First Visit to Ireland (September 2002)

September 8 - 22, 2002
(At left)
Barb and Wayne Harrigan with the Dunbrody at New Ross.


Sunday, September 8
After last minute calls and e-mails to everyone, Barb and I were packed and ready to leave by 3. We had a smooth flight by Air Canada to Toronto where we met our tour leader along with the rest of our tour group (Craig Travel). The overnight flight to Heathrow in London was about 6 and a half hours.

Monday, September 9
We had to change terminals in London and catch the British Midland flight to Dublin. Although we left Heathrow in pouring rain, as we descended toward the Dublin Airport, the sun peeked out and the first view of the green fields of Ireland was a delight. Our luggage was held up in London and arrived several hours later. We met our driver/guide for the tour and he drove us by bus to the Burlington Hotel where we stayed the next two nights. After our welcome dinner, we met briefly to introduce the other members of the tour, and then we were all more than ready to head to our rooms and get some sleep.

Tuesday, September 10
After a summer that was mostly rainy, Dublin provided us with a beautiful sunny day for our city tour. Our guide, Helen, had a wealth of Dublin history and trivia, and a memorable delivery. We drove first around the Georgian part of the city, reminiscent of Bath and Edinburgh. We stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, arrived just as matins was finishing. Students at the choir school sing matins and evensong daily. Jonathan Swift (“Gulliver’s Travels”) was dean for thirty years and is buried here. Our next stop was at Trinity College, the largest in Ireland. We visited the Old Library to view the Book of Kells, one of the oldest manuscripts in the world. On our own for the afternoon, Barb and I got sandwiches at Marks and Spencers and took them to St. Stephen’s Green to have them. Today the park was filled with people enjoying the sun (photo below). With help from the receptionist at Canada House, we found the National Gallery. Tonight we enjoyed Irish cabaret entertainment right at the hotel- music, comedy and dancing



Wednesday, September 11
Our bus trip started today with a few minutes silence to mark the anniversary of the events of last year in the U.S. We drove south through the Wicklow Mountains. Our first stop was at Glendalough, the ruins of a 6th century monastery. Next we went to Avoca, the village where the series “Ballykissangel” was filmed, and where now tours are given of the handweavers’ centre. Our final stop today was at New Ross where we toured a replica of the barque Dunbrody, a ship originally built in Quebec to carry victims of the Irish famine to the new world. It was about a half hour from there to the city of Waterford.

Thursday, September 12
Today we took a circular path out of Waterford, beautiful scenery, a mixture of mountains and valleys. Our first stop today was at Ballyrafter where we enjoyed a demonstration of the Irish sport horses and what they do in competitions. We walked afterwards to a nearby inn. There is a lot of wild rhododendra and fuchsia growing on the sides of the roads, heather and gorse still in bloom on the hills. We continued across the Knockmealdown Mountains to Cashel where we had our lunch stop. We drove through the farms of Tipperary to Kilkenny where we had a tour of the castle there.


Friday, September 13
Our first stop this morning was at the Waterford Crystal centre. We had a guided tour where we could follow the process of creating these treasures. It was a pleasant drive this morning through Dungarvon, Youghall, Cork and we arrived at Blarney around 12:30. We went to the castle first and I got to kiss the Blarney Stone (see photo at right)- there’ll be no shutting me up now! We had lunch at the Blarney Woolen Mills and continued on to Killarney where we’ll be the next three nights. I found an internet café and sent off some messages. Tonight I had a call from Mary Lucey, a Harrigan descendant and distant cousin, who lives in Ratooragh near Schull.

Saturday, September 14
Today we left our tour group and spent most of the day on our own. Arrangements had been made before we left Canada. We were finished breakfast and ready to leave when our guide/driver arrived around 8. We had a beautiful morning to drive through the Caha Pass (the tunnel road)- high mountains and green valleys. Our first stop was in Bantry. Next we went to Skibbereen where legend has it that the original Harrigan, John known as “Organ O’Brien” played the organ at church. On to Ballydehob and then to Schull. We called Mary from Schull on the car phone and she gave us directions to her farm.
With a little difficulty we did arrive at the 100-year-old farmhouse of the Luceys, Mary and her brother Con. (Wayne and Mary Lucey pictured
at right)


They were great hosts and served drinks and then lunch. After lunch we all piled into the minivan and headed out.









