Wild weekend at the Symphony, County Claire and the Burren

Finally getting the updates all together! It takes a lot of work to update pictures, write blogs, and keep up to date on what has gone on when so much is always happening! No matter, I have risen to the challenge and intend to keep good on my promise.

This update covers a few days so I will organize it by day it happened. Here goes!




Friday September 12, 2008


originally my plan for this day was going to include a trip to Dublin castle. That was postponed; however, as I wanted to see it when I had family here so I could give them something to do. Instead, we opted to go to the Symphony. We figured if ever there was a place to become cultured, it would be at the Irish National Symphony. And for 9 Euro, why not?! So we dressed up and headed downtown.

I am course a heathen and knew very little about such events prior to entering the concert room. There were three movements with one featuring a soloist on flute. In all they were very impressive and our seats were quite good as well even though we sat behind the orchestra. Watching the conductor and his antics made it all worth it.




Saturday Sept 13th, 2008

This was our first trip as a whole group out to the West of Ireland. This involved a tour bus, forty some odd college students, a handful of post-grads, an awesome bus driver and the nuttiest (and most knowledgeable) professor on the planet, Kevin Whelan. We were off, out of the city and into the countryside of the Emerald Isle.

.... So for the first hour and a half or so, I slept. This of course did not stop Kevin from talking straight through about the random sights we could see. Granted, once one leaves the city of Dublin and heads into the middle of the country, there are very few things to actually see. So if there was nothing to see, Kevin just spoke randomly.

In any case, eventually we stopped at Tyrellspass Castle for tea and scones. That is the awesome part I mentioned before about Dublin; random castles, keeps, and other ancient pieces of history can be found anywhere and are a significant part of the every day life in Ireland. Tea and scones was a great way to wake up a little (we left around 9 Am...wayyyy too early for me) and put me up and ready to see the countryside.

The bus ride may seem boring when you realize that Kevin was talking almost the entire time, but in reality Kevin is nothing like a normal professor.

I actually listened to what he was saying! Incredible I know, but the level of passion this man has for his country is readily apparent in the first five minutes of talking with him. So we heard a great deal about the history of the island from its first barbaric peoples to sustenance farming and even into the modern day Celtic Tiger that has quickly swept the country into an era of modernization from drugs and car parts to cereals and prosthetic limbs. Quote of the day, you ask? By none other than Kevin Whelan:

"Ireland is turning America into a nation of cyborgs."


Doesn't get more direct than that my friends.


Eventually Kevin did stop talking and we were allowed to gaze at the countryside. The further west you move, the more you notice one key factor on the landscape: walls. Ireland is built on a bed of limestone, and in the early days over many generations stones were dug up so that the soil could be tilled and grown on. These stones were placed in walls that run literally everywhere. Over 2 million miles of stone walls dissect the country and they had become as much a part of the landscape as did the shrubs and grass.

I need to mention here the level of green that we saw. That is, EVERYTHING IS GREEN. And not just one shade of green to. Probably closer to forty. If I wanted to invent a shade of green, I'd call it something like Green Moss on Wall in County Claire Ireland. Unfortunately someone already got to it. Point is: green. All over.


The roads became more winding and hilly. We were reaching the mountains that dot the coast. After stopping for a quick lunch (found a thing of bread and a chunk of cheese, my new favorite meal), we headed up to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a crazy drive up insane paths which wouldn't have been too bad had we owned maybe a Prius, but a tour bus makes for a much more interesting drive.

Finally we reached the Legendary Cliffs of Moher. This is the Western most point of Europe with nothing separating the country from America besides 3000 miles of ocean.


What a sight.

You will have to look at the pictures to see what I really mean, but it was simply incredible. I cannot describe the intense awe that was about the entire place from the moment we arrived. It felt like we were standing on the edge of the world, looking out into a vast expanse unreachable and mythic. You could feel the ancient peoples standing with you and gazing out, wondering exactly what lay beyond the horizon. There was certainly a God moment on the cliffs, and with good reason.

Eventually we made our way up to the highest point on the cliffs beyond the "Do not go past" point. But we were good Notre Dame students, all making our way safely and without injury. Once at the top we took a moment of silence on behalf of Kevin to really take in the surroundings. It was simply incredible and I hope to be putting up a panorama of the sight once I figure out what I'm doing (some works take longer than others...) so I hope you can at least feel some sense of awe at the wonder that was before me.

Then we all realized that in about 4 hours the beloved ND football team would be playing Michigan, the worst team in the history of the entire world. So we sang the fight song together to remind everyone who is truly number one. It was spectacular.

By now we were so far behind schedule we were in danger of missing church. Our bus booked it back to Country Claire where we dropped our bags off at the hotel. After that we drove back a bit to St. Patrick's Church in Fanore. It was about ten after, so we had to sneak in without disrupting mass. Let me explain how difficult this was: with our group of fifty people we effectively doubled the size of the congregation present. Nonetheless the priest acknowledged us and bid us welcome as did the parishioners.

The wonderful mass concluded and we went back to the Hyland's Burren Hotel for dinner. The three course meal included smoked salmon, mashed potatoes, and roasted lamb followed by chocolate cake and cheesecake. It was absolutely fantastic and with the updates from the ND game by cell phone informing us we were ahead of Michigan, the night could not have been better.

We eventually wandered off down the side of the pier toward the ocean. Andrew had recommended a pub called Monk's, so we headed down there for a bit, hung out, then came back to the hotel to listen to some music before heading to bed. It was a long day, but we were all quite ready for more.


