Tour De Ireland

The first picture is a shot of the fortress Dun Aengus, the second is a great picture of two natural beauties. Cindy and Ireland's Cliffs of Moher.

Situated in County Clare and bordering the Burren Area, the Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's most spectacular sights. Standing 230 metres above the ground at their highest point and 8km long, the Cliffs boast one of the most amazing views in Ireland. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay as well as the valleys and hills of Connemara.

We got to visit this amazing site on day 3 of our Ireland Tour with our good Friend Erika Lundien, her Mom Deb, brother Fred and friends Paul Devlin (our fearless guide and owner of Devlin Tours) his wife Missy, Cathy and Gary Utlat, Karen, Mark and our fearless driver Tommy the Turtle.

The first two days of the the tour were spent visiting Galway and the afore mentioned Aran Islands which are a lot different and in some ways I am sure similar to Roatan.

The first day upon our arrival in Ireland was spent in Galway. This area of Ireland is famous for still having a large Galic speaking population. It is a great combination of college and tourism town and that all leads to fine pubs and lots of great entertainment. We enjoyed a nice night with a good meal and a walk aroudn this old town. Some of the group even stayed out to the wee hours hearing the original Irish Rebel Band the wolf tones. This band has been signing for and about Irish independence and their struggle since 1963.

Ireland received its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and is really a very young country. The first fore gin nation to recognize Ireland as a new nation was the USA and so its of little surprise that the USA embassy is alone in the same park in Dublin as the Irish Prime Ministers house.

The 2nd day we toured Inis Mor one of the Aran Islands. This small and very rock place makes for an interesting day trip. The highlight was visiting Dún Aengus. It stands on the edge of a sheer cliff nearly 100m high. There is more than just a breathtaking cliff as on this site There is also an imposing stone wall of the inner fort, an almost semi circular enclosure on the cliff edge. It has outer defences enclosing a total area of 14 acres. Outside the wall is the remains of “Chevaux -de-Frise, large stones set at differing angles in the ground. These stones were placed to make it difficult for attackers. To learn more about it after the trip I looked up the following info at irish-society.org

What is this structure doing in this place? When was it built? Who built it? Archaeologists, historians, antiquarians have no definitive answers to these and other questions about Dun Aengus. This is a fort with no water supply or evidence of dwellings, hardly suited for a long siege. Estimates on its time of construction range from a few centuries B.C. to the eighth or ninth century. Its builders - perhaps the legendary Fir Bolgs, perhaps the Danes.

The Fir Bolgs are thought to be a Celtic people from the continent who interact in Irish history-mythology with the Milesians, the Tuatha De Danann, and the Fomorians. The earliest description of West Connaught by Roderick O'Flaherty: "On the south side of Dun-Engus ... It is named of Engun PicHuathmore of the reliques of the Belqmen in Ireland, those living about the birth-time of Christ."

The Irish writer J. M. Synge accepts this history as true history when he writes about Dun Aengus, "I prop my book open with stones touched by the Fir-bolgs." Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde, hosted a reception in Dun Aengus in 1857 and in his remarks, he too accepted the Fir-Bolgs as builders: "I believe I now point to the stronghold prepared as the last standing place of the Firbolg Aborigines of Ireland, to fight their last battle if driven to the western surge ..."

Some Aran opinion, influenced by the 15th century Welsh historian Giraldus Cambrensis, accepts the Danes, Norse raiders of the ninth and tenth centuries, as the builders of Dun Aengus. Neither legend nor history helps an investigator to answer his questions about Dun Aengus. Even its name is a subject of argument.

Perhaps unknowable, Dun Aengus is nonetheless real, a place of awe and inspiration, the "Acropolis of Aran" it is "the most magnificent barbaric monument now extant in Europe."

IF you get the chance to visit Ireland plan for 2 days in the Galway area.