#38 - visiting Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, Ireland

The history of Ireland's struggle for independence is to a great degree housed in Europe's largest unused prison. Kilmainham Gaol was closed by the new Irish Free State shortly after independence was reached.  For 128 years it housed prisoners.  It was an unsegregated prison with men, women and even children (the youngest thought to be 7 years old) in 92 square ft. cells with 5 people per cell.

The jail was restored as a museum starting in the 60's and is now run by an Irish Government Agency.  It now houses the history of the fight for independence, and the sad history of famous executions.  It was here that 14 leaders of the Easter uprising in 1916 were executed, and black crosses mark the location of the executions. 


Dublin hotels in the city centre of Dublin are within a few minutes of Kilmainham Gaol.  Items such as the death mask of Robert Emmet, and the history of the Irish rebellion and struggle make this a must visit in Ireland.  This makes my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

The last prisoner of Kilmainham Gaol, Eamonn De Valera later became the Prime Minister of Ireland and then the President of Ireland.  Your stop at the gaol may encourage you to more honorable goals.

#30 - Never be at a loss for words: Kiss the Blarney Stone

That's the tradition:  Kiss the Blarney Stone and you will never be at a loss or words.  My prolific blogging history may reveal the fact that kissing the Blarney Stone could potentially cause me more harm than good, but it still makes the bucket list of 1,000 things I want to  do before I die.

The Blarney Stone, also known as the Stone of Eloquence bestows a golden tongue to those who perform the task of lying down bending backwards and kissing the stone from an upside down position.  Presidents and famous people from all walks of life have kissed the stone, and over 300,000 people still come to kiss it each year.

It has been said that the stone came from sources as varied as Moses, King David of Israel, and St. Columba, but the most commonly accepted version says that Robert the Bruce gave a portion of the stone to Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster as gratitude for Irish support at the battle of Bannockburn.

The history of Blarney includes the fact that in the 1600's the McCarthy's who owned the castle created a bardic school at Blarney Castle which brought scholars from around Ireland.  During the time of Elizabeth I, the McCarthy's were required to surrender the castle, but the ruler of the castle Dermot McCarthy had such eloquent and repeated excuses for not surrendering the castle that Elizabeth remarked, "Odds bodikins, more Blarney talk!"  From this point forward the word Blarney has been a part of the English language.

To find your way to to the Blarney Stone be sure to check out car rental Dublin.

#29 - Walk on the Moon! (in Ireland)

If the lunar landscapes are interesting and appealing to you, if like me, you would like to walk a wild, barren and somewhat dangerous land, you might not have to spend a million dollars to be one of the first civilian tourists to the moon.

The moon is really only as far as Ireland.  The Burren is an area of County Clare with a landscape which has been described as lunar.  The barren limestone plateau is a patchwork of cracks and fissures, which make it a unique walking adventure.  Care needs to be exercised to avoid falling and getting hurt, but the walk is not steep as the limestone plateau is made of rolling limestone rock hills and patches of grasses.

Strangely, arctic, mediterranean and alpine plants grow together in this one region, and the alpine flower: the Spring Gentian is used as a symbol for the Burren.  This area also has over 70 ancient tombs, and account for over half of those in County Clare.

This is on my bucket list of 1,000 things to do before I die, but I am sure I will need to fill my rental car tank before making my way to the Burren.  Be sure to check out car hire Cork Airport for your rental car.

Surfing Dingle: walk on water with Brendan the Navigator #25

Walking the Dingle Way and placing my foot among the ancient ruins where people still believed in miracles and called heaven down with the force of their faith is one thing, but I want to walk on water.

In the same place from which Brendan the Navigator hails, and hosts the mountain which bears his name there is also some of Ireland's best surfing.  Brendan supposedly was born near Tralee near at entrance to the Dingle Peninsula, and established monastic communities around Mount Brandon.  Later Brendan would set out on a journey by sea to find the "Blessed Land," or some Edenic variation thereof. 

Today there are people who believe that Brendan may have preceded Columbus by 1,000 years to find the Americas.  Reaching the Americas in a skin boat in the 6th century would have been a miracle indeed.  But I'll settle for walking on water on the shores of the Dingle Peninsula.

With locations like Brandon Bay and a place called "Inch" (how surfer-like is that name?) the Dingle has become a surfer's destination.

Pick up your at car hire Cork Airport, and head to the shores of the Dingle Peninsula.  It's on my bucket list as one of the thousand things I want to do before I die.  Perhaps we can walk on water together.

#24 - Walk the Dingle Way

A walk through the heart of Irish speaking Ireland, surrounded by ancient Celtic history with beehive huts (clochain), castles, sea cliffs, beaches, Ogham stones, and ancient church ruins: now doesn't that sound like the walker's dream?

The south western tip of Ireland is made up of a number of bays and peninsulas the northern most of which is the Dingle Peninsula.  Starting at the city of Tralee, and typically walking 117 miles in a clockward direction around the Dingle peninsula to return to Tralee some days later, one is carried back into early Christian times in Ireland, and even earlier.  The path hugs the rugged coast, and traverses other memorable walks such as the Saint's Way, which is a memorial to Brendan the Navigator as it crosses the highest mountain on the peninsula named after him.

For a list of of activities on the Dingle Peninsula check here, and for your car hire needs go to car hire Ireland.

