Bushmill Tour, Dunluce Castle and Giant's Causeway

St. Pat's info! (Computer unreliable so I posted pics first!)

1..Therese Cullen gave us a lecture on the legends of St. Patrick.  Pat immediately thought, "This may be a relative!" (Pat is a  Cullen.)  We exchanged emails and we will follow up with each other when I get home.
Marta (Prendergast) Hake will be meeting her 4th cousin Colin P. tomorrow night.
2..View of City of Armagh from Cathedral hill.
3..St. Patrick Cathedral of the Church of Ireland.
4..Shamrocks of Ireland!
5.. Chapel of Remembrance of servicemen who died serving for N. Ireland
6. Last Supper painting in the church.
7.. Catholic St. Patrick Cathedral:  on a hill also over Armagh and the two cathedrals are visible to each other.
8.. Entrance to Catholic cathedral.
9.. Tile floor with the Irish knots in the Catholic cathedral.
10..Incense and altar in the Catholic cathedral.
11.. Crucifix and tree of life.
12.. Tabernacle replicating the Ark of the Covenant to symbolize the roots of the Church.

St. Patrick's Cathedrals: Church of Ireland and Catholic

Belfast Shipyard and City Tour

Lunch:  we are definitely eating well!  Beef stew with a puff top at Crown Pub in Belfast today.  It was a beautiful pub designed by in 1898 with exquisite tin ceiling, stained glass, Italian tile and woodwork.Be
H and W shipyard (locals call them Samson and Goliath).  Story from our guide:  a gentleman who lived to be 100 told her he remembered from when he was a small boy that he saw the Titanic and never forgot the view.  Because Belfast has "mountains" around 3 sides you could go up and see the shipyard from anywhere in the city.,
Dry dock where the Titanic was floated to after initial water trial and then workers put in the motor workings, anchor and all the rest of the machinery.  The pump house built to pump water in and out could move the 20 million gallons of water in 4 minutes.  Workers entered from tunnels and stairs after the water was removed.  The original lock gate still holds back the water.
Close up of mural in West Belfast:  murals are done by locals and we heard a very interesting talk about the history of the murals and how they have changed over the years from very militant to more political.
Row houses in West Belfast.
Pat signing the Wall of Peace (1970's) to stop the daily fighting between the two neighborhoods in West Belfast.  Wall still remains but now is murals and signatures.
View of Wall of Peace.
We are having a wonderful time and it is only day 3!!

More Belfast

Stormont Northern Ireland Assembly Building:  toured and met two assembly members: one Unionist and one Sean Finn.
View of Belfast from Stormont.
Notice side view of Stormont with blackened areas:  building was used by British Royal Air Force during WWII and they tarred and put a material on to encourage vine growth to darken the building.  It took 20 men 4 years to clean it after the war.

Belfast Pictures

Bog Wood:  from 5000 years ago when the ice field in Ireland receded and was discovered when the Irish started using bog for housing and heat.  Now they make jewelry and sculptures out of it.
Flowers in front of the Jury Hotel.
Painting of the Linen Library in Belfast:  we visited and it is one of the oldest libraries in the world and had amazing old geneology resources open to the public.
M by flowers in front of City Hall:  amazing building with dome like DC capitol.
IKEA in Ireland!

Belfast Ireland

We have arrived in Belfast (yesterday) and will try to post some photos tonight.  Very educational and busy day!!

Ireland Coasts: Road Scholars Trip

My hope is to share my adventures in Ireland with friends and family at home and with Pat's friends and family.  Our journey starts in Belfast and circles the coastlines of Ireland ending in Dublin.  If you are interested, the tour is Road Scholars and is #19446RJ and can be seen at roadscholar.org