Our three nights and four days in Ireland have come to an end. After a day-long flight into Dublin, we rented a BMW and drove two and a half hours through the countryside towards the west coast. It was everything, we imagined the Irish countryside to be, complete with rolling green hills, sheep, stone walls, thatched roofs, and castle ruins.
Our highlights were Galway city, Dunguaire Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and the village of Adare where we spent the night. The roads were absolutely awful in that they were absolutely narrow. Every directional rule that we have in the US is opposite in Ireland. The steering wheel is on the right, while the parking brake and gear shift are on the left. The fast lane (I think) is on the right and most highway exit ramps are on the left. Left turns are easier than right turns and roundabouts flow clockwise. Despite all this and the jet lag we contracted on the long flight in, we survived and really quite enjoyed the adventure of it all.
Our next two nights were spent in a hostel right across from Christchurch Cathedral in the heart of Dublin. During the days, we received a crash course in Irish history and culture. We toured Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol (a jail that housed political prisoners, similar to the Bastille in France), the Guinness Brewhouse, and Trinity College. In many ways the story of Irish independence sounded like a newer version of the story of American independence. The same King George that America hated, Ireland didn't like much either. The Irish have their own group of founding fathers who declared independence from the same overbearing monarchy. Their fight, though, was more prolonged and moved ahead only by fits and starts. We visited the spot were the leaders of the rebellion were jailed and executed. The brutality of these executions backfired on the British. They had hoped they would turn the common people off to the idea. Instead, the fight for independence gained momentum and eventually led to just that. The patriotism that permeates Ireland today seems to stem from this story of hard fought freedom.
Besides the history, we also enjoyed the beer and the food. We tried our best to only frequent truly Irish places. We broke this rule only once and ordered our usuals at the Starbucks on O'Connell Street. Our most Irish dish was a lamb stew that tasted like the closest thing to home cooking outside the home.
Finally, during our last night, we joined a musical pub crawl where two Irishmen led our group on a tour of the Temple Bar neighborhood. It was a great ending to our time in the city and we're looking forward to our next stop in London, where among other things we're looking forward to visiting the Churchill War Rooms, enjoying an afternoon tea, and maybe spotting princess Kate. You guess whose most excited about each.