Hail & Farewell To Ireland

We head off for Shannon Airport tomorrow morning. One night at a Shannon hotel and then we fly out on Sunday for America.


THANK YOU for joining us on our 2008 holiday in Ireland. It was a great way for us to organize our photos and unwind from each day's journey.


Just in case we don't show up back in the USA, it will because we have the "Euro Millions" winning ticket that will be drawn tonight and is worth 130 million Euro. (The odds are only 17 million to 1.)



Ireland is a beautiful country, and we hope you could see that in our photos. The people we met were beautiful too, and we hope that came through as well.


And we close with one of the first photos that Sue took of Ireland. The photo below always reminds us of the enjoyment of the journey---going down that road to see what's ahead.


We hope you will have pleasant journeys too. Thanks again for joining us on ours.

Wrapping Things Up In County Cork

We're on our last full day in Kinsale, County Cork.

We headed back to the town of Douglas to see if we could find out any information on our "Kiley" family history. When we got back to the St. Columba Parish office the secretary was there and looked for information on their church history database. 

No luck finding a Mathew Kiley, nor any of his children on the records there. The secretary suggested other small communities in the area, but we ran out of energy and will plan on writing letters in the future.

On the way back to Kinsale, we stopped at Ballyspittle where the "Diva Bakery" is located. They had the tasty brownies and lemon scones at last Tuesday's Famer's Market and so, we picked up a couple of scones and brownies for dessert later on, then headed back to Kinsale.

Back in Kinsale, we had our last meal at "Jim Edwards" and walked off our meal by taking a walk through another part of the town.

We stopped at the Church of Ireland church, St. Multose, which has only been there in Kinsale since 1160.

The interior was well preserved for a church that old. Looks like it's a never-ending restoration process, since they were asking for donations for a recent 50,000 Euro renovation of the electrical/lighting system.

Further up the hills of Kinsale was a Carmelite Friary that was in great shape. We meant to ask if any of the Carmelites had gotten to our Carmelite Holy Hill Church in Wisconsin, but there was no one around.

The interior of the church was as lovely as the exterior you see below, but the photos didn't come out bright enough to show it off.

Looking for a Carmelite priest did remind us of this story we heard about a group of boys in the area that had befriended a homeless, vagrant dog that was always wandering around town.

They decided that the only decent thing to do was for one of them to take the dog home and care for it. But they all wanted it, so as they argued louder and louder in the streets outside the church, it was finally decided that they should have a lying contest and whoever told the best lie should get the dog.

Well, Father Mahoney, standing nearby, heard them talking about this lying contest and came right over and told them a thing or two about lying.

He started with the "Don't you know it's a sin to tell a lie?" And he continued on for a good 10 minutes, ending with "When I was your age I would never dream of telling a lie!"

The boys all had their heads down by the end of that sermon. They mumbled together for a bit and Father Mahoney felt that he had reached them with his message.

After a little while, one of the boys said, "Okay, okay, I guess Father Mahoney wins the dog." [;-)

The Ladies of Ballincollig

Here they are:  "Sadie," "Nancy," and "Maire" (mar-rah).

We had contacted "Maire O'Keane" by phone on our 2006 trip to Ireland and she said we had better stop at her place in the town of Ballincollig, just west of Cork City, on any future visits.

Maire didn't have any "Mathew O'Keane's" in her family line and her family came from County Limerick originally, so we consider ourselves "almost" cousins.

We had stopped last year and had an all-afternoon visit and lunch---then we "came knocking" again this year. Even though Maire had just returned from her trip to Lourdes for the 150th anniversary, she insisted that we come over for lunch with her friends Sadie and Nancy. 

At age 84, Maire is "going strong." She has an extensive side garden of flowers and travels extensively, throughout Ireland and on the continent.

She also put out another wonderful lunch that she called "a small salad."

But the salad was a meal in itself, since the plate was loaded with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, potato salad, crab salad, cooked eggs, and cole slaw---then that was covered with slabs of turkey and ham.

We solved all the world's problems and dined until we kicked ourselves out after five hours of talking and eating.

The hospitality was amazing and outstanding once again. When we initially called this year we tried to take Maire and her friends out to lunch, but Maire wouldn't consider it. We came loaded with flowers and a bag of gifts to try to make up for another grand meal.

Heading To The Big City---Cork City

Well, we were able to load six of the ten photos we wanted to show you of Cork City---then the "uploader" stopped uploading to the blog spot.

