St. John's Eve

June 23^rd is always a busy day for the folks of Blacksod, as they build piles of wood, brush, and other materials leftover from a year of work in the field or garden. St. John’s Eve, or Bonfire Night, is celebrated across Ireland, but people in the Northwest would say they take the ancient midsummer festival the most seriously. Last night at sunset, households along the Mullet Peninsula lit their bonfires to carry out the tradition which draws upon the pagan ritual during which people said prayers and asked for blessings over their crops. After the fires died, farmers would spread the ashes over the four corners of their field in order to protect their crops for the year. On a drive back from Belmullet town last night, the sky was marked with funnels of smoke rising from the early-lit fires.  

Our bonfire, looking on smoke from another bonfire near the lighthouse.

Heather and Róise

Though some still pray for their crops while their bonfires burn, there were no prayers in Léim Siar’s backyard last night (at least not from me). But what we lacked in religious tradition, we made up for with great company, good wine, and lots of laughter! During the day, neighbors and friends dropped off trailers full of brush, wood scraps, and cardboard. After the fire was lit, Hannah, the innkeeper, made a point to note that our bonfire was completely eco-friendly (“No feckin’ tires!) We roasted some marshmallows (provided by my new seven-year-old friend Róise), shared stories, and kept warm by the fire which burned until the early morning. Though our contemporary celebration St. John’s Eve may not maintain all of its previous religious meaning, the social aspects of this night remain strong, especially in the West, illustrating the importance of strong communities that work together to preserve traditions.

Slán go fóill!
Mollie 

"There are no 'streets' in Blacksod"

Dia duit--

I’ve been at Lèim Siar Bed and Breakfast for a week now, but I knew even before I stepped off the bus that I would walk into a world wholly separate from Cork City. Blacksod village is located at the very tip of the Mullet Peninsula, in western County Mayo. The unique peninsula landscape is lined with sandy beaches, backed by green hills and farms. Beach on one side—cows, sheep, and grass on the other.  It’s a tiny place, with only one pub, Una’s, right down the road from the B & B. I already know all the village dogs, the donkey next door, and have chased chickens back into their pen from the road a number of times. When I told Hannah, the innkeeper, that I was going on a short walk down the street, she replied with a laugh and asked, “What street? There are no ‘streets’ in Blacksod!” More on Léim Siar and its’ quirky cast of characters soon.



Blacksod Bay

 

It’s high tourist season, so the B & B is busy. That means I’ve been doing a lot of washing and folding sheets, making beds, and cooking rashers and sausages. I don’t mind because these are surely life skills.  Still, I was happy to venture further out of Blacksod the other day by taking a boat over to Inishkea Island. Inishkea is actually a pair of islands, Inishkea North and Inishkea South, that were inhabited by humans from as far back as the 6^th century until a final evacuation in 1935. Now sheep have the run of the place, grazing the tall hills as the seals bask in sunlight on the island’s edge.

In four hours I trekked the perimeter of Inishkea South, picnicked while looking over to Achill across the sea, and explored the remains of the stone houses and buildings built by the island’s previous inhabitants.  Walking down the overgrown central street of the tiny, once-lively village, barely touched since its’ last dwellers, was an unusual experience. A stunningly green ghost-town with some of the most rugged and beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen, abandoned 80 years ago by the people who called it home.

On Inishkea, Achill Island behind

 

It was not until I stopped into Una’s for a pint after returning to Blacksod and an old man hobbled into the pub, sat down next to me and started to chat,  that I learned about a tragic event associated with the island. I told him I was on Inishkea that day, and he explained that his family used to live there. His father was born on the island, but left to go to Boston for eight years, so he was not away from the island at the time of “the drowning.” 

Later, I asked Hannah the innkeeper about the drowning on Inishkea and she informed me that I must have been talking to Billy Willy Phillip Lavelle (seriously). On the night of October 28, 1927, 30 currachs set out from Inishkea for a routine fishing trip. A sudden storm threw the currachs through the sea, and ten men and boys were drowned. Their bodies washed up on the shore days later. The youngest victim was just 14 years old.

