This was our first day in Dunlavin and County Wicklow. Tynte House proved to be very comfortable - very quiet rooms: we were all concerned that John had gotten no rest in the night since none could hear him sleeping, but Sheila assured us that he had slept soundly - it was the thick, quieting walls that had isololated him from us.
Kate and I made several short walks up to the corner to see if the Piece of
Cake bakery was open - it looked like a possible source of pastries and coffee.
I had heard stirring in the building during ourfirst walk by, but on the second, a boy of perhaps ten walked out in soccer attire. We badgered him until he cheerily confessed that the bakery was not open on Sundays but would be open during the week at 'half nine'. So, back to the house to devise a method of making coffee - using several pots and a wire mesh strainer. (There were no cofee pots nor French presses to be had here in Dunlavin.) The first pot was not a complete failure but looked rather like (our mother) Marcella's coffee - weak tea. John streamlined the process and by the time Just Patrick arrived, it was grand - or at least quite acceptable.
We gathered everyone into two cars by about half ten and set out to explore
County Wicklow. Rachel, our waitress at Burke's Pub the night before had given
us easy directions to get to Hollywood, our first turning point after Dunlavin.
We had gone perhaps 100 yards before we took the wrong fork in the road and
had to turn around - a new speed record for missing our turn according to Just
Patrick.
But we maintained our calm and, taking great sweeping circular routes, made
our way towards Glendlough via the Gap of Wicklow. Mountain roads in Wicklow
provided little challenge after the roads of Kerry so we breezed to the top
of the Gap in small time and stopped in a cold, light drizzle to view the overlook.
Below us was part of St Kevin's trail.
Right at hand was an informational plaque describing a 4000 year-old pine which we could not at first locate. It came into view when the two motorcylists who were sharing the view while having a smoke, removed their helmets resting atop the stump of the tree, put out their cigarettes in a water-filled knot-hole in the 4000 year old stump and drove off. It was good to see that even such an ancient tree still had some utililty.
Just at the bottom of the hill was Glendalough.
- an ancient monastic village. The parking lot had many tour busses and
a guide there told us that it was much more crowded on Sundays so we just took
a quick look at the visitors center to get the lay of the land - we'd come back
another day to look around. So back into the cars and down the road to The Meetings
- the spot where the Avonbeg and Avonmore rivers meet to form the Avoca river.
There was supposed to be traditional music in the afternoon on their outdoor patio (just beyond Molly in this picture). We had lunch inside, once again finding tables for twelve. Not the usual fare - toasties, bangers, smoked trout salad, potato leek soup. Perhaps a pint or two around the table.
Down the road a few miles to Ballykissangle, (actually Avoca - but the village
where the BBC TV show Ballykissangel was filmed.) The main street is on a narrow
street tucked against a hill on one side and the Avoca river and is perhaps
1/4 mile long. Fitzpatrick's Pub is billed as the most well-known pub in Ireland
as a result of the tv show.
We walked the length of the village a couple times and Patrick and John bought Irish caps - quite handsome. They'll blend right in with the locals now for sure.
After refreshing ourselves with a Magna ice cream bar and a short rest on the
banks of the Avoca river, we drove back up the road to The Meetings for the
music. The patio was nearly filled when we got there about 1:45. We found a
spot along a stone wall with a decent view of the stage. A bit before the start
at 2pm, the table in front of us freed up and we had a comfy spot. The music
was not really traditional- a keyboard, fiddle, accordian, and bhodran (played
by the 12 year old grandson of the singer.)
They sang mostly old ballads from surrounding counties. It was pleasant enough even though not the traditional music we had expected. But the star of the afternoon was the audience - 90% was comprised of elderly women who had arrived on tour busses and who all sang, danced, drank pints, smoked and laughed.
They were delightful. As each bus load departed towards the end of the afternoon, they all waved goodbye to the remaining audience as the busses drove out.
Enlivened by the music, even a couple of Kanes tried dancing.
We drove back to Dunlavin and went back to Burkes Pub - this time to the back room, the main dining area. They had run out of potatoes!! (except for chips) so we couldn't have their delicious mashed potatoes. But they had a wonderful seafood chowder with big pieces of salmon, some crab in a thin broth. Many tried that.
We closed up Burkes then walked around Dunlavin - up to the square or Fair Green:
the site of an execution/massacre in 1798 when some 40 Irishmen were butchered (the term used in the slogan that was written around the top of the walls in Burkes dining room) by a British regiment. The slain included one Matthew Farrell - possibly a relative of ours.
Then, to bed.