Good Craic (Ireland)

Ireland’s unmistakable footprint on global culture, and the ever-present Irish pub, can make it easy to forget that the country has a population smaller than that of New Jersey (and approximately 25 other states). Ask anyone you meet to close their eyes and talk about Ireland and you’ll hear a stream of descriptors like “lush,” “verdant,” “lucky,”  “emerald,” “boozy,” “romantic,” etc., whether the person in question has visited the country or not. Ireland has always had a strong national identity, and waves of emigrants that spread around the world over the last few centuries certainly contributed to the cultural dissemination – but when you think about it, it’s really quite an achievement.

Many first-time visitors, Ethan included, are eager to explore long-held stereotypes and sort the facts from the fiction. While the photos to follow are a testament to the fact that Ireland is indeed remarkably green, and everyone really does drink Guinness quite avidly, we mostly enjoyed chatting with people around us about the thriving, tech-led economic revival and the rising southeast asian food scene. The most crushing blow to long-held preconceptions, though, was dealt by the weather gods: it didn’t rain. Not even once. Whether this was due to some karmic rebalancing after the Apulian Monsoons we went through, or simply something to do with high pressure systems in the North Atlantic, we felt truly blessed by the absence of showers. We haven’t run the numbers, but we were assured by many locals that this streak of good luck is about as improbable as winning the lottery a couple times.

Dublin

Dublin feels compact and cozy for a big city, and much of the urban activity remains concentrated in the beautiful historic heart – replete with magnificent cathedrals, miniature terraced cottages, and tranquil gardens. There is an improbable number of excellent bars and restaurants, and often the best are found tucked away down inconspicuous side streets, or upstairs inside seemingly drab shops. All of this leads to a very lively city that’s heaps of fun to explore, and the friendly, very outgoing, and self-deprecating residents are more than happy to provide advice on where to go.

Despite the setting, we found Dublin to be an extremely modern city and a hive of entrepreneurialism and ideas (and a lot of opinions, particularly on US politics). The city is overflowing with tech firms, oddball cafes and bars (the hipster hangouts here are definitely forging the path for the rest of the world), and increasingly, young, talented, and technologically sophisticated workers. The fusion of old and new is everywhere, and we were fascinated to see how traditional small businesses are managing to subtly exploit modern data storage, search, and payment technologies while managing to maintain a charming and authentic veneer.

It’s hard not to start the post with a picture of Guinness, and we don’t claim to be better than anyone else in this respect

The Ha’Penny Bridge over the River Liffey. It’s now free to cross, representing a rare instance of deflation (albeit minor) 

After a long history of economic struggle, including such horrors as the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-19th century, Ireland’s economy arose with a roar in the 1990s and the country was one of the fastest-growing around. It turned out that a lot of this was fueled by some serious over-indebtedness, and the country suffered terribly during the Financial Crisis. But in recent years, growth has been generally robust, and chatting to people we felt a clear sense of optimism about the future.

Ethan was a bit surprised by how “American” a lot of the city felt since the lack of reserve most people show is more “yank” than “brit.” Perhaps this is because many Americans are of Irish descent, and the culture plays a strong role in the U.S. milieu, but it was definitely a taste of home, and also led us into a series of great conversations. Like Naples, and other parts of Italy, Dublin is an extremely international city with a huge diaspora, and strong links with the rest of the world. Nearly everyone we talked to had a son in Sydney or a cousin in California. And more than ever before, compelling reasons are emerging for many to return home – even after several generations of absence – and this only serves to add to the interesting, lively mix.

Jess and the infamous Molly Malone (aka The Tart With the Cart, the Dolly With the Trolley, etc.)

Quite fittingly, Ethan’s seat mate on the flight over was a Catholic priest who’d traveled to virtually every place we plan to go this year, as well as many others. He had a wealth of great stories about dodgy bus rides in Kenya, hikes in Poland, difficult decisions he had to make as a priest, and the history of Ryanair’s spread around Europe. He also provided Ethan, as well as several other people sitting around, some good advice on sites to see in Dublin and Kerry.

Ireland is famously a Catholic country – although this is changing rapidly, for many years it was known as the most Catholic country in the world. Notably, though, the legacy of British influence means that although Dublin has two very significant cathedrals, they are both held by the minority Church of Ireland (not to mention esteemed Trinity College, which was largely avoided by Catholics until as late as 1970).

St. Patrick’s Cathedral 

Christchurch Cathedral

The history of British rule over Ireland is still very apparent in other ways, especially since this is the 100th anniversary year of the Easter Rising. While it was brutally suppressed, the Rising played a part in setting events in motion that ultimately led to Irish independence five years later. We visited the General Post Office, which served as the headquarters of the rebels, and still has bullet holes in the walls. We also took a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol, where many of the captured rebel leaders spent their last days before being executed there.

