St Patrick's Day 2016

I won 2 tickets last minute for the Bow Street Sessions at the Jameson Distillery, thanks to Hotpress magazine. The night included free food and a few drinks whilst we enjoyed the musical styling of Otherkinok and +Maverick Sabre. A particular hightlight was the collaboration of Maverick Sabre with Dublin Gospel Choir covering +Adele Hello. It was a great way to spent a night out and especially in the lead up to my birthday and my week off from work.

I was taken away to bray for a few days to celebrate my birthday and spend time alone with Paddy. The days we spent there, were quiet yet perfect and we decided after it, to move in together, the following weekend. Once all the logistics were all taken care of and everyone got all settled in with the new arrangement. We decided to arrange an apartment day out together, as the weather was promised to be nice, we decided to head to +Dublin Zoo, somewhere where we all enjoy going. An interesting antidote was, while all of us were waiting for the Asian Elephants talk, we had a pre-talk entertainment as the Bull elephant decided to illustrate an education talk in the form of the birds and bees, which was so funny as the parents panicked trying to distract the young children from watching it.

With the year that was in it, +Niamh  and myself, expected that the crowds for the St Patrick's Day were gonna be outrageously massive, that we decided to go in for the parade early. Considering how early we managed to get in, the crowds on O Connell Street were too bad for our liking and decided to head back towards the spot we had last year, which luckily enough we managed to get a decent spot to watch the parade. Typically the Irish way of doing this, the start of the parade was nearly 45 mins late starting however despite how cold the wind was, the parade was worth the effort and wait. The fact we got our spot early, was definitely lucky as the crowds gathered were the biggest ever.

 

Once the parade finished, we dashed quickly out of the city centre before the drunken madness that descends onto Temple Bar commenced. En route out, I noticed on Instagram, that there seemed to be something going on at Old Jameson Distillery in Smithfield. When we got there, we noticed that they were hosting an event called St Patricks Hub for the day, with live music indoors and out in the courtyard. Talking to someone while listening to one of the acts, she told us that they were giving away free, freshly printed sweatshirts there live by Damn Fine Print in front of you and original signed art work by the artist James Earley.

After having some well earned food at Jo Burger, we enjoyed some more music and a drink before heading home. It was the perfect way to finish the day after the parade.

 

The Wednesday during Easter Week, I finally managed to see the inside of St Werburgh's Church after years of trying.

 

Easter 1916 Centenary

I happened to have a day off, just before St Patricks day, and with everyone else working, I decided to  check out the Proclaiming a republic : The 1916 Rising Exhibition which is was on in the Riding School at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. The exhibition contains one of the largest displays of materials from the period, many of the objects have never been on public display before and others such as the Irish Republic flag which flew over the GPO, has been specially conserved. This exhibition explores the background to the Rising, events of Easter week itself through the everyday, intimate and personal belongings of the participants, scenes of the surrender of the rebels and also explore the stories of those who were imprisoned and interned. A particular eerie highlight are the last letters of those sentenced to death, which are displayed alongside their belongings that were in their cells in Kilmainham Gaol, within a sombre space. This 1916 exhibit is worth a visit. +Niamh did the Outdoor exhibition in St Stephen's Green telling the events of the rising that occurred there over 20 illustrated exhibition panels, the Saturday after. The funny thing was that evening, she was telling me how good the exhibition was, as I was about the one at Collins Barracks, which she ended up doing on her day off the following Tuesday. Paddy and myself did the outdoor one that afternoon too on route to visit his parents.

