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THE ERIN OF THE GREEN, Via Club ABC Tours
Reviewed and Photographed By Hal Drucker
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My wife and I have been talking about going to Ireland for years. I love Irish literature, Irish theater, redheaded Irish colleens, Irish step-dancing, Irish Lalique and Irish fellowship and I loved schmoozing with that irrepressibly brilliant and delightful Irish actor Jim Norton. If it were 10 years ago, I would have rented a car from Harry Murray’s Rent A Car. Harry was a friend when I was International Advertising Director of Hertz for which Harry was Hertz’s biggest licensee in Europe. As the years added up, it seemed that this was the time to do it, what with a flight time slightly less than JFK to LAX. Also we’d heard good things about Club ABC Tours. This one included a hot breakfast every AM and dinner most nights. The only bus tour we had ever taken was with the upscale and marvelous Tauck Tours through the Canadian Rockies more than 19 years ago. |
Overall Impression of Club ABC Tours
The plusses of touring Ireland by bus:
a) Being able to view the incredible vast greenery of the Emerald Isle, unimpeded by having to concentrate on winding narrow roads lined with stone walls and unanticipated concerns of sheep and cattle crossings, ambiguous signage (much of it in Gaelic) and the like.
b) Having only 11 people (all seniors) on a bus that normally accommodates 40, allowing us to spread out and permitting me, with my 6’3” frame, to thrust my legs into the aisle, else I would have had to assume the fetal position in my narrow seat.
c) Having an exceptionally erudite, knowledgeable and jovial leader in 60-something Tony Timlin, who also drove the bus while almost never missing a beat on his tour direction. Tony kept us in stitches with his blarney-filled yarns and even encouraged Irish sing-a-longs which I was privileged to lead. He also provided enough pit stops to assuage all seniors with bladder considerations.
The minuses of touring Ireland by bus:
a) Having only 11 people meant that you were placed in close quarters and concomitantly awkward situations at meals and general touring with people whose company you might otherwise not seek – and vice versa. For Alice, Carol, our friend and MKOH reporter and me, we eschewed snobbery and mixed as best we could with everyone.
b) Timlin, with disarming frankness, told us that our excursion was almost canceled by ABC, given the small number of travelers. He also advised that in most instances, as expressed on his business card, his ITB-Approved Guiding Service was solely for tour-directing in tandem with a separate bus driver.
c) ABC included two venues that in my view had no business being part of the tour. (Read on).
d) Other than a couple of hours at a Dublin pub, a cab ride or two and a lengthy chat with the doorman at the city’s most elegant hotel, the bus confinement prevented us from connecting meaningfully to the native Irish populous versus Eastern European émigrés who did the bulk of the kitchen and dining work. It is difficult to conceive, but I didn’t spot a single red-headed colleen during the entire trip. |
Day 1- AER LINGUS
Flt. El110 JFK – Shannon
This was my first experience with Aer Lingus and I was very pleased with the attentiveness of the flight attendant team. Most important, the flight took off from JFK and landed at Shannon on time.
Alice and Carol at Shannon
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Day 2 Arrived 5:50 AM.
Met by Tony Timlin
Professional Travel Consultant/Driver
Generally, when Alice and I land in Europe after a nighttime flight, we head directly to our hotel, and if the desk provides us with a room in advance of check-in time, we quickly unpack and catch a few hours of zzzz’s. If the room isn’t ready, we do a brief exploration proximate to the hotel to get our bearings; often forgoing dinner to shower and sleep straight through the night. Not so with a bus tour. With cobwebs in our eyes and rubbery legs, Timlin drove eight miles from Shannon north and west for a 20-minute visit to Dromoland Castle (now a luxury hotel with golf course) in Newmarket, County Clare, which is one of the most famous baronial castles in Ireland and the ancestral home of the O'Briens, Barons of Inchiquin, who are one of the few native Gaelic families of royal blood and direct descendants of Brian Boroimhe (Boru) High King of Ireland in the eleventh century. It is one of the few castle hotels that can trace its ownership back through history to Gaelic Irish families of royal heritage. The present building was completed in 1835. However the first building constructed here was said to be a 15th or early 16th century tower house. Dromoland became residence of eight generations of the O'Brien family.
Dromoland Castle
From Dromoland, we drove past neat little villages and the lovely Irish countryside through the storybook town of Ennis. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway.
The Town Center of Ennis, with the Cathedral of St. Peter in the rear, and our inspection of its stained glass windows.
Windows of Cathedral of St. Peters
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| Thunderstorms came and went during our bus trips as did the intense rainbows. I caught this one, fortuitously, from the port side of the vehicle. |
Where Ireland Meets the Atlantic Ocean.
