Camp to Dublin 9/28-29/26

Good morning all! The first part of this blog is on 9/28.

For breakfast, I had a small Irish breakfast. The full one is twice as large.  I skipped the black pudding.  Just in case you don’t know, it is almost black because it is made with blood.  It has all the same ingredients but no blood. The round sausage-looking thing is white pudding; I had never heard of it until this trip, so I decided to try it.  It was actually pretty good.  

I said goodbye to the Dingle Way and had about a five-hour trip back to Dublin - only one bus change.  About midway, our bus broke down. The brakes were acting up.  Since I was in the front seat (my favorite spot), I was glad we didn’t continue on. We had to wait over an hour for a new bus.  Oh well, stuff happens. 

I made it to the main bus terminal in Central Dublin and decided to walk to my hotel since it was a 9-minute walk. I had to cross a river, and the bridge had steep steps going both up and down.  I was struggling with a large suitcase, my under-the-seat travel bag, and my backpack when a very nice gay man gallantly took the large suitcase.  There are Camino angels everywhere.

I was a lazy bum this morning (9/29/26)because I had the day off. My first stop was Christ Church Cathedral. 

Dublin's oldest cathedral began life as à smalt church founded by Dúnán, the first bishop of Dublin, with funds from the Norse king of Dublin, Sitriuc. After the Anglo-Normans captured the city in 1170, their leader, Strongbow (who is buried here), planned a great cathedral with the Archbishop of Dublin, Laurence O'Toole. They completed their vision in the 1230s. Following the Reformation, Christ Church became a Protestant cathedral and 'Romish' relics, such as St Patrick's crozier, were burned in a huge bonfire. The cathedral underwent extensive restoration in the 1870s. Its atmospheric medieval crypt is one of Dublin's oldest surviving structures.

Thought to be Dublin's oldest street, Fishärnble Street hosted the world premiere of George Frederic Handel’s 4 Vessjah', one of the greatest choral works of all time in April 1742. The cathedral

choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church performed, while the composer himself played the organ. Some 700 people crowded the Music Hall, whose archway is still visible. Advertisements asked ladies to wear dresses without hoops to ensure there was enough room in the hall!

A bronze replica of the Cathedral, which is Anglican and not Catholic.

The cathedral is huge and extremely long from front to back.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a nut magnet.  Well, it happened again. As I turned to look back, this woman, sitting on the front pew, wearing big glasses with rhinestones all around them, lit into me about not taking a photo of her.  (I didn’t, and I didn't want one.)  She claimed that we (Americans) all worship Trump  (granted, some do, but I am not one of them), a thief, a liar, and a pedophile. She told me Ireland was still a moral country where criminals went to jail and that we should all just go home, and on and on, until I walked away. I couldn’t have gotten a word in edgeways if I had wanted to.  This has not been typical of my visit in any way.  The Irish people have been lovely, everywhere I have been.

There were so many gorgeous stained glass windows.

Two of the cathedral's most famous residents are the mummified Cat and Rat. They were discovered trapped inside the organ when it was dismantled and moved during the restoration of Christ Church in the 1870s. They probably got stuck after a chase around the cathedral, in which the rat dived into the organ to escape, and the cat followed. They were naturally preserved and mummified due to the lack of oxygen inside the organ case. If you look closely, you can still see the cat's whiskers. The Irish author James Joyce makes reference to this unusual pair in Finnegan's Wake, written in 1939, in which he refers to

someone as 'stuck as that cat to that mouse in that tube of that Christ Church Organ.'

 Christ Church Cathedral serves as a historic and modern waypoint on the Celtic Camino route to Santiago de Compostela. Saint James’s Gate was a traditional starting point for medieval pilgrims commencing their pilgrimages from Dublin to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, pilgrims would have landed in the northern Spanish ports of A Coruña and Ferrol before walking or traveling on horseback to Santiago. For those who traveled from Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral would have seen many medieval pilgrims before they set sail for Spain.

The tribute outside the Cathedral is an Armenian Genocide Memorial featuring a traditional carved stone cross, known as a khachkar. Artak Hambardzumyan, who carved it, was there and was telling a group of tourists about it.  Sadly, I got there as he was finishing up.  It is dedicated to the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives as a result of genocide in about 1915.

