Waterford – Avoca – Glendalough - Dublin

The Republic of Ireland is a country that is somewhere between West Virginia and South Carolina in size, has a population of 4 million people, and with no surprise to anyone has Patrick as its patron saint.  Ireland is the only country of the British Isles that is not part of the United Kingdom.  Ireland was separated from Northern Ireland by the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 and then the Republic of Ireland was officially declared in 1949. Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland.

Crystal Grandfather that stands in the entry way.

Sample football as created for the NFL

Waterford is the home of the Waterford Crystal manufacturing plant.  It has recently been purchased by an American who has combined it with Wedgewood China and Royal Dalton China.  The trademark now is WWRD.

 A stop in Avoca allowed us to observe the hand weaving of some magnificent wool fabric.  I wanted so badly to purchase something, anything, but wondered what I would do with it when I got it home.

St. Kevin's Church

Glendalough (which means land of two lakes) gave us a look at what is left of an ancient religious community that dates back to St. Kevin of the 6^th century.  Who knew that these communities were built in concentric circles with the most sacred of the buildings in the center and that evidently there were many of them throughout Ireland?  What remains are mostly the ruins of 12^th century buildings:  a cathedral to Saints Peter and Paul, a church for the female members of the community to St. Mary, another church building to St. Kevin, a graveyard, and a tower.  The Irish name for this tower is "cloigtheach" which means bell house.

Book of Kells

The Old Library at Trinity College

The second day in Dublin was spent going to see the Book of Kells, which is an illustrated, hand written compilation of the gospels from the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It is called The Book of Kells because the Columban Monks who created it were from County Kells, Ireland.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

And then there was St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  That was a must see for me since my children’s father is Patrick and since his father and grandmother were fond of their Irish roots.

Our first evening in Dublin included going to a restaurant that dated back to 1635, with a thatched roof, and interior walls that were covered with planks of unfinished wood or simply rocks piled upon each other.  The entertainment was wonderful; Irish singers and dancers and an elderly male comedian who was genuinely funny.  I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud as much in a very long time.  The second (and last) evening in Dublin (Saturday night) was a guided tour of the Guinness factory, with taste-testing and dinner.