The Emerald Shores of Ireland - Part 15

The Emerald Shores of Ireland

A trip journal by David Bowers

9/2/08-9/11/08

Part 15

It has been said that Charlie Chaplin really admired the Kerry region, and we saw evidence of that as we passed a statue of Charlie Chaplin in a park alongside the road. In this park was a bus pulled over and its tour group enjoying a picnic lunch. Jerry mentioned that the German tours generally prefer to have picnics instead of lunch stops at restaurants, this is facilitated by the fact that German tour busses will sell lunches to their passengers, and I suppose if they take them to a park off the side of the road, that sort of makes them a captive audience. In a similar vein he noted that Italian busses are often stocked with a coffee bar, and one tour operator he was talking to once noted that on a week long tour he can sell upwards of 400 cups of coffee. I don't recall coffee sales on the Italian tour bus I rode in Italy. It seems that Europeans have no qualms about taking bus tours to other European nations instead if air travel, and Ireland is not a problem as they have ferries that can accommodate the busses. Jerry noted that Irish busses, as a rule, don't sell any sort of food and drink.

Past the park, we saw something that I forget what it is, it's a small stone building much in the shape of the Gallarus Oratory we saw the night before with a series of huge stone rocks in a row leading up to the building. The area seems to be popular with tourists, and earns points from me for having an American flag along with the Ireland flag. From here the road kept getting higher, and we passed another roadside park that has a statue of Mary in a little green space separating the road from the park. We kept going until we arrived at our lunch stop, the Scariff Inn in Caherdaniel. Jerry made a special note that we should be sure to check out the fabulous view they have. By the time the road gets to the little end in the road is even with the dormers in the upper level windows. Just past its Irish flag, I see the sign, a sign inviting me to "Enjoy Ireland's Best Known View (fog permitting) From our Vista Bar"

We walk around to the end of the building to the entrance and step inside, as I suspected we had to walk down a flight of stairs into the Vista Bar once we entered the building. Another American item caught my eye, it was a folk art throw that represented the Betsy Ross 13-star flag with hearts instead of stars. Perhaps they wanted to make their American lunch tour group feel more at home. The throw was folded as to obscure the message "God Bless America" on the throw, well obscure it except if you can read mirror writing. We continued down into the stairs to the Vista Bar, and even from a distance the view out the windows is breathtaking. Hey look, it's the second snooker table I have seen in one day. They have skillfully laid out their restaurant so to get to the cafeteria serving line you have to walk through their gift shop. We managed to get out of the gift shop without buying anything and headed down the cafeteria line. I decided to try another Irish favorite, the shepherds pie, which was served with a dinner roll, cole slaw and tossed salad. Interesting to see those two together. When we got to the beverage case I was looking over the beers and I guess they sensed I didn't see what I wanted as a server approached me, "Drink from the bar?" I ordered a Guinness, and they had it out to me and on my tray before I got to the cashier station. Here is where I really hope the cashier collected for my Guinness, a reasonable assumption, as I know the bar attendant didn't ask me for payment nor did I stop at the bar on my way out. After I paid the cashier a waitress picked up my tray before I could and carried it into the dining room. Gee, I don't really need help, but then I noticed they were carrying everybody's trays into the dining room and seating people. We joined a single who was eating alone in our tour to better use a table of four.

Shepherds Pie is a neat concocation, you take a base made of meat, add to it some mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes, and then cover that all up with melted cheese. Pretty good quick lunch if you ask me. After eating our food, we left the table as the dining room was still busy with people looking for tables. Besides this way we can check out the view from the Vista Bar, and then we found out we can see the same view from the parking lot which has the benefit of not having to take pictures through windows. So we slowly gathered in the parking lot, taking pictures, socializing and looking around.