O’Brien’s Tower
The Cliffs of Moher
County Clare
Tel +353 (0)65 7086141
Click here: YouTube - Cliffs of Moher
The majestic, yet dark and brooding Cliffs of Moher are very high (702 feet) and jagged, ranging 4.97 miles over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. O'Brien's Tower stands proudly on a headland of the majestic Cliffs. The Cliffs take their name from a ruined promontory fort “Mothar” which was demolished during the Napoleonic wars to make way for a signal tower. They are home to 20 different species of breeding, cliff-nesting seabirds . On a clear day one can see the Aran Islands in Galway Bay as well as the hills and valleys of Connemara. As cool Atlantic winds blow in from the ocean, those with a head for heights can peek over the edge to watch the frothy waves smash against the cliffs below.
Adare Manor -
County Limerick
www.adaremanor.com
Panorama View of Adare Manor
Rising from emerald green fields in County Limerick, Adare Manor, at first glance, resembles one of the chateaus we visited in the Loire Valley, yet many of the details suggest Irish and English homes. Built in Gothic Revival style, the manor has towers, turrets, woodwork, stonework, 52 chimneys, and 365 leaded glass windows. Sitting on 840 acres, the grounds include formal French gardens laid out in the 1850s, ancient ruins, and the meandering Maigue River. We stopped off at Adare Woolens Ltd. In Adare Heritage Center, where Alice bought a gorgeous woolen cashmere coat that came in real handy during our cold, cold winter.
Dromhall Hotel
County Kerry
Killarney
Tel +353 (0)64 39300
Click here: Killarney Hotels
To cap a busy, tiring day we were checked in for three nights at this cheerful and kempt hotel in the heart of Killarney, which is positioned hyperbolically in the travel books and ABC’s literature as “luxurious.” That it is not. However the room and appointments were fine, and breakfast and dinner were appetizing.
It prides itself justifiably on first class comfort & service while retaining the friendliness & intimacy of a family run hotel. |
Day 3 Exploring Killarney.
Directly after breakfast, Tony informed that a horse-drawn cart ride that trundles through parts of Killarney National Park would be ready for our exclusive use. Unlike our compatriots, Carol, Alice and I opted not to take the ride which was separately priced from the original itinerary and indeed, overpriced. The three of us walked leisurely from the hotel until we happened upon an entrance to the Park, where we saw this thatch-roofed home.
Our fellow travelers.
Torc Waterfalls from Killarney National Park.
Muckross House, Gardens & Traditional Farms
National Park, Killarney Count
Kerry
Tel 353 64 66 70144
www.muckross-house.ie/
Once the heart of the Bourn Vincent Memorial Park, Muckross House is the focal point of Killarney National Park. From its completion in 1843, it passed through the hands of three families before being gifted to the Irish people. Fittingly in the 19th century this magnificent Victorian mansion hosted Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Other impressive visitors were Wordsworth, Tennyson, Shelley and W. B. Yeats. We then explored the beauty of County Kerry with the “Mini Ring” of Kerry, visiting the market town of Kenmare, which takes you through mountainous scenery along the base of the highest mountain range in Ireland, The MacGullycuddy Reeks, where the highest peak reaches 3,414 feet. As we descended, we had a lovely view of the 3 Lakes of Killarney.
Macguillicuddy Reeks
Baaing with a Brogue. Sheep Ahoy! Irish sheep are often spray-painted in orange or blue so that farmers can tell which sheep are theirs. |
Day 4 The Dingle Peninsula.
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| The four-mile sandy stretch of Inch Beach where “Ryan’s Daughter” was filmed in 1970. |
The most westerly peninsula in Europe and one of Ireland's most atmospheric places, the Dingle Peninsula boasts beautiful scenery, rugged charm and a true sense of timelessness, steeped in the lore of the land with many old and ancient sites. The town of Dingle is the main town, located on the southern side of the peninsula. An attractive port nestled in a natural bay, that thrives as much on fishing as it does tourism where locals are fond of saying, “the next parish is Boston.” Fifteen hundred people live in Dingle Town and 500,000 sheep are on its outskirts. Among its gaily painted pubs is one at which we stopped for a fine lunch.
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Located opposite the pier on Strand Street in Dingle Town, John Benny Moriarty's was a refreshing stop-off point to have a first rate fish chowder and fish and chips. |
Gallarus Oratory – The Dingle Peninsula
www.dodingle.com
This seventh or eighth century Christian church is the best preserved in Ireland. Using techniques first developed by Neolithic tomb-makers, the stones were layed at a slight angle, lower on the outside then the inside to allow water to run off. By definition, “oratory” is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by Church authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass.