 

As the week processed, we convinced our parents to come up for Easter and to finally meet Paddy. They even surprised us by deciding to come up a night earlier then originally planned. As I was telling them about the Easter 1916 Lost Leaders March, that was taking place on Good Friday from Kilmainham Gaol to Arbor Hill arranged by Sinn Fein. After getting the introductions out of the way, when they arrived up Thursday evening, we were all soonenjoying ourselves, laughing away. On Good Friday morning, we got up early to make sure we got there in time and to soak up the atmosphere at the Gaol. By the time the March finally got underway, 45 mins late typical Irish time keeping, instead of starting at midday as advertised, a massive crowd and participants had gathered for the March. The Procession/Parade itself was very well done and bigger than my parents or myself thought it would be. I forgot how big the hill up to Arbor Hill was, it had nearly taken the wind out of us. We got lucky with our position for the ceremony and speeches itself. It was a pity that the March began late as half way through Gerry Adams Speech, I had to dash off to catch the LUAS to work after I had dropped my parents off in town, luckily I managed to just make it in time. We all agreed that despite how severe the March was it was worth the pain and effort.

 The following morning, I decided to treat Paddy to a visit to the +GuinnessStorehouse, as in all his years he'd never been despite being a Guinness drinker himself. I had brought early bird tickets online before we went, which proved very lucky as the queues for both cash and online tickets were massive. I got talking to one of the staff, who was asking people in the queue, if anyone had early bird tickets, as they were only valid until 11.30am and it was almost that, so we were able to skip the queue and go straight in. Although I had been there before, I enjoyed the visit nearly as much as Paddy and was intrigued how much they had changed the tour since my last visit there. I personally am not a Guinness drinker myself, but even I enjoyed the smooth pint up in the Gravity Bar and the staff were so friendly up there too. It ended up being a late night drinking and bonding which ended up being quite fun.

 

The following morning, Easter Sunday, Niamh and myself got up early and left for town, as everyone else was still in bed, for the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony & Parade. As we didn't want to get quashed with the crowds, we managed to get a perfect spot up at Christchurch, just as Military Parade was beginning to arrive into area, before halting until the Flag Ceremony at Dublin Castle. In the end we both felt we got very lucky with our spot, as we able to see the parade perfectly and observed other events on the big screen located nearby. After Military parade, we headed for home and get our parents on the bus home to Clare, which was managed via a detour for them with Dublin Bus to the Red Cow to meet the coach for Ennis. It was a great weekend, even better with the parents coming to stay and visit.

Due to the LUAS strike, I had to get a bus anyways to work on the Bank Holiday Monday, I decided to go with Niamh into town early, to experience some of the RTÉ Reflecting the Rising on O'Connell St before, or that was the plan, before we decided on going to the Rotunda Hospital for their exhibition entitled Rotunda: Birth of a Nation which showcases the lives of five prominent medical women throughout Easter Week 1916, through a series of selected items from private collections, video footage and graphic and print wall hangings. Soon after leaving this exhibition, I left Niamh on O'Connell St to enjoy the events, while I sprinted away for the bus out to work. Niamh was telling me  that of the 4 areas with events on, that O Connell Street was by far the best. She was saying that Joe Duffy's Liveline 1916 special, Discovery Gospel choir, Simon Morgan and Lisa Lamb, and the Lost Boys were particular highlights. What made the trip into town more worth it especially with the wind and cold was meeting up with her friend Helena and having a good catch up.

 As I am usually off on Tuesdays, I decided to make the most of it by seeing some more of the exhibitions ongoing in town. I walked into town, so I could get into the Four Courts and check out the Bullets, Books & Barricades exhibition, that the Bar of Ireland and the Courts Centenary Commemoration Committee produced  to explore the background to the Easter Rising, The battle of the Four Courts area ranging from Church Street, North King Street, Stoneybatter and Smithfield and occupation of the Four Courts itself and the aftermath and executions are also included with the consideration of the Rising's legacy. Trying to find the open entrance to Round Hall was proving difficult, after getting lost yet again, I asked someone for the third time, where it was and they then realised that as the judges were on holidays for Easter, the main entrance on the quays was closed until Friday. So after getting through security, and finding the Round Hall, the long way around through the Four Courts itself, I was at the exhibit. I think due to the fact it being a Tuesday after Easter and the main entrance closed I had the whole exhibit to myself which was quiet, peaceful and well done. A building I wanted to see the inside for years and was finally open to the public is the Custom House which was open for the 2 weeks of Easter. The Custom House, is the architectural masterpiece of James Gandon and the exhibition inside outlines the history of the building and describes the events in the building during Easter week and considers the history of the building and its occupants from 1916 until 1921 when the building was completely destroyed by fire during the War of the Independence. Once I was finished with the exhibition, I managed to time it perfectly to witness, the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins departing from Liberty Hall, who was there for the Commemoration event for the Irish Citizen Army and James Connolly.