Back on the road we heard the legend of the Captain's House. All it is really is a house that is built to resemble a boat. Of course the locals and the guides can't let it go at that, so a legend has been made up about how the house belongs to a sea captain who wanted a home we could feel at home in. We then saw some nice beach areas along the shoreline. Further along we passed a house decorated with caricatures of famous Irish writers, I think we might have seen O'Connell's house, I know we saw the sign for it, but if we did I didn't have my camera ready fast enough.

Our next stop would be Sneem, and it would be a rest stop. Here we were able to get off the bus, take rest stop and then we had about have an hour to walk through the quaint little town. The main square was lined with two story stores, each with its own distinctive color, yes they might even be the same building but they want to make it clear that it is a different business. Again they use colors we just don't have, or at least not commonly use, making the village a prime candidate for getting "quaint European village" or "quaint Irish village" photos, right down to its Shell gas station by the bridge. Speaking of the bridge it overlooks a cascading rapids that runs down to a park below, and beyond that you have nice view of the village of Sneem. Walking back through the village, we stopped for an ice cream as a desert after our lunch. It seems like every other store in Sneem offers ice cream. Down one road we say a Doctor's Surgery, with hours that make our doctors look accommodating. Something like two to four hours a day. We took several pictures, enjoyed the town square with its old fashioned announcements board and modern art sculpture in the middle. After our stop at Sneem, we veered off the Ring of Kerry road, and headed towards Moll's Gap.

More scenic shots as a river cuts through a valley, and then we headed into Killarney National Park. Jerry mentioned we should be fortunate there are so many trees to enjoy, as during the years under English rule they had viewed Ireland as an inexhaustible supply of wood and deforested darn near the entire country. What wasn't left by deforesting was taken for "military reasons" to eliminate hiding places the Irish natives were using. He noted there is a problem though, there is one kind of plant that is growing so thick that it is cutting off sunlight to the ground below, if you drive through a patch of them, which we will, you will think you are driving through a tunnel. Our next stop was Ladies View, don't worry gentlemen you can see it to. So named because the Lady referrd to was the Queen of England who chose this sport as her favorite scenic spot in the area. Now we get to see it. It's a nice overlook where you can see the lakes of Killarney in the distance while enjoying the hills and valleys.

As we headed on, Jerry was just a bit late in asking us to pay attention to the next road sign. Oh I saw it, but I didn't get the camera ready in time. It looks like the traditional Irish road directional sign pointing across the road, except it was painted in bright colors and the warning was "Leprechaun Crossing". This, of course, prompted Jerry to tell us a leprechaun tale, after first making sure we were all familiar with the little playful elves that protect the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and all that stuff of Irish folklore. His story was that one day a boy was walking and he spotted a leprechaun, taking firm hold of the little guy and not daring to let go or let him out of his sight, he asked "Where is the pot of gold?" The answer "The pot of gold, oh its just right in the forest here, let me show you". Keeping a firm grasp so as to prevent escape, the leprechaun leads him deep into the forest., indicates a tree and says the pot of gold is buried right under this branch. Now this forest is full of the same sort of tree, and the boy lets the Leprechaun go, and of course the little man disappears in a hurry. The boy starts trying to work the ground but alas the ground is too hard. He decided to take a sock off, and tie it to the branch that was indicated, run home, get his shovel, and come back and get the loot. This plan worked just as intended until he got back to the forest, and found the same identical sock hanging from the same exact branch on every tree in the forest. Anyway, I hear the sign is taken in every night due to the constant roadway theft at night, by day it is next to a craft store that can keep an eye on it. I did not go into the store, but I have to wonder, if the signs keep disappearing if the store has considered mass producing them and selling them in the store? I know Kennywood amusement park sells their famous yellow arrow signs in the gift shops for a similar reason, just like they sell the mission bells that line the main mission highway in California. At least that allows honest people the chance to buy what they covet instead of having to turn criminal.

