Shamrocker Tour February 15-17

Shamrocker Tours is a smaller organization that runs budget tours around Ireland and is part of a larger corporation that runs budget tours all around Europe. We received an excellent rate for our last-minute adventure on the 3-day “Southern Rocker.” The only drawback to this tour? Early mornings. We had to arrive at Kinlay House Hostel around 8:00am on Friday, February 15. Upon arrival to the hostel, we went into the breakfast room where we finished our coffee and pastry from Queen of Tarts (a local bakery that is to-die-for good). We also looked at the many young people who looked to be joining us on our tour. We signed in around 8:15 with our tour guide Seán.
Now, I must give a bit of background before I continue. When we first arrived, occasionally, we would hear people say “Americans!” with a tone of love, exasperation, and mild condescension all in one. It was never rude or hostile, always affectionate, but we always wondered what exactly had let these people to know that we were American. As we were standing in the lobby of Kinlay House Hostel, after having checked in, we hear something that all of a sudden made that expression crystal clear. We hear in a high-pitched voice, full of youth and enthusiasm, “Oh my gosh! This is going to be the best tour EVER!” And Aaron & I, having lived in Dublin for the last six months and mellowed out considerably, looked at each other and said, “Americans!” These two lovely ladies were part of the affectionately named “Team Wisconsin.” 30 young people (18-23ish, with a couple exceptions), part of a three month study-abroad program in London, had ventured off to Dublin for a tour about the island. We also had two Australians, named Richard and Annaliese. We had a Canadian, named Gale, who is currently teaching at Lancaster in the UK. We also had “Team Ireland” consisting of Seán, the tour guide, John the tour guide in training, and Paul the bus driver. Aaron and I found our niche outside of “Team Wisconsin.”
We left between 8:30 and 9:00am, and started driving out of the city. We were on the road for a little while, heading towards Locke’s Distillery, one of the oldest in Ireland. It’s situated on a river, and still makes pretty potent stuff. We had an opportunity to taste un-distilled whiskey, something I will never try again. It was so alcoholic that it evaporated almost before swallowing. During the ride, we introduced ourselves to the rest of the people on the bus. It was a little peculiar becoming part of a group that had already established its social dynamics and cliques. There were a few people who became dubbed the “Pussycat Dolls” mainly because they were a little high-maintenance. It also was interesting seeing social dynamics in action. Because they had already established their circles, those of us on the outside were predominantly left to our own devices.
After the distillery, we headed to Clonmacnoise, an ancient abbey at the predominant travel crossroads of ancient Ireland. At this point, the mountain ridge forming the primary west-east route and the Shannon River, forming the primary north-south route meet. It has four high crosses, and is an exquisite place to visit. The remains of the monastery are incredible, and the vistas are incredible.
Since we had a long drive, we continued onward, stopping at a Fairy Circle. In Ireland, lore and myth are often as important as history. Bureaucratic plans have been put entirely on hold by the belief that a tree or circular mound are inhabited by the Tuatha de Dannan (the fairy rulers of primordial Ireland). These stories are real to many people, and so have power to affect their reality. I wish sometimes that as Christians, our stories held the same power. We also stopped at a Portal Domen, or standing stones that are burial sites for ancient Irish. They also have many myths and legends attached to them.
We arrived in Doolin early in the evening, and had a chance to check in to our B & B. Our host, Maeve, was a remarkably kind woman who was motherly and an icon of hospitality. She actually took orders for breakfast and our room was quite comfortable. We took a brief nap, and headed off to the pub for our evening of Irish pub entertainment. When we arrived, we had a bite to eat, and got to know some of the various others on the tour. Guinness was abundant, and there were some lessons transferred to some of the younger, less experienced drinkers -- one of them being: Do not drink with party-hearty Australians who are intent on getting you as plastered as possible. We also had a chance to get to know the tour guides better and some random other visitors from various places around the globe. Around 9:30, the music began. It was a true Irish session, meaning various people in the pub started up with the musicians as they desired, and there were even some girls dancing. Geraldine, the female vocalist, was exquisite in a very non-American-Idol way. Her voice created a hush in the very loud and boisterous pub. It was a mesmerizing experience that I can’t wait to repeat. We stayed out late, forgetting how early we had to wake up
The next morning, getting out of bed in time for breakfast was difficult, but Maeve had our interests at heart, and presented us with a french press of incredible coffee immediately upon sitting down to breakfast. We were picked up by the bus after breakfast, and thank goodness Seán had saved us seats in the front -- I can get quite carsick! Saturday was to be a very driving intensive day, as we had a lot to see! We started out at the Cliffs of Moher, which are an incredibly stark seascape. They are lovely and beautiful, and reminded me a bit of some of the cliffs on the big island in Hawaii. But they had a unique beauty all their own.
