Our Donegal Tour was over, and I headed to Dingle in the southwest part of Ireland. I was lucky enough to be able to catch a ride with Linda as she headed back to Tralee. On route we were dropping off Brian, Julie, Andreas and Gabby at the train to head into Dublin. So we were going to Tralee by way of Dublin.
This was exciting for me for several reasons, the first being we would be going through Letterkenny (which turned out to be an industrial town - nothing too exciting but at least I can say I was there!) Second because we would also be going through Northern Ireland. Last time I was in Northern Ireland it was 1976 and there were tanks in the streets and bridges being blown up. I was curious what I would find this time around.
Since I was the only one who could read in a moving car I got to ride shotgun and be the "navigator". As we traveled Linda filled us in on the history of why Ulster County or Northern Ireland was retained by the British. The English did not want to give up this county because of the rich farmland. At first look you can tell the landscape is very different. No rocks, no bogs, flat and level. The land is parceled and separated by hedgerows rather than rock walls. The fields are filled with cattle not sheep.
Linda told us when we entered Northern Ireland and I asked her how she knew, as there was not real delineation, no border, nothing. “Red Bins?” She says - The color of the garbage cans had changed (they are green in the republic) She also points out that the speeds have changed into MPH and the people are much more "obedient". As we continue we run into our first traffic light since I’ve been on this tour! In rural Ireland there are no traffic lights.
We enter the town of Omah and Linda shared that this is home to the Ulster American Folk Park. It provides information and links to people who have immigrated to America.
Brian mentions that the roads are pretty empty. Linda tells us that the end of June to August is Marching Season. What is that we all asked. Marching Season is when the Republicans march into areas that they feel they have jurisdiction over. The unionists are those loyal to England vs the Republicans who still want a united Ireland. I asked why this time of year and she tells us that the Battle of the Boyne happened in July. The battle was responsible for the Protestant foothold in Ireland. She shared that in the early days if you were a Catholic and living in Northern Ireland you could not find work, it was who you knew not what you knew. This has changed over the years.
As we are driving I notice that the hills are very different, raising softly and the grass is lush and green. The trees line the road and the cows graze happily. Have not seen any sheep, I mentioned this to Linda she said “why waste good land on sheep”.
She goes on talking about cows... She tells us one of the biggest supplier of beef are in the Burren (western Ireland) because the grass is rich in calcium. The cows feed on this for the first year and then they are brought to Northern Ireland of fattening. She mentions that it is good trade that goes on.
As I looked around I noticed that there not any, that I could see, old homes (stone) or old historical sights. I asked about it - if there were any pilgrim walks like there were down in the south. Linda shared that there was a greater degree of fear up in the north and the people were much more suppressed and did not practice their faith in the open as they did in the south. As far as older homes, many were cleared to make room for more farmland.
One of my other duties as "shotgun" is to take care of the music. We listed to several of Andrease CD's one was kinda out there the other nice. We put on Linda's CD called Liam Clancy's favorites. Good Irish music
When we arrived in Dublin we went to the train station to pick up Sean another guide and Marieann who will be doing the Dingle guided tour with Sean. We also dropped off Julie and Brian; Gabby and Andrease. Hard to believe the week went to quickly. We said our good bye's and then we were off again.
Sean drove to Tralee while Linda answered mail and took over the shotgun role. Marianna and I chatted best we could in the back. She was French and as I speak no French it was a challenge. Linda does speak the language and was able to converse more easily. Never the less Marianna and I got our messages across and she was very interesting! When we arrived in Tralee I had to run for the bus, I caught it with mere seconds to spare! Quick goodbye to Linda and off I went again. It was pouring down rain as we drove into Tralee.
This next bit, will be interesting I needed to take a look at the packet and see what I was doing the first day - one day at a time. This has been so incredibly good for me. I am learning to enjoy what is happening now rather than worrying about tomorrow or next week.
Looking forward to solitary walks I know it will be different, but different is often good. Wondering what lessons are yet to be learned.
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