We think we have the problem identified. It appears to be "The Sidhe" (the shee), otherwise known as "The Fairies."

Leprechaun's aren't much over here, but the fairies are everywhere and usually up to no good.

Hopefully, we can get Sue's laptop to a computer store and get it "de-fairied.";-)

Below is an inside view of "The English Market" where food vendors sell a wide variety of products. We always like to stop here to see all the food choices.

There are a good number of green grocers, including more exotic produce.

Lots of specialized vendors as well. Often they sell just one food product. There is a whole vendor space of chickens and eggs only, a space with assorted bowls of different seasoned olives, and others with only pork or only fish (real live fishmongers).

And they appear to sell everything---even a hog's head for making your own home-made "head cheese," called "brawn" over here.  Mmmmmmmmm.

We worked up an appetite looking at all the beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, spices, bakery, and produce---except for the hog's head---and headed upstairs to the "Farm Gate Restaurant." Sue had a chicken breast with "veg" and potatoes and I had a Shepherd's Pie with "veg" and potatoes. 

While you dine, you get to enjoy the music from the piano player hidden behind the waiter in the red shirt and you get to watch the people shopping below.

There was one lady we watched who had her hands full with a double stroller holding a pair of twins while she went from vendor to vendor---that reminded us of a pregnant lady we heard about who was scheduled to give birth to twins.

She was kept on bed rest due to various health conditions and was very worried about giving birth. Her husband was in the military overseas and all her family and friends were back in her hometown while she stayed on the stateside military base. 

Only her brother was able to get free from work to come visit her and keep her company. It wasn't much of a help though, since her brother was a bit of an old, hippie "flake."

But she made her brother promise that if anything happened to her in childbirth that he would take care of the babies, name them, and watch over them until her husband returned from overseas.

Well, the births went well for the two babies, but their mother went into a coma and spent several weeks in bed. When she miraculously came out of her coma she was still in her hospital bed and her brother was standing by her bedside, holding the twins, a boy and a girl.

She was so relieved and thanked her brother to no end. When he left for the evening she asked the nurse if the babies had been named and the nurse said, "of course."

"Oh, that's such a relief," said the mother, "I was worried my wacky brother couldn't handle any of the details."

When she pressed the nurse for more information on the babies names the nurse hesitantly said, "Well, the girl was named, 'Denise'."

"Oh, that's lovely," said the mother, "and what about my boy?"

"Well," the nurse said, "he was named 'Denephew'."

[It's okay to groan]

Market Day In Kinsale

We've been having a little trouble "uploading" our photos to this blogspot, so please bear with the occasional jumble of photos and text from time to time.

The "farmer's market" in Kinsale is more of a "vendor's" market.

There was the usual fruits, vegetables, and plants, but also there were artisan cheeses, bakeries, sausages, and specialty stores selling there wares.

Besides what appeared to be individuals bringing their home baking to the market, there were a number of bakeries as well.

Typical "autumn" plants were being sold as well---still plenty of time for flowers through the early part of November according to the seller. We noticed cyclamen, heather, pansies, hardy mums, and small shrubbery.

Not only was there individually-prepared, take-away meals, but many vendors were selling meals right there at the market and many customers were enjoying breakfast or lunch. Below is a tasty-looking, nearly three-foot pan of cooked potatoes being sold along with bratwurst. (We were tempted to compare the brats to "Sheboygan's finest," but were already full.)   

One vendor was busy cooking on three crepe griddles. We can attest to the tastiness of crepes fresh off the griddle filled with your choice of sweet and savory fillings---spiced apple, mixed berries, ham & cheese, sausage, cinnamon sugar, and so on.

After we took our bakery back to the apartment, we took a long walk "up the steps and hills" of Kinsale.

We had lovely views back down on the rooftops and harbour of Kinsale.

There has been a feel of autumn in the air, plus a few leaves on the ground and ivy turning color, like you see on the house below.

At the very top of the town's hill is a 200-year old convent that also served as a parochial school over those years. It has been in total disrepair in recent years and is now being completely gutted and will be turned into apartments. It looked like it would be easier to just demolish the entire property, but there are probably requirements to keep the original look of the property in this historic town.

We were not too surprised to see new housing developments "on the other side of the hill" from the historic town. This is still a popular, growing part of Ireland, in spite of the economic and employment difficulties Ireland is experiencing.