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Day 5 Blarney Castle to Waterford.
After breakfast and checking out of the Dromhall, we ventured east to Cork for the express purpose of kissing the blarney stone, an oscillating rite shared by heads of state and commoners alike conferring the “gift of eloquence” on them. Now I knew darned well before signing up for the tour that this sacrament was not something in which I was going to indulge, determining in advance it would be akin to puckering one’s lips in an MRI machine. So it was on to Waterford where we were to stay overnight at the Granville Hotel , for what we anticipated would include a tour of its noteworthy crystal factory after tomorrow’s breakfast. Said visit would include the following and I quote from the advance itinerary forwarded to us on June 10, 2009: “dedicated blowers, cutters, and engravers will guide you through the production area, where you can see the beginning of crystal from a white-hot furnace, and then witness its transformation into beautiful sparkling crystal.” I frankly was looking forward to this tour, having visited the Corning Ware factory in New York. Unfortunately for those dedicated blowers, cutters, and engravers, they were all “excessed” owing to the elimination of all production at Waterford, Ireland and shifting crystal production to Eastern Europe and china production to Indonesia. This all took place six months before we received the itinerary. ABC had an obligation to inform us in advance. At no time did the company advise us of this circumstance. Instead, it fell to Tony to announce this mis-information to us on the bus. What Club ABC Tours should have done, especially to those of us who had never toured with them before, was to omit the visit to Waterford altogether and tack on an additional night in Dublin.
Granville Hotel
Meagher Quay
Waterford
Tel +353 (0) 51 305555
Paradoxically this was the best of the lodgings we experienced. First rate accommodations and good dining. Would that a comparable hotel were available to us in Dublin.
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Day 6 Waterford to Dublin
After the obligatory inspection of Waterford products, we drove on the northerly route through the towns of Enniscorthy, Arklow, Wicklow, Bray and Dublin’s fair city.
Trinity Capital Hotel
Pearse Street
Dublin 2
www.trinitycapitalhotel.com
How would I describe the décor of the Trinity Capital Hotel? Let’s try “Early Purple Passion.” Its restaurant/bar is called of all things, Café Cairo. That should tell you all you need to know about the place. The one positive note is that it is in the heart of this captivating city.
Oliver St. John
GOGARTY’S
58-59 Fleet St. Temple Bar
Dublin
WWW.GOGARYST.IE.COM
Directly after checking in, I gathered all 11 of the tour group together and suggested that we all walk straight to Gogarty’s, three blocks away, and have a gay old time listening to genuine Irish music and downing a brew or two. The spirit was uplifting, and the young people on the various esoteric wind and string instruments were enthusiastic and tireless. And one other nice thing about Gogarty’s, no one rushes you or hovers over you for another order. You could literally sit there till closing time at 2:30 a.m. every night of the week.
The Book of Kells
Trinity College Library Dublin
www.tcd.ie
Our cultural pursuit began at Trinity College, just a couple of blocks from the hotel. Its famed library is the repository of the Book of Kells, the mammoth undertaking of artistic monks in a world lit only by candles. This monumental work is akin to that of Israel’s Dead Sea Scrolls. It contains lavishly decorated text in Latin of the four gospels. It was produced in the early ninth century by the monks of Iona. When Iona was attacked by Vikings in a raid that left 68 monks dead, the Book of Kells was sent to Dublin in 1653 for reasons of security.
Oscar Wilde
Dublin Writers Museum
18 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
www.writersmuseum.com
To paraphrase Joxer from O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock, this is a darling, museum, a daarlin’museum. O’Casey, Shaw, Synge, Yeats, Wilde, Beckett. What a genuine thrill to walk softly past the long, long sleep of cherished Dublin writers. From room to room in a renovated mansion on Parnell Square, off O’Connell Street, we followed the Irish literary “trail” as far back as Edmund Spenser, the Englishman who wrote The Fairie Queene under the influence of time spent on the Emerald Isle. Among the treasures of the museum is Jonathan Swift’s : Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. Later to be known as Gulliver’s Travels.
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| Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid is a painting by Johannes Vermeer, completed between 1670–1671. |
NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND, Dublin
Merrion Square West & Clare St.