After the drowning, families on the island applied to the Irish Land Commission for holdings on the mainland. Many families were moved to villages along the Mullet, including Blacksod, where Billy Willy Phillip’s family was relocated. By 1935 Inishkea was no longer inhabited by humans. Today, descendents of Inishkea residents keep livestock on the lush island, and boat over to tend their sheep. Aside from the remnants of stone houses, little is left of the previous dwellers. But, the stories of island-life and the unique communities remain, and you can find them if you listen closely to folks like Billy Willy Phillip, nestled in villages along the Mullet Peninsula.

 

Deserted village

 

Slán go fóill,
Mollie

Another Kervick in Ireland...Watch Out!

Last week Katie came to visit and we had some celebrating to do! Right before she got here she passed her second actuarial exam and was offered a full-time job at the Phoenix, she's a superstar.

I was so excited to introduce her to show her my life here--the country, my new friends, my apartment, and CORK!  We did an overnight trip to Killarney, a small town just Northeast of Cork city.  It's a pretty touristy town, but there's a lot to do so I figured we would have a good time.  We did. 

I really wanted to let Katie have a "traditional" Irish experience. (I've only been here for 2 months, so I really have no idea what the traditional Irish experience is, but I tried my best).

Step One: Early Pints
Katie and I started our night early and went to O'Connors, a tiny, dark, hole-in-the-wall, pub.  It was there that Katie had her first pint of real Irish Guinness (she said it was difficult to get through, but she finished!)

I made the night more "Irish" by wearing a tweed jacket.

Step Two: Traditional Irish Food

We headed over to another pub/restaurant (better lit) and had a hearty Irish meal--Irish Stew and Beef and Guinness Pie. Accompanied by a pint of Murphy's. Can't get much more Irish than that, right?

Step Three: Traditional Irish Music

We then headed to the famous Danny Mann and heard an awesome band from Cork, The Molly Maguires, who played an awesome show.  The music obviously accompanied by more pints.

(Tip: For those of you that travel to Ireland, do NOT request "Danny Boy" to be played anywhere. Though the Molly Maguires handled this with class and played a beautiful mix of Danny Boy/Bridge Over Troubled Water, nothing says "I'm an American who knows very little about Irish music" more than requesting this song.)

The next day Katie and I rode bikes through Killarney National Park and saw Ross Castle.  The park is a must see in Ireland and is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.  It was a perfect, sunny autumn day in the Irish countryside...then we saw a dead cat (I won't go into detail).

She's serious about hydration.

Ross Castle.

In addition to our weekend in Killarney, spending the day in Cork City, eating lots of scones and drinking lots of tea, Katie and I also took a trip to Kinsale, the gourmet capital of Ireland.  We "trekked" (I use this word loosely because it was a 45 minute walk, but if you ask Kate, she would say we sprinted 6 kilometers. I admit, I'm a fast walker), up to Charles Fort. It's a 17th century star-shaped fort.  We learned about the history of it, but I honestly don't remember much beside the fact that it was briefly a commune in the seventies!  The views from the fort were incredible.

It was so nice to have Katie here because it was a little piece of home, and it's nice to have someone who really knows you around.  By the end of the week (me sleeping on the couch for 6 nights, Katie staying out later than she's used to) we were TIRED, but it was so worth it.

And In a couple weeks it's time for Dad...

I could live here...

This past weekend my friends and I took a trip to Galway, a favorite city of many tourists, also home to an Irish university popular among many American students.  It's much smaller than Cork, but I the weekend was one of the most enjoyable yet.  Galway was a medieval city and during the middle ages was Ireland's main port for trade with Spanish and France and Christopher Columbus even visited. I was surprised to learn that during the 16th century, though, Galway did not really get along with its Irish neighbors because at the time it was ruled by Anglo-Normans, and at one point there was a bye-law that exclaimed "either O' not Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway without permission."

