An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland- Getting Your Zzzzzs When Touring Ireland
This is the final article in my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland series. And Z stands for getting your zzzzzzs! When touring Ireland sleep, rest and pacing yourself on tour is absolutely key to maximising your enjoyment of the sights, activities and people you meet. And if you decide to tour the Northwest of Ireland, with the purest air in Western Europe, be prepared for how unpolluted atmosphere work like knock out drops!
So pack your favourite PJs, some ear plugs, an eye shade and your favourite sleepy herbal remedy. Allow yourself a couple days to acclimatise to the new time zone. Allow yourself to see things at a leisurely pace. People watch. Get used to the new currency. Let your stomach curl with pleasure every time you hear an Irish accent and …EVERYONE is talking with an Irish accent! Gently ease yourself into a different culture. Pacing yourself while touring Ireland will pay off in maximising your pleasure over the days and weeks you spend with us.
For many North Americans a tour to Ireland may be a once in a lifetime trip and you want to pack in as much as possible over a fortnight or less. This is a mistake.
If you read this entire series you can see just about every item if your itinerary is planned with care. You don’t have to run rings around yourself trying to tour Ireland. By prioritising what you want to see you will begin to discover in this series that you can see many of things you want to see and do in Ireland are within a circular tour.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: Yeats Country
We have arrived at the penultimate article in this series of articles on my personal A-Z of things to see in Ireland. For personal reasons as outlined in my article on the letter X – The X Factor -, you will know that Y must stand for and celebrate Yeats Country.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: The X Factor
X is for the spot to mark on the map where you suddenly turned left and happened upon that hidden gem not in the guide book as one of the things to see in Ireland. So X in my A-Z of things to see in Ireland is that unknown factor, that surprise to quicken your pulse, that place or site that becomes a secret sanctuary or sacred place. In other words, be open to serendipity. Be prepared to be a bit flexible and brave enough to go a bit off itinerary. Ireland is a country where you need to to open to allow her to take her where she wants to take you.
It’s wise when planning your itinerary for a trip to Ireland to allow some ‘give’ so you can be open to that magical moment that may be the making of your tour of Ireland.
The A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: Long Distance Walking Paths
There are only a few more letters in the alphabet to go in my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland. We have travelled quite a way, ranging around many parts of the island of Ireland. So it seems fitting to mention the many Walking Paths that you can tread in Ireland. Along these way marked ways there are plenty of things to see and do in Ireland. Because they are often situated in spectacular scenery and national parks, you will experience many of things to see in Ireland mentioned in this series.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: The Vale of Avoca
In my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland V is indisputably for the Vale of Avoca. This beautiful part of Irish countryside is very close to Dublin. For the time pressed visitor to Ireland with very few days for sight seeing, the Vale of Avoca can offer spectacular scenery along with the opportunity to see some early Christian sites at Glendalough. Personally, I do not feel that you get to know Ireland if you only stick to the cities. If you only have four days for a visit to Ireland you can have a leisurely visit to Dublin and the Vale of Avoca.
An Irish Blessing on Valentine’s Day
May you know love
spark and flair of youth’s longing
May you know love
steady flame of the hearth
May you know love
glowing embers of age
May you know love
ever changing constant
May you know love
Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ve written this special blessing for Valentine’s Day. Whether you have a partner or are single this blessing applies to us all regardless of relationship status.
My partner, Tony Cuckson, and I have been interviewed by Cavan Community radio as part of a celebration of love during Valentine’s week. We have had the privilege to explore this subject for nearly three decades. We met at a Poetry Circle so we included many of our favourites as readings during the broadcast.
The second half of the programme includes Tony, who hails from Armagh, singing one of my favourites “My Lagan Love” as well as our own musings on how relationships go through cycles and experience rebirth. If you are a lover of Irish traditional songs be sure to listen to his rendition. I know I may be partial, but sometimes it just makes me shiver to hear him sing it.
It truly is a blessing to have been able to and to continue to journey on the greatest learning curve in life. Love also introduced me to Ireland and quite independently of any love for a man I also fell in love with this land, each contour, nook, cranny and cove of it.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: The Ulster American Folk Park
Arriving at the letter ‘U’ brings us up in Northern Ireland, where there are, of course, many things to see and do. In the ancient kingdom of Ireland Ulster was the Northern kingdom and included the six counties of Northern Ireland as well as Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan, which are in the Republic of Ireland. Of particular interest to North American visitors is the Ulster American Folk Park, which is about five miles north of Omagh on the Strabane Road, in County Tyrone.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: Theatre
I know, you probably thought that with my fetish for mythic and mystic Ireland that I would pick Tara to represent T in my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland. But I realise that you need to mix things up whether you are on tour or writing a blog about things to see and do in Ireland. Also, I have to confess that earlier in my life I had a serious crush on theatre. Also, for those of you interested in Irish heritage – the theatrical contribution to Irish literature is consistently high calibre. George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, J.M. Synge are part of the historic canon. Writers like Brian Friel are still with us and the younger generation like Sebastian Barry and Gary Owen.
What is so special about Ireland is its vibrant regional theatre circuit. In a country that would fit comfortably in the state of Pennsylvania (if you swivelled it horizontal that is) there is an amazing number of small theatre venues available for touring companies and amateur groups.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland – Stone Circles, Sculpture and Seaweed Baths
As I begin the homestretch towards the end of this series ‘S’ is another multiple choice option. So today, with the letter S, I am going to suggest a number of options to tick off your list. With the letter S in my A-Z of things to see I find that we can cover ancient sites as well as modern creativity with nature and nurture work hand in hand.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: Pottery, St. Patrick’s Parades and Poetry Festivals
We are heading toward the home stretch of the A-Z of things to see in Ireland series. With the letter P I couldn’t resist any of the options, each with their own distinct appeal and constituency. So in my A-Z of things to see in Ireland let’s kick off with pottery, move on to St. Patrick’s Day Parades and then round it up with Poetry Festivals.
Beleek Pottery on the border between Fermanagh and Donegal is world famous. The geology that is widespread within the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark also contributed to the founding of the pottery in Belleek, which had deposits of kaolin necessary for the manufacture of pottery. The Pottery has a a museum, offers guided tours and has a shop and cafe. Don’t worry if you want to travel light. They will ship!
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