one. After that he had a Coke. He knew I didn’t want him to overdo and get sick on top of having a cold now to contend with. Through it all, he laughed and enjoyed himself to spite the cold. One of the members of the band had a round, Irish, jovial face. I watched him play the Bohdran and was fascinated by the fact that he held the drum on with a chain around his neck. The chain didn’t look very comfortable, but he didn’t seem to mind?? The three men sang wonderfully, and one whistled another tune. He was the best whistler I have heard for a long time--if not the best ever!
Mr. Egan came to pick us up at 11:30 as we requested him to do earlier. Mrs. Egan had gotten us the “Night Nurse” cold medicine which I paid her for the next day. She was wonderful to do this for us as I had been very concerned about Greg. He was upset because he wasn’t feeling well when we were riding for a long period of time on the bus. I felt helpless not being home and being able to doctor him properly. He got a good night’s rest, though, and felt somewhat better the next morning. We had a nice breakfast in the morning then left to do make out way to Blarney Castle.
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