After having read The Voyage of Brendan a few years back this is on my bucket list of places to go and things to do.  How about you?

#21 Guinness, Guinness and more Guinness

As strange as it may seem to someone in the United States, the number one tourist attraction in all of Ireland is a brewery.  Of course, this isn't just any brewery, it is the famous Guinness Brewery, and the Guinness Storehouse (as it is called) is high on my list of places to go before I die.

The fact that it is in Ireland is reason enough.  The fact that it is a brewery is enough reason for me to want to visit.  The Guinness Storehouse rises high on the list apart from these reasons.  Its storied history is the reason a stop at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin is in order.

The founder Arthur Guinness heard a sermon from John Wesley one Sunday, and it became inspiration for his life's work.  As Wesley often enjoined people "Earn all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.  Your wealth is evidence of a calling from God, so use your abundance for the good of mankind."  Arthur Guinness went on to practice this command of Wesley's.

He gave large sums to the poor, and helped found Sunday Schools.  This same ethic was passed on to the generations of Guinness family members who took over the company.  During World War II sent every British soldier a can of Guinness with his Christmas meal.

In the late 18th century when the polluted city water was dangerous for one's health, and the country was in a Gin Craze it was the drinking of Guinness which helped stem the tide of sickness and of severe alcoholism.

You'll need a car to get around Ireland, and can find a great deal at this Dublin airport car hire.  Perhaps we'll meet at the Saint James's Gate Brewery.  Its on my bucket list.  Is it on yours?

#20 - County Donegal and a real Irish pub

I want to go to an Irish pub - a real Irish pub.  I am sure I will need to go County Donegal to accomplish this task.

Wednesday Night I was in Boston in an Irish Pub.  Boston is home to a number of good Irish pubs, but when it comes to Irish pubs I am sure I have not really been to one yet.  I want traditional Irish music with fiddlers, and accordions, and tin whistles, but I am sure that will still not be a real Irish pub.

What I will be missing is the Irish language, and for this reason going to rugged northern reaches of Ireland and County Donegal to see the stone circles, the dolmens, the castles, the cliffs, and of course - the pubs is on my list of 1,000 things to do before I die.

This list of 115 pubs is a good starting place for finding your way around the pub life of County Donegal.  You will also need a car, and can find a good deal at this Dublin car rental company.

Donegal is about three hour drive from Dublin.  Along the way you can take a detour and climb Saint Patrick's mountain in Murrisk, but be sure to visit the rugged, beautiful coastline, see the castles, and most of all do a pub tour for the music of Ireland, and the music of the Irish language.  This is on my list of things to do.  How about you?

#17 - The Gaint's Causeway

The giant's name was Finn McCool ( Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish).  There are variations on the myth, but the story is that he was challenged to a fight with a Scottish giant, and built the causeway to Scotland to battle the giant Benandonner.

Now one tale says that McCool fell asleep and his wife had to cover him with a blanket to pretend that he was her baby, and when Benandonner saw the size of the baby he fled and tore up the bridge to Scotland behind him.

This geological phenomenon is a classic example of the truth being stranger than fiction.  This area of over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, some almost 40 ft. high, is one of the great wonders of the world.  This is Northern Ireland's most visited tourist site, and was voted 4th on the list of natural wonders of the UK by a Radio Times Poll.

Other basalt columns can be found around the world, such as the Devil's Postpile near Mammoth Mtn, California, but the location of the Giant's Causeway on the edge of the Irish sea in Northern Ireland places this higher on my list than the others.

You will want to rent a car if coming from Dublin.  The Giant's causeway is 3 miles north of the village of Bushmills, or about 3 and a half hours north of Dublin.  This Dublin car rental will give you a good deal.

The Giant's Causeway makes my list of things to see before I die.  How about you?  Is it on your bucket list?

#16 - Climbing Croagh Patrick (Murrisk, County Mayo, Ireland)

In a world of pilgrimages, this may not be among the greatest tests at 2533 ft., but it certainly packs a spiritual wallop.

This mountain in Murrisk, Mayo County, Ireland 5 miles from the town of Westport is reputed to have been a place of worship for 5,000 years.  Now, whether that is true or not pales in comparison to the legendary connection to Ireland's patron saint, and one of my heros:  Saint Patrick.

Patrick of course, was not Irish, but rather was a missionary who felt called to the foreign land from his native Britain (today's Wales.)  So, some of my friends celebrate Saint Patrick's Day as a Welsh holiday.  Here's my song to commemorate Saint Patrick.

This is the most important Catholic pilgrimage in Ireland.  Nearly a million visitors scramble up the scree scattered slopes each year.  Some even do so barefooted, though the Catholic Church does not recommend it.

Tradition and a bit of rural myth tell us that in 441 AD Patrick fasted for 40 days upon this mountain, and banished the demons and the snakes from Ireland.

The walk up the mountain includes a statue of Patrick erected by a Westport pastor in 1928, and 7 stations of prayer on the way to the summit.

I am not Catholic, but my interest lies in remembering one of history's greatest missionaries, and prolific church planters, as well as following in the footsteps of one of the most influential Welshmen in history.

If you make this trip you will need a car.  Croagh Patrick lies 228 km west of Dublin.  You can get some of your best deals at this Dublin Airport Car Hire.  Then you'll be off to walk the steps of Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland.

It makes my list of things to do before I die.  Does it make yours?