One of my friends and I spent the next day roaming the little city while the majority of our group traveled to Inishmaan, the largest of the Aran Islands.  We started our day over scones and tea, walked along the river banks and cheered on runners in a marathon, and ended up on a little beach.  We each curled up in the dunes and read our books, and I wrote.  During this time, even though the ocean was right in front of us, and a marathon was taking place right behind us, everything was still quiet and calm.  I couldn't help but think, "I could definitely live here one day."  It's just beautiful and perfect. 

We continued our day with a warm Irish lunch at Riordan's, "The Home of Traditional Irish Food."  We ate in a cozy little upstairs sitting room. I had Shepherd's Pie, that they served with a side of potatoes (yes, more potatoes), cabbage, and carrots.  My friend had traditional Irish stew.  It was delicious.

We continued the day with shopping, more reading, napping, and ice cream for dinner.  It was one of the best days I have had since I've been abroad.  One thing I have to keep reminding myself of is that even though I'm in a different country and want to see as many things as possible, it's important to remember that I need to take the time to relax and just simply take in the fact that I'm in Ireland...part of the experience of living in Ireland is doing just that, and being a normal person, not a tourist all the time!

-Mollie

Ireland Loves Arthur Guinness!

Guinness Mustaches!

A beautiful pint.

Arthur Guinness, born in 1725, was bequeathed 100 pounds by his godfather in 1752.  This 100 pounds is arguably the most influential 100 pounds ever to be part of Irish history. With his sum, Guinness invested the money and started a brewery in Leixlip, just outside Dublin, and the rest is history.  Now, Arthur's day is celebrated around the world in order to honor the Guinness legacy. Arthur's Day was definitely one of my favorite nights out in Cork so far!  The festivities started around 5pm.  At 5:59 everyone in the pubs across the country stopped in order to cheers to Arthur.  My night included a free pint of Guinness and free food (not much can make me happier), and lots of live music and dancing! It was a great celebration of one of the most important men in Irish history!

London

So, I've been failing at keeping up with my blog, but I'm going to do a couple posts to try to bring everyone up to speed in my crazy, Irish life.

Two weekends ago I traveled to London.  I wanted to love London, I really did, but my first impression was being stuck in traffic for half an hour trying to get from the airport to the hostel.  It was just busy and crowded.  Cork is crowded but not like that!  

We walked through Piccadilly Circus that first night and I was absolutely amazed by the architecture.  The streets were lined with beautiful, huge, white buildings --I had never seen anything like it before.   But, as I was trying to take in the beautiful nighttime lights and architecture, my friends and I were literally bombarded by night club promoters trying to get us into their clubs.  It was annoying and overwhelming.  We ended up at a small pub, it was cozy, but the beer choice was awful. When Foster's is the best beer on tap you know something's wrong. I'm already spoiled by my Murphy's and Guinness.  

Our first night in London. Typical with the double-decker bus.

Though I wasn't the biggest fan of London, I was excited to be able to go to some of the most well-known tourist spots ever.  I saw Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, the tower of London, Buckingham Palace (They charge like 20 pounds for you to see Kate's dress, that should be illegal).   

Me doing the tourist thing in front of Big Ben.

A couple highlights from the trip:

1. A picnic on the lawn of Hampton Court Palace.  The palace, home to royal families since the 18th century, was amazing, unbelievable really.  The whole thing was just so rich and the gardens were so lush, I was having such a hard time trying to believe that people had actually lived in a place like that. There was a chapel built right into one of the wings of the palace that was absolutely incredible, I almost cried a little.  But back to my picnic:  on the grounds of a palace in which royalty has lived, eaten from the nicest china and silver, slept in the most luxurious fabrics, received the most expensive gifts, I sat with my friends and a loaf of white bread (stolen from the hostel that morning), and a 99p jar of peanut butter.  I laughed at the irony, and felt like I was sticking it to the rich man a little as I enjoyed my lunch.

