odds & ends

I have one more post to put up after this one.
Then, that'll be the end of the Ireland stories.
At least for now.


One day I met a foursome of caravaners. Suzanne & Dirk from Germany and Fay & Allen from Yorkshire. You can rent a horse drawn carriage and tour the country-side the old fashioned way. The caravans were small with no fridge and a propane stove. You parked at a farm and if you were lucky the farmer would let you use his shower - for a price.

I met them on the boat to Holy Island and offered to drive them to various historic sights (parking horses can be such a hassle). We saw many local attractions I hadn't yet had time to visit. Thanks to them I've now seen the oldest church in Ireland that was attended by Brian Boru himself. We ended our day with a pleasant picnic of tea and biscuits in the field where they were camped for the day. (I was later to learn that Suzanne & Dirk's horse got loose the next day and the farmer had to chase it down in his car.)


This is Brian. He lived in a caravan, too - except his looked more like what we call a camper - no electricity, and a hose from a local farmer was his running water. I met him while he was hitch-hiking (we would meet several more times this way). We ended up going to a pub together and then I offered him a ride home. I was astounded by where his caravan was not only because it was a good 2-3 miles from the main road but because the road to his house wasn't lit up. Which meant he walked in the complete dark every night. That's amazing to me mostly because - I'm afraid of the dark - there, I said it.



This is the Spancil Hill Horse Show. It was the 23rd of June. Always has been, always will be, no matter what the song says. There were horses everywhere and you had to look down to keep out of the horse poop and up to keep from getting kicked. Never a dull moment.


This is my last night at Keane's, a wonderful little pub in Mountshannon. They sold everything from gas, to milk, to Guinness. The pictures blurry because the pace is frenetic (and we were a bit blurry ourselves by that time).
That's Malena on my left - she sang like Marlena Dietrich. Tony is over there to my right - he sang Bob Dylan tunes - thankfully not like Dylan.
The whole bar sang along with me to I'll Tell Me Ma. It was a magical night.