Any Irish folks here?

I'm not there Marty but the prospect of three beautiful girls sharing a house makes me want to go!

Better yet, there will be 4 of us.

Must start training liver now!

Heeven is from Ireland and so is Imur - well, Imur lives there. They're soooo different, but both of them are often funny. Setanta knows quite a bit about Ireland.

Top o' the mornin' to ya, m'lady! It is I, Kicky O'can, and I know all there is to know about me homeland, the Ire! May I take off your clothes? I mean, take your coat! That's what I meant to say...ah, the pete, the wondrous green of the Irish pete, it is glorious, is it not? Well, my shamrocks are barking, as they say here in grand old Ireland, so I'm going to take a load off and warm me Blarney Stones by the fire. Care to join me in some Lucky Charms, m'lady?

It's Lmur, although he doesn't capitalize the initial "l."

I travelled in Ireland in 1977, and lived there for a while (until i was deported as a wet back--damn, that was a hell of a swim!) in 1978. The west of the country and the south are very scenic. Directly south of Dublin is Glenalough, in Wicklow. It is beautiful country, and there was a monastic community there from the 6th century onward, and the buildings are incredible. They are made of hand-fitted stone, with no mortar used. Some of the buildings are maintained, but many others are not. Although the buildings which are not maintained are roofless, the walls still stand, after well over a thousand years, built stone by stone without mortar. Glendalough means the valley of the lakes, and it is really beautiful.



Glendalough on a clear, sunny day. Although you may see the sun every day, truly clear sunny days are rather rare. It can rain every day (often several times a day), and you can still see the sun every day--Ireland is well watered, which is why the only true stereotype is that it is an incredibly green place.



This is known as the Round Tower, or St. Kevin's Tower, at Glendalough. Such towers come to us courtesy of the Viking scum. Note the door is well above the ground. The idea is to get all the valuables into the tower by ladder, pile everyone in, and then pull up the ladder and lock the door. It usually worked, and i believe Glendalough was never looted by the Vikings.



St. Kevin's church, with the Round Tower in the background. Personally, i rarely saw days as sunny and dry as this--as i've said, you'd get rain and shine on the same days. The day i visited, it was misty, with no direct sunlight, but no rain either. I think it was actually more hauntingly beautiful under those conditions.



The entrance gate to the monastic close at Glendalough. Remember, this is hand-fitted stone, with no mortar, and has stood for over a thousand years.

There are so many other very, very beautiful places in Ireland, hundreds of them--the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare in the west country . . .



The Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry in the southwest, hundreds of square miles of gorgeous scenery . . .





And many, many other places. I'll post more as i have the time . . .

Blarney Castle in County Cork, is in the south of the country. If you have any fear of heights, you don't want to be kissing the Blarney stone. See the top wall there? You have to lie down on your back and lean your head and shoulders through a hole in the floor of the battlement and tilt your head back to kiss the inside of a stone on the outer wall. Besides, i've heard that when they close the place up for the day, before they go home, they pee on it.

I remember now figuring out that I got that wrong before. I think.

Hey Set, I'd like to visit there, but I can't help but wonder...
between you 'n me - do they have any black folks over there?

There's a few. I stopped at a pub in Youghal (pronounced "you-all") on the way from Cork to Wexford, on the south coast. There i met a black man whose father had emmigrated from Africa to England, and then to Ulster. This man had then moved south to the Republic. He spoke with a thick northern accent. He complained that he was discriminated against--not because he was black, but because of his northern accent, which made people suspect he was a Protestant. There is a small black population there, and my experience is that apart from a lunatic fringe of religious fanatics, the Irish are surprisingly free of bigotry.

thanx, dog...

You're welcome, Mr. B. J. Moose.

Kewl. Thanks, big dog....

Barack Obama is Irish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADUQWKoVek

Wow, thanks Setanta! I'm so looking forward to this trip. being from Seattle the rain won't be a problem for me.
I guess I'd rather not be the first one to show up to kiss the Blarney stone in the morning!

Kicky, as always, your such a tease!

God work, Setanta

Glendalough is my favourite place in Ireland. When I was there it was misty and the whole place looked like a sort of dream.

Heaps to see and do.

Marty - what happened to your Oz trip?

My Oz trip is still my big goal. I was hoping for this Oct. but it may have to wait until next spring. I just couldn't pass up this offer!

Kara, also known as Karateka, has lived in both ireland and the u s for a bunch of years. With any luck, she'll see this.