A "touch of the old" was still apparent along the outer "Compass Hill Road." Both sides of the roadway were full of "Stinging Nettles"---a favorite soup or salad that Dad always spoke highly of, even though we would only see a little of it along Monches Road back home.

When you look "over the hill" a little farther you see the Bandon River that flows down into Kinsale Harbour, plus there was another housing development also "hidden" from the old, historic town on the other side of the hill.

We wound our way back down the narrow streets to the pier area after getting more lovely views of Kinsale and seeing some very nice homes (and pricey ones, no doubt).

We went to check on "the catch of the day" at the pier, but there was only a boat load of lobster pots being brought in by the two fishermen now that the season is over.

We worked up a good appetite with our walk and enjoyed another meal at "Jim Edwards." There's Sue's beefsteak with barbecue gravy, chips, "veg," and potatoes.

And here's my huge chicken breast with a mushroom gravy, chips, "veg," and potatoes.

Coincidentally, we were reading a book review of "The End of Food" by the author Paul Roberts. A section of the review follows that explains why we are raving about the food here in Ireland and how pessimistic we are about much of our over-processed food in the US.

"Every cook knows that chicken breast is no longer what it once was---it's now remarkably flabby and yielding... poultry experts have a term for this: P.S.E., or 'pale, soft, exudative' meat. Today's birds... are bred to be top-heavy, in order to satisfy consumers' desire for 'healthy' white meat at affordable prices. In these Sumo-breasted monsters, a vast volume of lactic acid is released upon death, damaging the proteins---hence the crumbly meat. Poultry firms deal with P.S.E. after the fact, pumping the flaccid breast with salts and phosphates to keep it artificially juicier."

Bon Appettit!

Off To Rochestown And Douglas

We headed off to Rochestown and Douglas this morning to look for church records on the "Kiley" side of the family. These are two small towns just outside of Cork City.

It looks like the hay has been harvested and now we are seeing a lot of fields with straw to be baled after the wheat was harvested too. Maybe some of the straw will go into thatching a few of the houses that still have thatched roofs. Everything seems to be done in large, round bales.

We went past "Ringaskiddy" where the car ferry takes you to Cherborg and LaHarve in France (but Sue wouldn't go). The ferry below is at "Passage West" and it only goes across the River Lee to the Big Island and the town of Cobh where last year we visited our cousin Francine's favorite tour at the "Queenstown Story" museum that traced the last sailing of the Titanic which left this port before hitting the iceberg. 

We drove through the small town of "Rochestown" that may have been the homeland of our Kiley Clan and then continued on to Douglas, the next town over.

We stopped at a shopping mall in Douglas to look for a Pearse pottery store. We strolled through the mall and also asked people how to get to St. Columba Church (same name as our former St. Columba Church in Lake Five that was begun with the support of the Kiley Family, along with many other Irish families).

Of course, we had to do a little window shopping too. 

And we found it very interesting that even with a large combination department store and grocery store called "Dunnes," the shopping mall had the three basic shops that we have found in most small towns throughout Ireland.

Starting with a "green grocer" for fruits and vegetables...

...and a bakery shop with a wide variety of breads and sweets...

...and a meat market (butcher/vitualer) with an amazing variety of beef, veal, pork, lamb, and poultry.

And each place would have a person's surname in the store's title, seldom any generic or town names were used.

We found the "Stephen Pearce" pottery store and picked up a small souvenir.

They had a wide selection of dinnerware, lamps, vases, and so on.

We also got the directions for St. Columba's from two ladies in the flower shop. But when we got to the church, we couldn't find anyone around, just a telephone number for the priest posted on the church office door. 

We'll probably find more family history information on the Internet or by writing a letter to the parish---but it won't be nearly as interesting.

So, it was back to Kinsale for more window shopping and supper at "Jim Edwards" again.

The skies have been clearer over the last few days, but that has led to cooler evenings (as explained by the TV weatherman and experienced by us). Looks like autumn is coming on.

Please note if you were waiting to make your "Batter Apple Pie" that the numbers "1" through "8" on Patsy's oven probably refer to a gas oven instead of the electric oven I referred to. We saw a recipe in this Sunday's newspaper for bread being baked at 200 degrees Centigrade which was equal to 400 degrees Fahrenheit which was equal to a "6" on a gas oven over here. (That still seems awfully high to bake a pie---best you keep an eye on it when you get to baking.)

