Today we left Dublin and journeyed almost straight west, from one coast of Dublin to the other, ending up in Galway. That sounds more impressive than it is – it only took about 3 hours. Ireland could fit into Lake Michigan, and there would still be plenty of water left around the edges.
The bus is comfortable, and our tour guide, Katie, is nice. Grandma is less impressed with her storytelling, and especially her clothing choice. If you know Grandma, you know that “is that what you’re wearing” look. Katie got that look this morning, so I got a photo.
Her pants have flamingos on them.
The country side was nice; lots of cattle and sheep and fields of green to stare at. It started raining before we got into Galway, and rained while we toured the old part of town, but wasn’t too bad.
By old part of town, I mean the medieval part. It’s small but well worth the tour through it. You start at the base of the East wall, and you can see where the moat used to be. When they excavated the area, they found 18 skulls – they had likely been mounted on spears along the top of the wall, but as they rotted they fell down and were covered by who knows what.
Also, interesting note: the wall is literally now the back wall of a mall. The city wouldn’t let the developer tear it down like he had planned, and thus the 13th century and the 1980s met.
Random things we learned today (all of which could be lies – it’s hard to tell with the Irish):
The word gargling comes from Gargoyles. Gargoyles on the upper edges of buildings were basically used as an old-timely gutter system, to get rain off the roofs with parapet walls. The parapet walls were needed for defense – and no one wanted to try and defend themselves when standing in a pool. So, the gargoyles were decorative spouts that drained the water out away from the building – it sort of looks like they’re spitting out water in a steady stream.
You can see a few gargoyles along the top here.
Spiral staircases were always designed the same direction – clockwise, spiraling up; the assumption was that you needed your right hand to hold the sword if you were defending, so as you come down the stairs, that’s the arm that needs the most room to swing. If you’re coming up, it’s likely because you’re trying to invade, so your right arm movement is cramped, on the inside of the spiral. Unfortunately, the tour didn’t include any swords for us to test out this logic, though I swung my arm later in the castle to confirm that if I had been carrying a sword, I definitely would have been killed on the way up.
Before it was “Halloween” it was Samhain. Samhain was a Gaelic festival that was about honoring the end of the harvest season. During the time from sundown on the 31st, until sunrise on the 1st, it was believed that time stopped existing. This, obviously, then meant that all the souls of the dead could roam the earth. The tradition was you had to welcome them into your home – you left the door open, the fire burning, food and drink out – and then you hid away because it was terrifying. However, if you were not a gracious host, then something horrible would befall your family over the next year. The idea of trick or treating is directly copied from this- kids dressed like spirits, looking for your hospitality in the form of tiny candy bars and if you don’t they’ll toilet paper your house.
Whiskey, or ‘The Water of Life,’ is Uisce in Gaelic. You say it “ish-ha” if you’re saying it somewhat correctly. The bloody English though thought it looked like “oo ski” – and thus, the word whiskey was created.
The phrase “I wouldn’t give him the time of day” stems from a tradition of a clock tower. In olden days, the tower would have the clock face on all 4 sides. Then, as religion took hold, and cities split because of their beliefs, churches would actually take off the clock that faced the border of a different religious group. They thought so little of each other that they wouldn’t even share their already in existence clock. I, for one, am glad our tolerance of different religions and beliefs has come so far.
This one is an example of a Catholic Church – they’re repairing one of the three clocks now, but the 4th was removed when a Protestant group moved into the area on that side. 
We toured through St Nicholas Collegiate Church, which include some connections to Knights Templar, Free Masons, Jane Eyre, and more. There were a lot of stories, including the re-telling of the novel Da Vinci Code. Christopher Columbus had also been there; he prayed in the church in 1477. My guess is he was praying that he could take credit for someone else’s discovery.
Eyre Square is a public park that is also known as John F Kennedy Memorial Park. JFK had made a speech in the park in June of 1963 – the first president to ever visit there – and was shot a few months later. The park was renamed for him in 1965. Everyone still calls it Eyre Square though – I think it’s like us with the Sears Tower. If you were wondering, Grandma was on the phone with her sister Bette when the news about the assassination came on the TV. Also, Grandma talked through this whole section of the tour and wasn’t listening with her headphone so I’m not sure if she knows we saw this, so someone might need to show her the blog.
Grandma and me at the end of the walking tour, at the River Corrib.
After the walking tour we were able to check into the hotel; Grandma took a rest and I hung out in a pub watching football.
And now, a view from our room. Please note, that is not the Loch Ness monster. I say that with 100% confidence, as Nellie doesn’t travel this far from home.
Then, we want to a castle. Dunguaire Castle, specifically. It was built in 1520 and sits on the bank of Galway Bay. We had a fancy dinner (including potatoes TWO ways – a potato leak soup, and boiled potatoes), drank mead, listened to a harpist and there was singing and poetry recited. Grandma sang along to a number of songs, like Galway Bay and Nora. I asked her how she knew them…and she had no idea. She doesn’t remember learning them; the best guess is Great Grandma Esther sang them around the house.
No spoons allowed for the soup.
All of the potatoes might have gone to my head, but I was pretty pleased after dinner when they recited W.B. Yeats. Something about being in his homeland, and hearing it recited with the Irish accent? I was in nerd heaven. “Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” It was a grand day.
View of the castle and Galway Bay as we walked back to the bus. Sunset isn’t until around 10 or so this time of year.
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