"Homeless Jesus” is a bronze statue by Tim Schmalz, located on the grounds of Christ Church Cathedral.  Jesus is portrayed as a faceless, cloaked figure lying on a park bench. The identity of Jesus is revealed only by the crucifixion wounds on the feet. It represents Matthew 25, suggesting that Christ is found among society's most marginalized. Apparently, over 100 casts of the same figure are dotted around the world. It does give food for thought.  If a dark-skinned homeless man entered our middle-class and above churches today, how would we greet him?

For my friend Mary P: a creaky door with spider webs just outside the Cathedral grounds.

Much of the sidewalk art portrays ships, honoring Ireland's rich history at sea.

I had dinner at The Bull and Castle on Lord Edward Street opposite Christ Church Cathedral is a historic Dublin institution that evolved from an 18th-century coaching inn and grocery store into a renowned modern steakhouse and craft beer pioneer. It was rated one of the top restaurants in the area.

I am not much of a steak person, nor a beef person for that matter. But when in Rome... I ordered the F.X Buckley 8oz Burger, described as "Bone Marrow, American Cheddar, Pickles, Salad, Brioche Bun, Served with Beef Dripping Chips.” It was an outstanding burger, and we do have equally good burgers in the US, but the Irish kick our butts when it comes to fries or chips, as they call them here.

So I  also have tomorrow off here in Dublin; don’t worry if you don’t get a post from me.

Good night and God Bless!

Castlegregory to Camp 9/27/26

Top of the mornin' to you!

As with the previous days, the mountain scenery is beautiful. Not only is the mountain-and-ocean combination magnificent, but the people in Ireland are too. The Irish people are so warm and friendly.  Not once have I met anyone who was less than welcoming.  I am sure they have their arseholes, but I have yet to come across one. I have enjoyed eavesdropping on bar conversations, and it is clear that the Irish people really do have that gift of storytelling.

What is mind-blowing is how tiny Ireland is.  The whole Island, counting both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is about the size of South Carolina.  The Republic of Ireland is closer to West Virginia, and yet Irish descendants seem to be all over the world. I have Irish roots on both sides of my family.

How many people of Irish descent return to the Emerald Isle to trace their family history? 

Thos little white dots are birds.

Dogs, especially Border Collies, are very popular here. My dream dog!

Originally, I thought Kilgobbin Church was a castle. The church has an ancient graveyard that dates back to the early Christian site of St. Gobain, known as the Humble Hermit.  Gobain withdrew to the forests of Thiérache to live a life of solitude and prayer. He built a small oratory dedicated to St. Peter and lived as a hermit, known for his holiness and deep communion with God. But his peace was disrupted when raiders attacked his forest dwelling and murdered him—striking him with a sword while he prayed. His death marked him as a martyr, and his forest chapel became a pilgrimage site for centuries.

It doesn’t look like much, but it was kind of a farm-to-table place. I had a real lunch and not food out of my backpack.  What a treat to eat in a restaurant for lunch, and yet, in Louisville, I don’t realize what a treat it is.

I had a plowman sandwich, which was described as: "Irish Whiskey and Honey Glazed Ham, Gouda Cheese, Caramelized Onion Chutney & Tomato Relish served on grilled Focaccia bread."

It was yummy on steroids.

Another opportunity for me to fall in the water, but thanks to the ropes on the side, I made it over high and dry.

I had an excellent chicken curry for dinner.  I find it interesting that all the pubs have a daily curry.  I don’t think of curry as pub grub.

I bid you good night, and God bless.

 

Cloghane to Castlegregory 9/26/26

Good Morning! I was too tired to post this last night.  I have had a number of tough days in a row.

The day started gloomily, with rain likely.  I loved the shaft of sun coming down through the clouds.  

This is Saint Brendan’s Church in Cloghane, located at the foot of Mount Brendan. St Brendan is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator.   He is best known for his legendary voyage to find the "Isle of the Blessed," sometimes called "Saint Brendan’s Island." After traveling for seven years, visiting some of the same places repeatedly, the wanderers finally arrive in the Promised Land for Saints. They are welcomed and allowed to enter briefly. Awed by what they see, they return to Ireland rejoicing

Irish Lawn mowers.

I had to cross some slippery rocks here and fell in that freezing water up to my knees. Brrrr!  The rest of the day I had wet boots and socks. At least I did not get my camera wet.