First we drove to a hill where we could view the Harrigan Rocks (pictured below-- no longer are we able to get right down to the shore. We had a clear view and got some pictures. We stopped at a church in Toormore to view a “Horrigan” tombstone which would be a relative. Most of the people in Ireland were named Horgan, Hourigan, or Horrigan. (The Harrigan name is not familiar as an Irish name to the people there. It is thought that anyone still in Ireland with our name came back from away. In the phone books I found a handful of Harrigans in Dublin, Waterford, and Killarney, and about two dozen in Galway). We continued through Goleen and stopped at Mizen Head, the last bit of Irish soil most immigrants would have seen as they sailed to the new world (photo at right).


The day exceeded my expectations in every way. We were back at our hotel around 5, had gone about 250 miles during the day. Tonight we drove to Tralee to see Siamsa Tira, a cultural concert of song and dance in gaelic, very high energy and interesting to watch.

Sunday, September 15
Our first stop was at a peat bog village (Kerry Bog Village Museum) where we could see the recreated buildings and view the ponies. Part of our trip around the Ring of Kerry was foggy, but the fog lifted and we had excellent views in the afternoon. We stopped at Waterville, a seaside village where Charlie Chaplin used to holiday, and where there is a monument to him. Our lunch stop was at Sneem- most of our lunches consisted of soups and Irish soda bread.



We saw the lakes of Killarney (at right) from impressive viewing sites. Tonight a number of us walked to a pub, where we enjoyed music and craic.







Monday, September 16
We headed north from Killarney toward Galway. We learned today that some people on our tour are experiencing symptoms of a stomach/bowel bug. Our first stop today was at Adare, an interesting village of thatched cottages and gardens. Our lunch stop was at Dunratty Castle; we had crossed the Shannon River at Limerick. There is a folk park at the castle which was interesting to see. This afternoon we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher (photo above) which we viewed under dramatic conditions. We also enjoyed the drive through the Burren, an eerie landscape of limestone rock.

Tuesday, September 17
The travelling bug has visited us- Barb was up most of the night. We decided (along with a number of others) to remain at the hotel for the day instead of trying to join the regular tour. We hear the bug is spreading through the country- several Killarney hotels were affected.

Wednesday, September 18
We decided today to join four other couples and go by minibus from Galway to Buncrana- it would be a more direct route. The drive was lovely, very scenic. We passed the little church where W. B. Yeats is buried and had our lunch stop at the Yeats Tavern in Drumcliff. We passed by Sligo and Donegal and headed up the Inishowen Peninsula. We were met by health officials who gave us a little talk. The hotel here is wonderfully situated, right on the water of the Lough Swilly.

Thursday, September 19
We were a little late leaving Buncrana because our driver was also sick during the night. I went for a long walk along the beach there. Around 11 we left for Derry/Londonderry. Our city guide showed us much of the place where several decades back bombing and riots occurred. We left the bus for a walking tour of the city centre. We finished at the Tower Museum which gives a great overview of the history of Derry. The drive to Belfast was interesting and we reached our hotel by dinner time.

Friday, September 20
Today was sunny and bright, a great day to tour. Barb is feeling much better and was able to enjoy the day. We headed toward the Antrim Coast. Viewed first the ruins of Dunluce Castle clinging to the cliffs overlooking the sea. Our first stop was at Bushmill’s, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery. We had a guided tour and video and then had some to test (hot toddies). From there we drove the mile to the Giant’s Causeway, a world heritage site (photo below). We continued along the coast to admire the Glens of Antrim. Had a comfort stop at Carnlough, a little harbour town. It was clear enough we could see Scotland across the water.


Saturday, September 21
Today we headed to Armagh, the ecclesiastical capital of Northern Ireland. We went first to St. Patrick’s Trian, a centre which explains the history of the area. We saw a Lilliputian display- Swift has a connection with Armagh. There was just enough time after lunch for Barb and me to find an internet place and receive and send messages. Lots of excitement in Armagh as the all-Ireland football final takes place tomorrow and Armagh is playing Kerry (Armagh won!). We picked up our city guide for Belfast, and had an interesting tour of the city. Made stops at City Hall, Queens University.

Sunday, September 22
We headed south from Belfast this morning under sunny skies to Downpatrick, the site where St. Patrick’s grave is located. We attended the morning service at 11:30. It was a familiar Church of Ireland prayer book service. Our last stop was at the Bruna Boinne Visitors’ Centre, an important archaeological site in the Boyne Valley. We enjoyed our farewell dinner at our hotel in the Boyne Valley.

Monday, September 23
We headed to the Dublin Airport this morning. Our first flight was uneventful. In London, we sat for two and a half hours waiting for our flight to leave, then had a 7-hour flight to Toronto. We missed our connecting flight to Moncton so we stayed overnight near the airport. We arrived home around 11 a.m. on September 24.