 

To round off my day of 1916 commemorative exhibitions, I finished with the RCSI's exhibition entitled Surgeons and Insurgents - RCSI and the Easter Rising which tell the story of the rising through the human stories of key figures associated with the college and the Easter Rising. The Exhibition is free and open to the public weekdays. The building is significant as it's  the only building directly involved in the Rising that stands as it did in 1916, with all others being rebuilt or demolished. The exhibition consists of personal items from figures such as Countess Markievicz to Margaret Skinnider who were with the garrison of the Irish Citizen Army and housed within the college and describes the lives of key figures from both sides.

To try something different one day after work, Paddy and myself went to the Open Gate Brewery at Guinness on the following Thursday evening, which cost 6€ and included a tasting board consisting 4 different exclusive beers, each with various degrees of success. We both agreed the Dubliner Wheat was the one, we both liked most, so much so we ordered a pint each, costing 5€. 

Later in April, on my day off, I finally got the opportunity and chance to check out the renovated old courthouse at the Kilmainham Gaol, which pretty cool to see and observe the historical building mostly untouched from its hay day, with it's original jury balcony and register of convicts sentenced which is opened to page of Constance Markievicz sentence. 

Late Wednesday night, +Paddy turns to me and says do you want to go to the +WWE Live event at +3Arena Dublin the following night, if there was tickets still available. I said sure, as this is a big part of you, I'm gonna show an interest and try get involved and get into it. Tickets bought, I arranged to get 2 passes into the Bar Neon to chill in before the event. Once the event got underway, I must admit I got into it more than I thought I would. The atmosphere from the crowd for the wrestlers entrance and during the fights was contagious. The fight between +Roman Reigns and +WWESheamus BrogueKick  really got everyone cheering and shouting. It was the perfect way to finish the event, which had been such a fun night, although it was my first WWE live event doubt it will be my last.

The following weekend was my weekend off, Niamh and myself decided to head into town and soak up the atmosphere. On the Saturday on our way to Henry Street shopping, we noticed the Easter Rising Commemorative speech outside the GPO which was organised by Sinn Fein. There wasn't much else on that day but on the Sunday, their was a Reclaim 1916 Event. The event was organised by Reclaim the Vision of 1916 initiative, as a way for the people by the people event, celebrating the 1916 Rising and urging all towards its vision of a republic of equality. We had arrived to O' Connell Street early, and got a very good position for the open air event just in front of the Spire and near to the GPO. As we arrived so early, we managed to witness the musicians have their soundcheck before the event. The event commenced by 4 uilleann pipers and 4 harpists from our 4 provinces. Adrian Dunbar was the MC for the event, which had Fionnula Flanagan give several readings, and Stephen Murphy recite his own poem 'Was It For This?' which had everyone captivated and when he finished the thousands in the crowd, cheered and shouted which was totally justified as it was such an emotional recital.

Music was provided by singers Don Baker, Francis Black and Damien Dempsey and musician Donal Lunny. The event concluded with the national anthem. Later that night, while online, I came across that the nearby St James's Graveyard was opening for a special blessing of a grave, first time that this now closed graveyard will be open in over 25 years.

