My Wedding

Thursday

Sorry I missed a few days of the blog. I have not had internet service. I also have not been able to figure out how to add pictures. I will put them on my Facebook page when I get the chance.

The house we have rented, Ballytomas House, is in the countryside near Gorey. In the back of the house is a mountain which is over 2000 feet. Steve woke up and climbed the very steep mountain. He said he could sea the Irish Sea from there as well as mountains on the other side. I sat out on the back porch, drank a Diet Coke and ate. I was exhausted when he came down.

We drove to Gledalough, the valley of the two lakes, which is known for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the 6^th century. It is in the Wicklow Mountains. I have been there before and loved the area. English forces destroyed much of the settlement in 1398 but it continues to be a place of pilgrimage. It has beautiful Celtic crosses and huge rhododendron bushes (the size of a double decker bus).

Last week was our 35^th wedding anniversary. Since we eloped, I wanted to have a service with my family around. To commemorate this, Bill and I renewed our wedding vows at the Upper Lake. Steve officiated the ceremony. Bill was not “into” like I had hoped and did not take the ceremony seriously. Sheila was my matron of honor and my mother was my maid of honor. I had a beautiful bouquet of yellow weeds. It was a very short service that ended in laughter. Bill did not kiss well after he said, “I do”.

We had my “reception” at a beautiful little restaurant, The Wicklow Heather. We had generous portions of fish and beer. On the way back to Gorey we stopped by the Avoca Weavers and watched them weave blankets. We picked up Dominos Pizza in Gorey and brought it back to the house. We are going to walk up to the local pub. The streets are very narrow and the cars speed down the lane, so I wanted to write this now just in case we get hit by a car.

Wednesday

Drove from Kenmare to the Rock of Cashel. This is one of Ireland’s most historic sights that rises high above the Plain of Tipperary. It is the seat of the ancient kings of Munster (A.D. 300-1100). (Steve wanted to see Eddie Munster and Bill was looking for Lurch.)

The “rock” was fought over for years and is a strategic fortification. It was later given over to the church. The Hall of Vicars had white, lime-washed walls to reflect light and act as a natural disinfectant. St. Patrick baptized King Aengus at the Rock of Cashel in A.D. 450. Legend has it that St. Patrick was so preoccupied with the baptism that he speared the foot of the king with his staff while administering the sacrament. The pagan king did not acknowledge that his foot had been speared thinking it was part of the painful process of becoming a Christian.

Legend has it that St. Patrick preached to the pagans at the Rock of Cashel and used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. A part of a 20-foot-tall shaft of a Celtic cross remains in the graveyard. The top part is missing because it was destroyed by a lightening storm in 1976.

We drove on to Kilkenny where we spent the night. Kilkenny is considered “Ireland’s loveliest inland city”. It was the capital during the middle ages. We were fortunate to stay at Butler Court which was a wonderful B&B. This had been built as a stable yard. The “stalls” were transformed into beautiful, spacious rooms. The host, John, was so witty and helpful. The rooms faced out into a courtyard where we ate breakfast. One of my favorite parts of the accommodation was the resident Border Collie, Bob. He followed me around and even came (invited) into my room.

We enjoyed a few pints at the Blue Pub across the street and walked to grounds of Kilkenny Castle. We had a wonderful Italian meal at the Ristorante Rinuccine. Afterwards we went to the Kyteler’s Inn and had a few pints in the beer garden. This was built before the 1300’s and is supposedly haunted by a witch. When I asked the bartender what kinds of things the ghost did, he said, “She’ll scare the shite out of you, that’s what she will do.” He didn’t give any further details.

My mother wanted to hear some traditional Irish music so we went to a pub called Paris Texas (a great Irish name). We waited forever for the band to set up. One woman actually fell asleep. They sang a few dreary, sad ballads and we were out of there.

Wednesday morning Steve and Sheila went to the castle and Mama and I shopped. I found Celtic wedding bands for Bill and I to commemorate our 35^th anniversary. We then drove to New Ross to tour the Dunbrody Famine Ship. This was a ship that took emigrants to American. Extended families camped out for 50 days on bunk beds no bigger than a king-size mattress. On most famine ships only 50% of the people survived due to sickness. These ships were referred to as “coffin ships”. A guide took us through the ship and two ladies dressed in costume very informatively and entertainingly told tales about life on the ship. We found the name “Michael Harmon” (Harmon is my maiden name) on the manifest. One of the men in Kilkenny said there were many Staffords (my mother’s maiden name) in Wexford County.

We ate sandwiches in the car and drove to Gorey which is near the coast of the Irish Sea. We rented a 6 bedroom house in the countryside. It was nice to have some down time and have room to spread out. Steve and Sheila cooked “breakfast” for our supper. I love the streaky bacon here. After supper we looked out and Steve was speed racing on a bike in the back lot. Quite comical.

We have been blessed with beautiful weather – sunshine every day. In fact we are all getting suntans. It is supposed to rain Friday when we are on our way to Dublin.