The fog was only out to the sea, so our view was unimpeded. From the Cliffs, we headed back towards the Shannon and ferried our way across. We headed for the town of Dingle. Dingle is best known for its dolphin, Fungi. It’s a sleepy little beach town, with a lovely vibe of quiet. We headed up the hill to the church of St. James, where we found incredible stained glass window art. The colors were beautiful, vivid, and extraordinarily put together. Then we had lunch and headed back on the bus for our voyage around the Dingle Peninsula.
The Dingle Peninsula is a miniature version of the well-known Ring of Kerry. We saw stone beehive huts, amazing coastline, and a few beaches (some of the Wisconsonites were even daring enough to jump in!) We again, heard stories and histories. The Potato Famine was so much more powerful to this little island than ever could be imagined. Their history is full of examples of oppression and domination. We wound our way around the peninsula
and headed back towards Dingle for a bathroom break before heading out to Killarney. Killarney was our stop for the night, and Aaron and Gale and I got checked into our B & B. Then Aaron & I took another nap before meeting the entire group for dinner at a little restaurant in downtown Killarney. Richard and some of the Wisconsonites had pre-partied a little, so they were already quite toasty. Following, we went to hear Pa. This was a fantastically funny storyteller complete with Irish humor. It wouldn’t be for everyone, because Irish humor is notoriously dry and doesn’t always have all its cards on the table, but I literally laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair. Half the time I was laughing because Pa was so funny, but the other half I was laughing because he kept cracking himself up! About 3 hours later, the group decided they wanted to hit the major party scene in Killarney, the Grand Hotel. I must admit, my party days are over, because immediately after entering this place, the “untz-untz” of the music and the crowds squishing us in together gave me agoraphobia. So we turned around and left. We had a moderately early evening and woke up the next morning refreshed and ready for our breakfast.
We met the group at the bus, and waited while the Aussie Richard overslept by a great deal. As we were waiting, stories flew round about all the festivities the night before, and I must admit, I was glad to be married and out of that scene. We finally got on the road, and headed towards Cork and the famous Blarney stone. I must admit, by the time of arrival, Aaron & I were so exhausted and unwilling to fight Team Wisconsin for the opportunity to kiss said stone that we had lunch and meandered around Blarney Woolen Mills instead, with a firm vow to one another that we would do it some other time, probably when my mom comes to visit in May. As we were running late, there really was only 1 hour to walk to the castle (20 min each way) which would have left us with 20 minutes scrambling to get in. Not our idea of a restful vacation.
After lunch, we were heading back to Dublin, and hurrying, too, because some of Team Wisconsin had a ridiculously early flight. We also had to drop off some of T.W. at the Guinness Plant. So our stop at the Hill of Cashel was cut quite short. Basically a pit stop with opportunity for pictures. We finished off our tour at the Mitchelstown Caves, unfortunately there were no pictures allowed! :( But they were phenomenal and beautiful, and we learned a bit about how these gorgeous caves were made through water pressure. A girl from T.W. sang in the caves, and it was lovely. I didn't sing because I wanted to give someone else the chance. :) Driving back into Dublin we hit traffic, but Paul the bus driver got us in on time. Afterwards, we had a long evening at a local pub, and the weekend ended well.
It seemed as though we were really just doing a discovery trip for all the things we’d like to see when next we rent a car and drive around the island.