 The following morning, I luckily enough remembered to cross the road to the church, to wait for the Mass to finish before the procession over to the graveyard. The priest decided to wait until 11 am before heading over, which gave me enough time to check out 1916 exhibition - Rising in the Union within Parochial Hall next door to the church. At 11 am, a good crowd crossed the road towards the graveyard, is located behind the new whiskey distillery which is still a building site, so we all had to be careful making our ways towards the grave of Lieut George Fullerton who had been killed during the easter rising. After the blessing of the grave by the priest, a veteran of the armed forces played our national anthem at the grave side using a bag pipes.

Pride of Ireland

Not long after our parents left on the bus back to Clare, I was wondering what will I do with my week off. After a suggestion from +Niamh, I emailed Enniskillen Hotel about a prize I won in the Rte Guide a few months ago, just hadn't the time to use previously. As I still hadn't heard back by lunchtime on the Monday, we decided to organise backup plans in case. Just as we were finalising plans, and heading to book a tour, I get a reply back saying the Bronte Suite was available for the nights I wanted which was great. I confirmed the booking immediately. Now only issue was, was what to pack. I met Niamh after her meeting the following morning, and we quickly got few bits before getting the 13.30 Bus Eireann bus towards Enniskillen. After a slight delay we finally arrived to the hotel just before 5 pm. The Bronte Suite was fabulous no wonder it is the hotel's best room. As part of the 2 night stay, I also got a nice bottle of white wine and dinner. I kept wine for later in the week to use to celebrate Pride. That night we had dinner at the nearby Wethespoon's Linen Hall, which was exactly what we needed after all that travelling on the bus. After dinner we went exploring around the town on the way back to the hotel, which I had arranged for a Bushmills whiskey tasting with the hotel's whiskey expert Alex. Throughout the tasting he was so funny and made the whole experience quite fun. We called it a night after that as we were both wrecked and wanted to do and see a lot the next day.

We went down for breakfast a tad later then we planned, and decided after the nice breakfast to make the effort to really enjoy it properly the next morning. After breakfast, we set out to see what sights the town had for us. Being me of course I visited the two main churches within the town, before paying a visit to the headhunter barbers which is home to the railway museum. This museum within the barber impressed both myself and Niamh, as it told the story of the railway in the area until it closed and the amount of artefacts was quite extensive. From this museum we strolled down to EnnisKillen Castle before walking towards Portora Castle via the Portora Royal School which in the past had been Home to both Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde at different times as students. On the way to and from the castle we saw the playing fields which was used for General Eisenhower's visit to inspect the American soldiers stationed there before Invasion of Normandy. 

 

After exploring around the castle, we made the trek back towards Forthill Park, as I wanted to climb Cole's monument to see the view from the top. I nearly winded myself climbing up the 108 steps to the top. Although after the run up those steps I was out of breath, and the wind which I was greeted with was unexpected , the view from the top was breath taking especially seeing all of Enniskillen and River Erne. We took a few mins to recharge our batteries, after which we started the trek to try and find Castle Coole which was about a 40/45 mins walk away. As we found the wrong entrance, the nice guy at the pedestrian entrance was very nice to let us in, although we hadn't any cash on us, we both think he felt sorry for us, as it looked like it was about to start pouring, luckily enough was only a very quick passing shower. To be fair on the young lad, he tried to sell us the National Trust passes, although we had no interest we listened, as he let us in for free and the fact he was cute did no harm either. We ended up doing nearly all of the walks around the estate, from around the lake, down to the ice house, around the house before we left through the same entrance again. The long walk back to the hotel for dinner was made via a visit to the local ASDA, where we stocked up on low cost meds and few treats. We had the complimentary dinner in Wilde's bar, as it was off season for the hotel, the meal it self was lovely except for my Risotto which I personally found very bland, although the hotel staff were great about it and I got sorted which was nice. After dinner we were both exhausted as it was such a long day with all that walking. 

