Our Ireland Trip from S-T

Sanachi: Irish story telling with singing was our entertainment Saturday evening September 15 at Brod Tullaroan. These guys were fabulous, we participated, and ended the evening with a cup of Irish coffee.






He also quoted poetry and Shakespeare.

Shopping in Blarney: About half the tour group went into Blarney to shop while the rest of us had a day of leisure in Ennis on September 13. They were delayed getting back because of a traffic accident, so we waited dinner and all had a late supper together.

Thomastown: Just outside on the banks of the River Arrigle, stands Jerpoint Abbey, a well preserved Cistercian monastic ruins. It was self-sustaining, so there were many buildings to suit the needs of the community. The wind was brisk and a drizzle started and my cold was coming on, so the carvings and crosses were starting to all look alike by this time, but it really was a magnificent place.







Travellers, Irish: It didn't seem appropriate to take photos, but they are an ancient people, sometimes called Roma or Gypsies, which travel in caravans. We did see small groups parked along the road with vans and trailers and laundry. When I googled the term I was surprised to see there are a lot of social workers and about 80 organizations making a living trying to fight for their civil rights and new regulations to protect them. If I might just editorialize a moment, I’d guess that if they want to preserve what's left of their culture they should dump the camp followers! They've made it a few thousand years without them. There are also Irish Travellers in the United States, having come here from Ireland in the 19th century, living in their own communities, but becoming ever more assimilated and middle-class moving from trailers to McMansions, old vans to new SUVs.