The tide is out.

FERMOYLE BEACH

Surf’s up, and I saw many forms of surfing.

Looking back at my foot prints in the sand.  

Just to add to the difficulty of the walk, most of the sand was not hard-packed.

Fun to see horses on the beach.  

I walked all the way up the left side and back down the right side.  When I came back on the right side, I was fighting a 40 MPH headwind.

The mountains in the background were beautiful.

It looks calm here, but it wasn’t. Add the winds and the soft sand, and seventeen miles of that combination, and it turned into a day almost as hard as yesterday. Just hard in a different way.

Souls Of The Sea

In memory of Bat Henness, Born 10 May 1958 & Thomas (Tomasin) Henness, Born 16 August 1976

Lost at sea while fishing for herring, aboard the Pere Charles off Hock Head, Co Wexford

10 January 2007

"With our nets and gear we're faring

on the wild and wasteful ocean

It's there on the deep that we harvest

and reap our bread

As we hunt the bonny shoals of herring."

I stayed in the most elegant and luxurious Shores Country House B & B.  I could have stayed here a while.  It even had a bathtub.  What a treat.

For dinner, I took a cab to Tomasin’s Bar. This wasn't your standard pub, but a well-run establishment with a classically trained chef.

On the advice of my server, I ordered 

TOMASIN'S CLASSIC CHICKEN KIEV

Homemade crumbed chicken supreme with garlic butter, mashed potato, and steamed greens.

It an excellent choice with a large, cracker-coated, pan-fried chicken breast with butter and herbs in the middle that melted out on the first cut.  They also had a first-rate wine list.

So it is off to bed I go.

Good night and God Bless.

Feohanagh to Cloghane 9/26/26

 What a fabulous day. No misty wetness like yesterday.

Today was advertised as strenuous, with an exclamation point. It lived up to that description and more. I might have added another exclamation point. And it was iver 16 nukes,

There it is, clouded in mystery, the mountain we must climb over to reach our night’s lodging. Today’s walk rated up there with some of the legendary Alps hikes. It might have been the steepest walk of all of my journeys.  No switchbacks, just straight up.  It is very hard to train for extreme uphill climbing in Louisville, Kentucky. Anyone who has trained on weight machines knows that the idea is to totally fatigue the muscle. Well, it was so severe that I exhausted my thigh muscles about halfway up, making the other half a challenge. 

That is a curious cow peeping over the stone wall at me.  Probably laughing.

A beautiful look back at the previous days.

Deep, sticky mud to slog through.The start of the “long up.”  Doesn’t look too bad from here.  Au contraire!  It was two hours of the most grueling steep incline that I have ever faced. 

Looking back at a fellow hiker..

And another one trying to catch her breath.

OMG!  Please let this be the top. It wasn’t! When I made a right turn, there was almost another mountain to climb.

The view from the top was absolutely stunning.  I will admit that I wasn’t so fond of that uphill, kill-my-thighs climb, but once I caught my breath, I wanted to plant a USA flag. I made it! Whoohoo!  It is amazing how much more fun a big climb is in hindsight.

The ewe is looking up at a Raven on the post.

The first part of the descent was just as straight down as the climb was up.  I actually had to get out my sticks, so I didn’t tumble on the wet rocks.  Then, hallelujah, there came a section that was more of a wide trail headed downward.

The scenery continued to be stunning.

Although these hydrangeas look fuchsia on my computer, they were red.  

On every walk, wild fuchsia lined the trails.  Oftentimes, they were mixed in with the continuous blackberry brambles. And I have eaten at least two sweet bucketfuls over the past week.

I had to walk across a field to get back to the trail.

Thank heavens, the last two miles were reasonably straightforward.  There was, however, about a 40 mph headwind.  But I was like a horse to the barn - I could smell the hay.

Look at those colors.

My humble B&B, O’Connors Guest House, is the purple one towards the end. It looked like paradise to me.

I ate at the restaurant pub, and it turned out to be surprisingly good. I had House Special Chicken Curry, which was a " fragrant, slow- simmered homemade special curry sauce, loaded with roasted seasonal

vegetables. Served with steamed basmati rice and a poppadom.”  

The longest walk this week is tomorrow, seventeen and a half miles, but not rated as strenuous and has no exclamation point.

I bid you Good Night and God Bless..