 We did actually get up early for breakfast, and it was even better than the previous one. We even had time for a post breakfast snooze before check out. The receptionists at the hotel throughout our stay were all very friendly and helpful. As we had some time before next bus, I wanted to get few vegetarian products at ASDA which I had never seen before and wanted to try. Like the bus up on Tuesday, the bus back to Dublin was late in this case nearly 30 mins. The journey back itself was very uneventful and relaxing. Once we arrived back, on the way back to the apartment, we stopped off at the Wild Rovers office on Bachelors Walk to book our tour to Belfast and Giants Causeway for the following morning. We were able to both get students tickets which saved some money which was great. We then had to rush home to quickly change and put the food away before heading out to Miele Gallery in Citywest for the Neven Maguire Demonstration evening. I must say I personally was more impressed about the event then I thought it was going to be. We got some cool recipes and even got chance to talk and get our photo taken with Neven. After this event, we had to wait for bus back into town, where we were meeting cousins from Australia who had met our parents and other members of our family previously in the week. It was strange yet interesting meeting Jamie and his wife Josie, before we knew it hours had passed and was time to leave the Brazen Head as we all had early starts the next day. It was great to finally meet them after the emails and calls.

Friday morning we both were up before 6 am to get ready for tour, it was great that the pick up spot was only about 15 mins away and we knew where to go. I was happy out that had prepared a packed lunch and drinks for the day as I knew it was gonna be about long day and we could buy sandwiches at the morning coffee break before we crossed the border. After we boarded the brand 151 bus and got settled and everyone was picked up, we made our way up the motorway passing through the Boyne Valley, our tour guide Robbie told us all the itinerary for the day beginning with Belfast, where you had the option to do a Black Taxi political tour or the Titanic Museum. We chose the Black Cab as we had done Titanic before. We made a coffee break at Applegreen where we got a 5 euro sandwich deal which sorted food for later on the trip. We arrived into Belfast about 9.40 where we got into the Black Taxi with 3 others with our driver Pat. Pat was brought up on the Falls Road, he brought us on a personal political tour of both the Falls and Shankhill Roads, bringing up close to some of famous murals on the Peace Wall, where we got to sign our names on to the Peace Wall. It was quite an interesting tour especially from someone actually who grew up in the area. We met the rest of the tour group at the Titanic Quarter, with even time to have a quick glance around the building. 

Once everyone was back on the bus, we departed Belfast and started the Coastal part of the tour, beginning with a stop at the Dun Luce Castle used as a film location as House of Greyjoy for The Game of Thrones. During this pitstop, the sun finally decided to make an appearance and the rest of the day was sunny and warm. During the coastal drive, Robbie and the Bus driver Ritchie, highlighted other film locations used for Game of Thrones such as Ballintoy used as Village of Pike and Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge as House of Baratheon. We stopped for our lunch at the Giant's Causeway, just before we disembarked Robbie told us the 3 different stories about how the Giant's Causeway were formed, the Creationist, Scientific and of course the famous Mythological Fionn Mac Cool which got the biggest reaction on the bus which was funny. We had about 2 hours stop here for lunch, Niamh and myself decided to walk and explore about first and eat after. Luckily  we decided to do that, as we got distracted by walking further and further enjoying the coastal landscape. By the time we actually got down to the Giant's Causeway itself which is Northern Ireland's only UNESCO World Heritage Site, time was going against us, we still were able to enjoy it fully and make it back on the bus with time to spare and then able to eat. Our last stop of the day was at the Carrick-A-Rede Rope bridge which was only about 10/15 mins down the road from the Giant's Causeway. The rope bridge from the main land to the island is connected by a rope bridge over a 30 m deep and 20 m wide chasm. Poor Niamh who has a slight fear of heights was unable to attempt the bridge, I felt the steps down the bridge itself more unnerving than the bridge itself. Once I crossed the bridge I was able to walk around the island to enjoy the cliff top views, before queueing back to cross the bridge again. After leaving this spot, we started the long drive back to Dublin, on the journey back Robbie was telling everyone about fairy trees and fairy rings and stop the bus at one stage to show a fairy tree which historical is always a hawthorn tree. We finally made it back to Dublin just before 8.30 pm although it was an extremely long day, it was worth the money, effort and the tiredness and it was capped out by the banter and expertise of Robbie and Ritchie.

