July 12, 2024

July 12, 2024

We checked out of our Dublin hotel and taxied back to the airport. There we picked up our rental car so we can explore more of Ireland. We take it slow until I get the hang of driving on the left again. That part came back easily unlike the driving of curvy narrow roads of this country. I forgot how tedious and draining it is. I was hoping that Ireland rising to become one of Europe’s richest would have improved things.

We drove south of Dublin into Wicklow Mountains National Park along the old Military Road over Sally Gap. This route down the spine was built in 1800 to make it easier for British forces to track Irish insurgents hiding in the remote area. The road crosses extensive treeless tracts of heath and bogland. It has a raw beauty.

Near its center we stop at the Glendalough Monastic Site. This remote glacier carved valley was the perfect site for St Kevin, the 6th century hermit monk looking to be close to nature and away from temptation. Today though it is mobbed with tourists from Dublin wanting to hike the beautiful area. The highlight of the small settlement is one of the iconic Round Towers of Ireland. It is in great condition. This bell tower could also be used as a place of refuge when Vikings raided the site. After watching the park film we did an abbreviated hike down the valley. It is colder than we expected. We cut it short and had a hot soup lunch in a local hotel.

We continued our drive south to the coast at Waterford. Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland, the first permanent settlement of the Viking Raiders. The city name means Winter Port in Old Norse. Raiding is easier if you have a local home base. Settling down meant the Vikings married local Irish ladies and diversified into trade focusing on silver and slaves. We learned this history at nearby Reginald's Tower, the best surviving part of the defensive walls of Waterford.

We had dinner back at the pub in our historic hotel, one of the oldest in Ireland. The pub is a very hopping place. Interestingly it is named after Thomas Francis Meagher. He was born at the hotel, became an Irish freedom fighter, and was sent to a penal colony in Australia. Escaping, he made his way to the US where he became a hero again fighting in our Civil War. There is an equestrian statue of Meagher in Waterford as well as one outside the Montana Capitol.