And speaking of food, you may want to avoid the next photo if you are offended by bikini-clad beauties...

...but we should call your attention to the fact that "2008" is the "International Year Of The Potato" here in Ireland.

If you go to their web site at:  

http://www.internationalyearofthepotato.ie/ ,

you will learn a lot about potatoes, view their selected potato recipes, and see the many variety of potatoes that are available in Ireland.

And a link at that web site led us to a "virtual" potato museum currently located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "The Potato Museum" is looking for a permanent, physical location if you have a spare rec room or garage. Their web site is at:

http://www.potatomuseum.com/index.html .

Remember, the potato is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat---it's just the toppings that are our downfall. The two hot toppings available for the baked potatoes on the menu at the restaurant in the shopping mall were "chili" or "beans," maybe not as bad as our butter and sour cream toppings at home. 

Mmmmmm. Getting hungry, logging off, going for a snack.

Around Kinsale Town And Harbour

We got to Mass at St. John the Baptist Church last night where the youth choir sang beautifully. They even had a CD of their singing to sell after the service. The priest saying Mass was Father Robert Young (so insert your favorite "Father Knows Best" observation here).

This morning, we were just going to take a short stroll into downtown Kinsale to pick up a Sunday paper and come back and watch the All Ireland Football Championship on TV. But we didn't make it back until well after the game was over---which was just as well since Kerry, our favorite, lost to Tyrone.

But since the morning clouds were clearing off, we just kept walking past the news stand and strolled along the pier overlooking the yacht club's moorings. Pretty soon more stores and restaurants were opening. When we got to the far side of town in the area they call "World's End" we turned around and headed back because, well, how can you go any farther than the End of the World?

And, apparently, since it was such a calm day with only light breezes, a lot of sail boats started moving out for a sail. It was interesting to watch the crews prepare the boats and head out.

There were even a few friendly sailboat races going on. A couple we were talking to from Annapolis, Maryland, were explaining that it looked to them like a backwards race where you need to drop anchor at times to keep from going backwards in the light wind at the same time that the tide is going out.

Our attention was also pulled to the action down the street where little sailboats were rolling across the road toward the pier.

It turned out to be a class of young students taking "sailing lessons" at the Yacht Club's parking lot and then taking their "final exam" in Kinsale Harbour.

We didn't have a sailboat, but we did get on board the tour boat that gave us an hour cruise around the harbour as the captain gave us current information and the history of Kinsale.

We got to see more of Kinsale---this time from a harbour view.

We also got over to Charles Fort on the far side of the harbour which is currently being restored. It is listed as one of the best preserved "star" forts in Europe.

We also got fishing information about the boats that bring in "the catch of the day" to the area's seafood restaurants like "Man Friday" and "Fishy Fishy."

We only got to the mouth of the harbour on our tour boat, even though the Irish Sea looked just as calm as the harbour.

After our tour of the harbour, we went back to strolling through the streets of Kinsale doing the usual "window shopping." (And a small town with two very nice book stores is impressive, we think.)

Not counting the "Ol' Sea Dog" below, who wouldn't say a word, we've met a lot of nice people on our travels through Ireland. It was interesting comparing travel notes with the couple from Maryland this afternoon.

And when we went on to supper at our favorite pub in Kinsale, "Jim Edwards," we talked at length to a couple from Cork City at the next table who were out celebrating the wife's birthday. They gave us some tips on getting around Cork City after we had a thorough discussion of the world's economy and US politics.

And the food at "Jim Edwards" was so good that we forgot to take the time to take a picture of it. But we remembered to get out the camera by the time the dessert arrived---a "molten chocolate fudge cake with ice cream."

Maybe it wasn't just the hunger and the good food that made us forget to snap a picture. Could it just me more "senior moments" like this fellow we heard about?

It seems this older couple were having friends over for dinner, and after the meal the wives went to kitchen to do the dishes while the guys stayed and visited at the table.

"If you enjoyed this meal tonight," said the old man, "then you'd just love this restaurant the wife and I went to last night---but for the life of me, I can't think of the name of it."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said his friend, "we all have 'senior moments'."

"No, no, I'll get it figured out," said the old man, "what's the name of that red flower that has thorns on its branches?"

"Do you mean 'a rose'?" asked his friend.

"Yes, that's it," said the old man, "Hey, Rose, come out of the kitchen and tell us where that restaurant was that we went to last night." ;-).