One of the cells in the Kilmainham Gaol

Cells in the old wing of the jail

The newer, Victorian Era wing

Dublin Castle, formerly the home of English rule over Ireland, and now a set of Irish government buildings

Obviously, no trip to Dublin is complete without a visit to the Guinness factory. So we went. And it was surprisingly fun!

Guinness for strength

Much better than a heart in your cappuccino

Jess’s knight in shining armor – the collection of old advertising was a highlight of the tour. We can attribute the reddish glow in her cheeks to the Guinness tasting we had at the factory. 

The original harp (the symbol of which has caused disputes with the Irish government since Guinness used it some decades before the Irish state and thus has trademark priority)

It was Jess’ birthday while we were in Dublin, and as well as the obvious Irish-style celebrations, we decided to do something a little different from the everyday touristing: a private cooking class. It turned out to be amazing fun since the chef-instructor was a font of local knowledge and amusing anecdotes, and most importantly, a stellar cook. We learned how to turn garlic into a gelatinous paste with only a knife, how to make perfect spicy caramel sauce, and most importantly, we can now cook basic shortcrust pastry, and will be making savory tarts at every opportunity.

The finished product: fish with caramel sauce, a southeast asian salad, and cumin-spiced coconut rice, cooked risotto-style. Garnish from the garden outside (the Irish component of the meal)

Chef and sous-chef (it’s left to the reader to decide who is who)

4.4 radians of tart

Since we’ve both been known to enjoy the occasional scotch, we wasted no time in conducting a thorough exploration of the Irish whiskey scene. First important factoid: according to the Irish, they invented whiskey. Like Scotland today, Ireland once had a diverse and flourishing industry until the double-whammy of prohibition in the US and the Irish War of Independence, which limited trade with Britain, crippled many distilleries and forced massive consolidation. Now, there are clear green shoots emerging, with a number of distilleries opening or re-opening. For those with pretensions of good taste and an interest in alcoholic speculation, we recommend that you get into Irish whiskeys now since many new distilleries currently have casks maturing which should hit the market in the coming years – you’ll be ready to impress your friends and buy some bottles that will go up in value over time. But for at least the next few years, our pick is Green Spot, or Connemara if you’re feeling particularly swampy.

All hail the Wall of Whiskeys

Since this was Dublin, after all, our whiskey drinking took us far and wide. At one spot, we found some particularly rowdy conference-goers were reviving their childhood step dancing lessons, and they were soon dragging everyone onto the dance floor to join them, bobbing lanyards, suits and all. It’s quite something to see a middle-aged, somewhat portly guy (no doubt a VP of enterprise sales or the like) franticly riverdancing his feet while keeping his torso quite still, his face becalmed by a look of blissful concentration.

Pre-dancing: an Irish bar fully living up to our greatest hopes with live band, good craic, and whiskey (in a proper glass). It was a respectably late hour, but we’re pretty sure the clock is running a few hours ahead

The Morning After – Jess keeping focused on the two pillars of recovery: hydration (coffee) and nutrition (grease)

The Reek

Having had our fill of hedonistic city adventures, we decided to venture out to great wilderness around us – something that many Dubliners described, with some trepidation, as a different nation entirely (and we felt they were only half joking).  Although the toll roads were rather sleek, much of our journey involved puttering along behind tractors and trying to spot the differences between cow breeds. Eventually, though, we reached Ireland’s rugged, beautiful west coast.

Our first goal was to make like many-a-local before us and climb Croagh Patrick, or “The Reek” as it’s more generally known. This mountain is a major pilgrimage site throughout the year, although visits peak on Reek Sunday every July. Impressively (actually, astoundingly, as we were about to discover) many pilgrims are well above pension age, and some even complete the climb barefoot (seriously – we saw one!).

St Patrick, who undertook a 40-day fast at the summit 

Ethan excited to be back outdoors in his native climate

The hike began in a very civilized manner, with a well-tended path, some picturesque bay views, and the odd friendly sheep grazing around us. Things changed quite dramatically, though, when we rounded a corner and the fog descended, while the “path” became what would be best described as a sharply angled pile of rubble. Throw in some body-battering, eye-watering wind, and it all rapidly starts to feel like some kind of epic, Lord of the Rings style quest. Recall that people old enough to be our grandparents do this on a regular basis.

To the left of the lake you can just make out the messages and declarations of love that visitors have made in white stones on the hillside

This picture is taken from a perfectly horizontal camera. And yes, these rocks do shift underfoot. Imagine doing this barefoot

Summit selfie! This one was quite brief given the gale force winds we were dealing with

We pushed through, and were greeted by a charming little chapel at the top. As we turned around and began to make our way back down the slope we were a bit disappointed by the total lack of visibility, since we knew we were missing out on some amazing scenery (but at least the sliding worked in our favor when going down). Then all of a sudden, our luck changed – the clouds lifted and the sun appeared, leaving us with an epic descent to enjoy. Upon our triumphant return we confirmed that the Irish excel in the production of scrumptious, warm-you-all-over meals.