Sunday Sept 14, 2008


The bright but cloudy Irish morning was laced with a sweet smell of a hot and hearty breakfast waiting for us downstairs. Fried eggs, buttered toast, thick bacon, savory sausage, and Irish coffee awaited us as we walked into the dining room. It was a brilliant way to start the day off on the right foot. We were hitting a few historical sights before heading into the Burren for a bit of exploration.

Before long we found ourselves back on our wonderful tour bus ready to hit a few more sights. We had a tour guide now, Brendan. He was a relatively young guy who had studied the Burren as well as the people who lived there for some time. Somehow Kevin let this guy in to supplement our journey and he proved to be a very interesting base of knowledge. Tired as we were, the bus pressed on into the park.

Our first stop was a very old Abbey now turned cemetery. Called Corcomroe Abbey, this site was erected in early 12th century and has since fallen out of repair. The architecture was intriguing and the graves somehow calming.

This may sound strange considering in the past month I've visited the Coliseum, Parthenon and the Palace of Knossos, but there was something to say about being in a place so old. This was once a Catholic place of worship; people came here to celebrate the same mystery I do in church and in life. There was some connection between myself and the people buried there six centuries ago.

After a while I took a few pictures and we were ready to move on. Our next stop was Lemeneagh Castle, another very old portion of the Burren. Used primarily in the 14th-16th century, it was actually the residence of the O'Brien family in Ireland. Many different tales and stories emerge from this piece of land; I would write pages to explain all of Kevin and Brenden's stories. Point in case, it was yet another piece of history almost as old as the land, revered in our eyes and immortalized in the eyes of the Irish.

It was now time to eat something and head into the Burren. Luckily for us we were going to do both. Enter a place called Father Ted's house. It is a small farmhouse on part of the Burren that was originally the opening scene of an English comedy series called Father Ted (Opening credit clip here, the house appears at 24 seconds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7owMQGr8Ivo).

Now it is the home of a sustenance farmer who tended cows, horses, and sheep. His name was Patrick and he lived there with his family. What an amazing individual we had met! Here is a man who claimed to be uneducated yet spoke like a true orator with years of experience and training. He told us about the Burren, his land and the true importance of maintaining a countryside's inner beauty. His family also treated us to biscuits, scones, and cookies (all homemade in true Irish fashion) as well as tea and coffee. It was absolutely wonderful food for the second time that day, eating and relaxing in Patrick's house.

Kevin wanted to see the sheepdog in action, so we walked outside into the field. This dog was a beast for sure. All Patrick had to do was tell the dog to "bring the sheep here" and the dog ran out into the field, rounded up the sheep, and herded them our way. It was a fantastic demonstration and a real treat to see, almost like an animated work of art. That was the theme of Patrick's speaking with us; simplicity can be beautiful as is the land of the Burren. On that note, it was time to hike into the Burren for real and see the true side of Irish nature for ourselves.

Let me take this opportunity to expand a bit on what the Burren actually is. While the name stretches to almost the entire part of the West Coast we had been visiting, the park is much smaller and is a natural preservation much like Yellowstone or even Rock Creek. Unlike these two places, however, the Burren is under intense debate in deciding whether or not to put a visitor’s center in the park. Such a center would undoubtedly bring more people to see the beautiful landscape, but would simultaneously wreck the remote nature of the park that is so dear to the spirit of the land. It was thought provoking to listen to as both sides have great positives and also negatives.

In any case, Brenden had a side but wanted to instead show us the Burren so we could make such judgments on our own. We hiked down the road from Patrick's home and into the shrubbery. We climbed into fields, caught frogs (and took pictures of them), hiked on rocks (and took pictures surrounding us), and plunged deep into the forest undergrowth. It was raining relatively steady by now, which I was enjoying immensely even if Kevin and Brenden thought we didn't. It was so great to experience the true Irish nature of the place, and in my mind the trip would simply not be complete if we hadn't been rained on.

After a while in the undergrowth, the journey to the road began. We had one more stop, however, that was to be the climax of our journey into the Burren. Brenden led us to a Turlough residing directly in front of Mullaghmore Mountain. A Turlough is literally a "disappearing lake." The land is susceptible to a fluctuating water table. In times of rain the water level rises and fills up the lake from the bottom, while in drier times the land is also dry and can be walked on. It was filled at the time of our visit due to the intense amount of rain the country had experienced this summer (normally in September the area would still be dry. Turlough are unique to Ireland and cannot be found anywhere else, only further highlighting the beauty of the landscape. We took some photos, observed a moment, and began our hike back to the bus.

The bus ride might have been uneventful... if we were normal kids. Fortunately (or unfortunately for the musical world) a bus full of ND college kids can only sit still for so long before songs of Disney, Titanic, Queen, and Backstreet Boys fill the air. We found dinner and for the rest of the two hour journey almost any single song that has ever been sung aloud was poured out with fire and heart on that tour bus.

It was awesome. Definitely one more reason why I go to Notre Dame. We had a blast.


All of us were very tired by the time Dublin came into view. It was only 8:30 but the night was quick and before long I was nestled in my bed for a good night's sleep.




In all, the trip out West was mind blowing. If ever you come to Ireland, I urge you to not only see the modern Dublin, for while it surely is incredible, the West is a whole different world riddled with tradition in a symbiotic relationship with the people and land. If anyone wants more information on the Burren, you can visit burrenbeo.ie or talk to me and I can explain some of my pictures which should all now be up.

If you have any questions about the pictures or need copies/bigger views, leave a comment here or email me at ajoines@nd.edu and I'll help you out asap! Cheers!