 2. The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London

I don't consider myself a jewelry lover by any means, and honestly, I could care less about diamonds and gold.  But the display of the Crown Jewels made my girly, feminine side come out and I was in awe.  The diamonds and jewels that were on display had me drooling.  There's something about a 546 carat diamond that makes me excited.  

Though I enjoyed my time in London, I could never live there.  It was way too big and too touristy and everything seemed fake.  That's the thing about Cork and Ireland in general, it's more real, and down-to-earth.  I love it even more after London.

-Moll

A step back in time...

My Irish Folklore and Ethnography class traveled to Inisheer (Inis Oirr), the smallest of the three Aran Islands on Thursday.  After arriving late at the single hostel, we went to the public house next door for a night full of sing along's. It was traditional Irish craic.  The nurse who traveled with our class was at the pub and heard someone say my name and remarked, "Mollie? I know a song about a Molly."  She sang it for me and it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.  My classmates and I watched and listened with awe.  Here's a link to the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ul-3mspEFg&feature=related.

We had the next day wholly to ourselves so we could explore the island however we wanted.  Naturally, I woke up early and caught the last bits of fog burning off, and laid out on a cliff and read and wrote.  There was a point when I thought, if I were ever going to see a selkie, this is the place I'll see it.

where the selkies must live.

As I made my way around the island and continued to take pictures I could not help but thinking about how silly it seemed, because pictures truly cannot capture the spirit of the island. It truly is simple living.  The island's total full-time population is only 300 people and it did not receive electricity until 1972!  Though I have already noticed that the people in Ireland are generally more friendly, the people of Inis Oirr were even nicer.  Everyone said hello to me, and a woman even stopped her car to invite me to a concert that was taking place that night.  Life definitely moved slower and it was quiet.  It is very rare to have a moment when the sounds of cars on a freeway or machinery are humming in the background, but there were truly moments when the ocean was the only noise I could hear.  I could hear cows mooing and horses neighing and that made the Island more beautiful. Though I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, at one point I was moved to tears because of the vast, beautiful landscape that laid ahead of me, and the fact that I was the only human in sight.  This is a feeling that so few of us are able to experience regularly, this purity and beauty, that it was overwhelming.  

After taking a nap on the seashore, I continued to circumvent the Island.  I came across a shipwreck that I later learned was "The Plassey" which was wrecked  on the island in 1960.

Inis Oirr is also home to the ruins of O'Briens castle which was erected in the 14th century and was later taken over by the O'Flaherty's in 1582.

The most amazing part of the island was the extent to which it was covered with stone walls.  The importance of land in early Ireland forced farmers to partition the land scrupulously.  The island now looks like a huge maze of small patches of land.  It was the craziest thing because I could be walking a good 15 minutes through these different plots with nothing but grass and rocks in them, and then discover one small plot with a horse or cows in them, in the middle of nowhere.  At one point I veered from the marked path and began climbing over the different walls, but for fear of being attacked by a horse I got back on the trail. Right now, I am most interested in Irish architecture.  We've learned about the building of homes in my class, and thatch roofs already blow my mind, but these stone walls are outrageous! I can't begin to fathom how these walls have withstood the elements for hundreds of years.  They are built without mortar or cement, only by placing rocks upon one another.  Another reason for the many walls was that the land was so rocky that it was almost impossible to farm.  Therefore, farmers removed the rocks and began piling them on eachother.  It truly is breathtaking but mind-boggling at the same time. 

I'm pretty sure this is the beginning of a new wall.

Like I said, the beauty of the island can't be captured by photos or even words.  I would love to spend an extended period of time on the island.  It was the perfect place to write.  It was meditative and quiet, and it made me proud to be Irish.  I would suggest traveling to Inis Oirr to anyone who is looking to feel Ireland in a way that can't be felt in any other part of the country.

-Mollie