A truly magnificent vista is revealed, albeit still with rocks

Stewpendous!

Kerry

The Irish west coast has to be one of the most picturesque places on the planet. Nature provides a great backdrop, with soaring cliffs, sky, and sea. The land is blanketed with a patchwork quilt of the “40 shades” of green, and to top it off, people paint their houses all different colors, creating a kaleidoscope on every hillside. We made our way down the length of it, through charming Westport and lively Galway, before settling down in Kerry for a few days.

Kerry is well-known as a particularly beautiful spot within Ireland, and is home to a series of beaches, mountains, and historical sites, as well as the odd Hollywood movie location. Unassuming stone cottages host cheery, tourist-laden cafes at every turn, and pubs are jam-packed with locals and visitors, as well as a heap of talented musicians (so many that we found ourselves trying to estimate the proportion of the population which belongs to some kind of band – it’s definitely high). We spent much of our time exploring the Dingle Peninsula, which offers a highly concentrated dose of all that Kerry has to offer.

Sometimes stereotypes are spot on. Save your skin!

Jess sensibly protecting her celtic complexion while she watches the surfers

Struggling to differentiate flotsam from jetsam

The steel gray of the sea and sky make the colorful houses all the prettier

Ethan slipping into his caveman gatherer mindset – there’s essentially an unlimited supply of blackberries for trekkers on Dingle (Dingleberries…)

None shall pass! The three moosketeers…

To the right of the house are a couple of very ancient stone “Clochán” huts that look like small bumps. Their mortarless construction is remarkably similar to the trulli we saw in Apulia

Obligatory selfie from the westernmost point in Ireland

Gently rolling hills, stunning seaside cliffs, and brilliant color contrasts. And sheep. Lots of sheep

Farmland in Kerry becomes less productive the further up you go. You can see the outlines of old farms on the hills above that were abandoned after the crop failures of the Irish Potato Famine. Afterwards, depopulation meant that these lots were never farmed again, and they remain as they were left

Sheep ho cap’n!

Yay for no rain!!

You need to follow the trail carefully lest you plunge into a bog. Fortunately the trail is hard to miss

A visit to Dick Mack’s Pub, known as one of Ireland’s best whiskey bars. The complete array of Irish whiskeys, a nice selection of boots for sale (a side business), and  foreign whiskey from all over the world (Iceland? Australia?)

A breakfast conversation with some very adventurous Australian travelers led Ethan to boast that he would take an evening swim in the Irish sea. He followed through. It was cold, although the whiskey fortified him considerably

Carrauntoohil

While in Kerry, we grabbed the opportunity to venture out for our now-obligatory mountain hike (we hadn’t expected Croagh Patrick to be quite so challenging at the time of planning). We settled on Carrauntoohil, which is the highest peak in Ireland (albeit barely over 1km in elevation), and provides an spectacular view in all directions, coupled with beautiful exposed cliffs, verdant hills, and some friendly fellow hikers.

We were staying with a great family via Airbnb, and during chats over the ample tea supply one of our hosts, a former mountain rescue instructor, filled us in on several of the grimmer rescues in his long career (as well as providing some very sound advice for our hike). Their house sits right under the path that the Coast Guard helicopter takes to save injured hikers, and the children run into the garden and recite a short prayer every time it passes overhead. There was a bit of joking about whether they’d be praying for us, but at the risk of squandaring any suspense, we succeeded without incident.

At the departure point for the hike, there’s a picture of the mountain rescue chopper to remind you to be careful. We were fine, but as we finished the hike, we watched the chopper fly out into the park to rescue someone in distress

Jolly trekking over rolling hills

Getting into the ascent. Among the many things we now envy about sheep, add to that their four-legged stability on marshy, inclined ground

The hike meanders past some lakes at the beginning, and then rises to a very steep waterfall known as the Devil’s Ladder. It’s a bit of transition from calmly strolling through the country to some real scrambling, and we were both tired by the time we reached the top – only to discover that there’s a further ascent to the summit. Thankfully the view provided us with plenty of distraction, and we made friends en route with a very spritely mountain guide who inadvertently encouraged us to push the pace!

Taking a short break and surveying her kingdom

At the summit, you hear the cheerful voices of hikers on the ascent (punctuated by huffing and puffing), until they appear over the final ridges

A happy man, swathed in down and fleece, and fortified with some excellent scenery

Above the clouds

Summited! Photo credit to our new favorite mountain guide

As is our standard operating procedure, we overpacked victuals, and found ourselves enjoying fruit, bread, and baked beans at the summit. We also brought a small bottle of Irish whiskey, which we used to toast our ascent.

Pontificating about beans, a surprisingly good food for the trail

Approaching the (very, very marshy) spine, a couple hundred meters below the summit on the way back

Jess’s trying to escape Ethan’s pontification