Switching to a grimmer topic, earlier on our trip, somebody had asked about the Irish Famine, and Jerry indicated he would hold that story until he had suitable time, and now he figures he has suitable time. Before I begin, I will say it was fascinating hearing about a historical event that I've heard before from the Americans point of view, being told by the Irish point of view. Instead of an Immigration story, its an emigration story. The story as we have usually heard it is when we learn US history in school, about the melting pot society and the great influx of immigrants in the 1800's It as usually explained that the reason they wanted to basically leave everything behind and start over in a strange land is they were coming for a better life. Now we hear the story from the other side.

You may recall during the week Jerry had laid the foundation for this when he talked about feudal society on the first day, and the about the difference between the castle dwellers and the cabin dwellers on the third touring day. It only make sense that on the 5th touring day (6th day of the trip) we have the story come to a head. You might recall I mentioned how the commoners were only allowed to keep enough money to live a bare bones lifestyle, if that. As it turned out the Irish diet was heavily laden with potatoes as they were the only crop that could sustain their lives given their small land areas. As you might fear, this works out fine until the potato crop fails, which it did, several years in a row. When the potato crops failed hunger became a real issue, and that was including possible eviction by heartless landlords when the money stopped rolling in. Lack of nutrition lead to diseases spreading very rapidly. What's worse, is there was ample food in Ireland to share on a food aid basis, but as the people of Ireland continued to suffer, England continued to export large amounts of the food from Ireland for its own use. Public assistance wasn't helping out much either, as the rules were written in such way to preclude most from being eligible. There was a rule about if you had more than a quarter acre of land, which in an agricultural society is highly likely, you could not claim public assistance. Some fled to the workhouses on the sheer hope of being allowed in and being fed. Those that could, started to emigrate from Ireland, often to North America. Those who couldn't afford it were sometimes sponsored by their landlords who wanted to be rid of their now non-producing tenants with a sort of international severance package. Most though caught boat rides on unscrupulous ships that were either low priced or they traveled free on an indentured servant type arrangement.

Here is where the situation worsened, as the owners of the boats had very dangerous practices, for starters they would crowd the boats way over their intended capacity, oftentimes turning former cargo holds into massive dormitories with very close quarters. Of course the more room in the boat they use to cram full off vulnerable poor people who are willing to risk it all in the hopes of a better life, the less room they have for provisions. Severe overcrowding, with inadequate provisions is sure to be a disaster waiting to happen, and it was. Estimates say usually a third of the passengers on any of these boats usually dies en route and since the other passengers who were in tight quarters for maybe a month or more didn't want to deal with the stench and possible illness that could be invited by hauling a dead body, they mercilessly threw them overboard. Jerry quipped that the sharks used to just follow behind the boats. Arriving in America was no assurance either, as we had instituted a quarantine program to prevent whatever disease they had from spreading into the United States. The quarantine period is said to have been the last straw for some that made it. Jerry admitted that since there is no good documentation of what really happened, the political sides will skew the death/emigration rate as suits their cause. Those who wanted a free Ireland compare it to a genocide by England on the Irish people with a large toll on the population, those in favor of staying with England will say that it wasn't nearly that bad, and cite a much lower number.

So, there is the Irish Potato Famine in extreme Cliff's notes version. The history lesson allowed us to get to Muckross House part of Killarney National Park,. We enter the park and pull into a crowded coach park, taking the last parking space remaining. Large friendly signs warn us the exit gates will automatically close at park close. We depart the bus and head up a trail stopping just outside Muckross House. Muckrosss House is one of those giant mansion homes in the center of a park and garden, sort of like Biltmore back in the United States. Here Jerry divides the group up into those who want to ride the jaunting cars, and those who want to take a walking tour with him. We join the jaunting car group, which winds up being 13 people. At about this time, a representative of the jaunting car attraction meets us, and Jerry gives him some instructions regarding what to show us and the like. This particular area of the park is motor vehicle free, and in addition to guided park tours, the jaunting cars can also serve as a sort of taxi service. One the details are arranged, those of us who are to take the ride head off with the jarvee, and the rest of the group meets up with Jerry.