We had 15 days in Ireland, it was a long held, dream for me to be here. It is a beautiful country, full of fabulous scenery, history, culture and people.
A few facts, figures and thoughts
The Population of Ireland, is nearly 5 million people, Northern Ireland approx 2 million people.
Irish Gaelic is the official language of Ireland, it is spoken by 30% of the population but only by 5% regularly. This was a surprise to me, wasn’t expecting it. The other language more commonly used is English. Since joining the EU, many Polish people have migrated to Ireland and have been accepted and fit well into the community, it is the second most spoken language here.
Ireland joined the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union (EU), in 1973 along with the United Kingdom and Denmark.
After war against their British rulers there was the partition of Ireland which divided it into two jurisdictions, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland on 3 May 1921. The south is now called the Republic of Ireland. But the break-up continued decades of unrest and violence in Northern Ireland, which remained part of the UK.
The Northern Ireland conflict was a thirty year bout of political violence, low intensity armed conflict and political deadlock, 1968-98. I have no desire to recount this here except to say the tour we did was enlightening and you can read about it in an earlier blog or elsewhere. Many seem worried that Brexit is going to reignite the conflict, I hope for everyone in Northern Ireland this is not the case.
Ireland remains a predominantly Catholic country, Northern Ireland is fairly evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant.
Ireland never went through the industrial revolution, agriculture remained their main industry. Today the main industries are IT, Agriculture and Tourism.
It rains a lot here, in fact I think it rained every day of our tour, one day all day long but mostly only for short periods, hence its moniker the Emerald Isle!
Seafood is plentiful and delicious. Really enjoyed the chowder and soda bread. And all of the local gins.
Especially loved Dublin, Galway, Dingle Peninsula, Kinsale, relaxing on the farm and all of the history, Ireland as with everywhere we have been is rich in history. The coastal scenery and views over Loughs and countryside are stunning.
There are lots of lovely little, old villages all over the country with bright coloured houses and lots of colourful potted flowers.
The pubs are fabulous, have a great atmosphere. Years ago they had many more. Even today with the reduced numbers each town has more than we would have at home.
The Irish are very parochial to their county football team, they fly their flags in support and get together to watch the games.
The beautiful parks & gardens are used much more than at home. They are full of people sitting/lying on the grass- no rugs. Like everywhere we have been they love sitting in the sun when it is out.
The potatoes here have so much flavour and are in plentiful supply. The Potato famine, was an awful time in Irish history.
We loved the blackberries on the side of the road/paths, we were here at the right time, they were delicious. Got to see/try sloe berries.
I loved all of the red heads here and in Scotland, always made me smile and think of some of my favourite people at home.
By the time we got to Ireland, we had been travelling for 12 weeks and were tired of the driving and the planning of our days. We both appreciated the tour we took, it was good timing and a relaxing, enjoyable way to finish the holiday. We saw/experienced/learnt far more than we would have on our own. Martin was the best tour guide and good company.
Wow, what a holiday. Feel grateful for the time we had and that there weren’t many hitches. We were both looking forward to learning about the history of the places we visited, they didn’t disappoint, they are all rich in history. It has been enjoyable, enriching, fascinating and gave us a thirst to know more.
I am most appreciative of my gorgeous travel buddy who drove us in good humour, thousands of kilometres, in 3 different cars, often down narrow, two way lanes only fit for one car, on the wrong side of the road in Iceland, without you this would not have been possible. Thank you ?
To all of you who have followed along, glad you could join us for the ride. It has been fun.
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