353 1661 5133
Click here: National Gallery of Ireland
A jewel of a museum, with lovely décor and enough masterpieces to ooh and aah over; most notably the Vermeer and such other Dutch Masters as Metsu, Ruisdael and Hobbema. And, there are Renaissance and Baroque treasures from Caravaggio, Fra Angelico, Mantegna, Titian and Rubens. Among the Spanish school are El Greco , Velázquez , Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya. Finally there is the obligatory Impressionists' Room with Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, and Signac and Picasso also laudably represented.
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Day 7 Exploring Dublin
The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Patrick
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| In the South Aisle is this epitaph to satirist Jonathan Swift, together with his bust and death mask. Swift and his friend Stella (Esther Johnson) are buried at the southwest end of the nave. |
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| We received a proper greeting from the Shelbourne’s Stan Filon, the Doorman and Mickey Rafferty, the young Bellman. |
The Shelbourne Hotel for Afternoon High Tea
Lord Mayor’s Lounge
27 St Stephen’s Green
www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/dubbr-the-shelbourne/
What a delight to spend a civilized hour at such a magnificently appointed, 5-star hotel, as the classic luxury Shelbourne (which is under the Renaissance aegis.) I would rate its ambience, service, finger sandwiches, scones , pastries and assortment of teas with Fortnum and Mason across the Irish Sea.
The Doors of Dublin - No. 46 Fitzwilliam Square , Georgian
Next to hurling, one of the proudest pastimes for a Dubliner is showing off the many-splendored Georgian Doors. This one, which I left the bus to photograph, was named after the Fitzwilliam family, Earls of Merrion. |
Day 8 Dublin to Kinnitty
And so it was farewell to Molly Malone and her fair city and westward ho through Kildare to Kinnity where we stayed overnight at the Kinnity Castle Hotel. Dating originally from 1209, the Castle was destroyed and rebuilt not once but twice. It has new ownership, and count ‘em – two well-meaning young men who are responsible for everything from check-in to bell service to meals. We had a spacious, manorial room that was musty and dusty.
KINNITY CASTLE
County Offaly
Birr , Ireland
www.kinnittycastle.com |
Day 9 Kinnitty to Galway
We departed for Athlone, where we had a fine wholesome lunch at a restaurant called A Slice of Life at 7 Connaught St. preparatory to a 90-minute boat ride on the River Shannon to Lough Ree where the Vikings held sway. We had dinner at Dungaire Castle, which inclusive of a historical recitation by three young actors was eminently forgettable.
Ardilaun House Hotel
Taylors Hill
Galway
This was the finest hotel of our tour. Ideally located in five acres of beautiful grounds, convenient to Galway city center, it has newly refurbished luxury bedrooms. We arrived just as a formal party was taking place and were invited to partake in food and drinks. We stayed two nights.
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Day 10 Touring Connemara County. Also known as the county of “The Quiet Man.”
Kylemore Abbey and Gardens
Kylemore, County Galway
www.kylemoretourism.ie/
The upper for the day was this breathtaking view of Kylemore Abbey, nestled in the heart of the Connemara Mountains, in the west of Ireland. Nothing in and around Abbey failed to live up to its promise as one of the highlights of our visit. In 1917, a community of Benedictine Nuns (The Irish Dames of Ypres) moved into Kylemore. In the course of 100 years, the castle became a Benedictine monastery and abbey, its life imbued with the ancient Christian traditions of prayer, meditation, hospitality and generous service, especially of the women of the region. We visited the Abbey itself, its Gothic Church , and strolled blissfully along the Lakes, Woodlands and walled gardens.
The “downer” for the day was visiting the Dartfield Horse Museum which bills itself as the only museum in the world dedicated to Irish horses, the indigenous Connemara Ponies and Irish dogs. Well we saw exactly one live horse and one faux skeleton of an eohypus. |
Day 11 Exploring the fabled Aran Island of Inis Mór.
The Aran Islands
www.aranislands.ie
Basketweaver of Aran
This penultimate day of our touring was, together with Kylmore Abbey and Dublin itself, the most memorable part of our tour. I knew of The Aran Islands which are off the west coast of Ireland, from having seen Robert Flaherty’s semi-documentary 1934 film, Man of Aran. We took a boat to the island of Inis Mór (meaning “ big island”) and taxied to the foot of the Dún Aonghasa Fort, which stands above a dramatic 300-foot cliff that spans the entire western part of the island and faces the Atlantic. The islands’ inland landscape of uniquely blanketed rock surface are glazed with man-made rock walls that make it impossible to conceive that any vegetation or farming could take place here but they do.
To view excerpts from Robert Flaherty’s 1934 Movie, Man of Aran,
Copy and paste.
www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/man-of-aran-robert-flaherty-1934/F362D86CD9E451316DE6F362D86CD9E451316DE6
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