After a slight sleep in, I got up with an air of excitement for Pride. We made our way to my mate Colm's place for a Pre-Parade Brunch via a quick stop off at smithfield. Whilst in Fresh in Smithfield, and at the ATM I got distracted and left the money behind me at the machine, I luckily got it back. After a tad confusion, we finally found Colm's place, there was a great atmosphere and buzz. There was a steady flow of people coming and going which kept the party atmosphere. Niamh left after a while to get her spot to watch the parade. The rest of us helped Colm tidy up before making our way to the parade, before joining the LGBT Helpline banner, as some of the group knew several of those behind that banner. After a few mins who did I see in the crowd but Clare, her brother and her cousin who were joining the same banner,  the people I met at Dublin Castle on May 23rd for the Referendum Result, which was so random and fun. Then literally a minute or two later, I saw Niamh along the route on O'Connell St. I rang Niamh after I reached the finishing area at Merrion Square, who was telling me the Parade had no sign of finishing. I heard after that 50,000 were out for the parade and lasted for almost 2 hours which is amazing. The atmosphere at Merrion Square was quite laid back and chilled. The Speeches and music got the crowd going. When I finally met Niamh, we had a good walk around Merrion Square to get back in as there was only one entrance. I met some people in Merrion Square throughout the day, who hadn't seen in years which was unreal. Niamh and myself finally met up with our group, and made our way towards Front Lounge where we spent most of our evening, getting quite merry and enjoying ourselves. We topped off the night, trying the new bar called Front Door where we remained until closing time. When I finally got home about 4 am, I was exhausted and quite tipsy when I realised was up for work in 4 hours. I think I have never been so hungover and my shift at work couldn't finish quick enough. However as the day processed I started to feel a lot better and the Chinese takeaway that tonight was the perfect way to finish off the weekend.

Lá Fhéile Naomh Pádraig

A great start to the St Patrick's Weekend, was watching the nail biting win of the Irish rugby team against France, to win the 6 Nations. The following morning, I went into town early to watch the Irish University Boat Races on the Liffey, between my Alma Mater UCD against bitter rivals Trinty. The 2km rowing course started at O'Connell Bridge at 11am and finished at St. James' Gate, I witnessed the race from the last bridge before the end. Unfortunately, however my Alma Mater UCD lost to TCD to win the Gannon Cup. After the race, I strolled towards St. Stephen Green to watch the start of the 5k road race at 12 noon. At the end of the race, I noticed someone dressed as Mickey Mouse making balloons animals, walking down Grafton Street.

As I had time to spare before Liam came into town after work, I strolled to Merrion Square to check out the street carnival, Big Day Out. Which was packed with street performers, music, SFI Discover Science Zone, Gaelspraoi and art zones. So by the time, I met up with Liam, I had the place well scouted out. We had some random photo ops, including trying to get back out of a massive beach style chair, which was hilarious.

 As we walked through the festivities, we came upon superheroes, butterflies and other street performers, and then we stopped to watch the Imaginerie Menagerie, which was quite interesting and funny. After this open air show, we walked checking out the food carts/vans, rides and the Dublin UNESCO Literary Zone where we dressed up as superhoreos in the costumed photo booth and got some free photos. Next to this stand, we got our faces painted for the occasion for free at the FM 104 van and also got some free goodies from them too.

 To end our time at the Big Day Out, we went to watch the Barren Carousal, the show I had seen earlier but dragged Liam to see, as with it's sense of unique humour, aerobatics and interaction was a particular highlight and probably the best show there. When I had seen the show earlier that afternoon, my legs fell asleep on the mats on the ground, got cramps and had hard time getting up, which funny enough happened Liam, this time despite me warning him, it might happen. After dinner, it was time for our Sunday ritual, Bingo in the G, which was busier than usual, in part due to the Bank holiday and €1,900 jackpot. After the pre-bingo drag show, the bingo got underway, the excitement was infectious. For ages I was waiting for just one number, however it seemed luck wasn't on our side, as the jackpot was won. After what seemed like a quite random fun night with both Liam and myself bumping into people we knew.

On the route to the bus and home, we got to see some of the buildings that had gone green as part of the Greening the City. To make things easier for the parade the next day, Liam stayed at mine, and we both joked that it was the quickest bus home. It was early to rise, the next morning even with Liam hangover in toe, lucky we left when we did for the bus, as the bus filled up very quick on route. Once we got food and coffee to take away, we stalked out a good viewing point for the parade at about 10am. We got lucky with our viewing point and got to enjoy the whole of the parade uninterrupted. The parade was quite colourful and captured the theme 'Let's Make History' with a particular highlight of the floats by Spraoi celebrating the Battle of Clontarf - 1000 years on.

 To celebrate our alcohol free Patrick's day, we went exploring thru the quays and grand canal before lunch and finally relaxing in Accents for tea and festive cupcakes. Liam was after his herbal tea, out for the count, and dossed in the comfy chairs. The funniest thing of the day, happened soon after we left Accents, when somehow Liam fell hands first off the footpath on the road, slightly grazing his hands and knees. What's funnier is that he said, he probably wouldn't do it if he was drunk, and I say his right with that.

To finish off our Patrick's festivities, we decided to head on a Wicklow day tour in particular to Glendalough. We were lucky to get discounted voucher on Groupon for 13 euro instead of 24 euro each. We left from our departure spot on O Connell St approx, 9.15am. We barely had left the city when we witnessed 2 cars involved in a collision near Merrion Square and our driver Richie had us in stitches for the duration of the trip. After collecting the last of the passengers, we had a full bus and a variety of nationalities from 17 countries. After short drive into the Wicklow, We entered the Glencree Valley and first stop of the day, at the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. Now a centre for peace talks, previously was famous for housing children refugees after WWII in 1946 in an initiative known as Operation Shamrock. After hopping back on the bus, we drove through bog lands and heather fields before stopping at the PS I Love You bridge, for the required Photo, while the bus driver had Mundy's Galway Girl playing. A further little up the road, we got off the bus for a photo stop at the Guinness Lakes, although it was quite windy, it was quite beautiful. 

After getting out of the wind, back on the bus, we headed towards Glendalough, situated in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains. Glendalough's 10th century monastic round tower settlement is located in a glacial valley and offered us with a leisurely walk to the lower and upper lakes. When we got to the upper lakes, Liam noticed the biggest rip on his chinos, that totally destroyed him, it was hilarious, he must have got caught on something on route. Luckily enough he was able to use my jumper around his waist. Before the trek back to the coach, we hiked up towards the Poulanass Waterfall, despite the hike, the view was worth it.

We departed Glendalough, making our way towards Avoca village for our lunch spot, on route passing through the Meeting of the Waters, made famous by poet Thomas Moore. The Meeting of the Waters is a spot where the Avoca rivers join together in the Vale of Avoca. We had lunch in Fitzgerald's Pub in Avoca Village, made famous in Ballykissangel, where Liam sampled the local Glendalough Poitin. Once back on the bus, we literally travelled about 200m to Avoca Handweavers, where we got a tour of the woollen mill, which is Ireland's oldest working woollen mill. After hopping back on the bus for the last time, we began the journey back to Dublin. Our first port of call after the tour was to get Liam new chinos and actually see how bad the damaged was, which was worse then we thought .

 Both of us, were delighted with the tour and especially with our tour guide Richie, who made the whole experience. Despite some of the interesting setbacks at Glendalough, the scenic views throughout the trip made up for them.