Wicklow, Glendalough and Kilkenny

While the great cities of the world attract most of the attention, for me it is usually the countryside and smaller villages that have greater appeal.

Rather than self-driving throughout the trip, on our summer vacation we depended on day trips from regional home bases, not unlike the concept of taking excursions from a cruise.

After weighing our options from Dublin, we decided to take a tour to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains and Kilkenny.

As the crow flies, it shouldn't be that far from Dublin to Glendalough, but our tour bus took about an hour to get there.  Then again, the drive through the bucolic Irish countryside is an important part of the experience.

The rains of Ireland keep it green, even in the heart of summer, but I have to say an advantage of going in the dead of winter as we did on our first trip was that wet countryside sparkles a brighter green, despite the Irish mist.  Ireland is beautiful in the summer too, adding more brownish hues plus a touch of heather.

During the drive, our guide Mary shared stories about Ireland, including how in the age before roads, Glendalough had been an isolated hideout for Irish rebels fighting their English overlords.

Perhaps because most of us were from the USA, Mary spent quite a bit of time speaking about Irish immigration to our country.

From a high of about 8 million in 1840, the Irish population fell by a third during the Potato Famine.

The Irish economy continued to flounder after the famine ended.  Many bright, ambitious young people were lured to opportunities in Boston and New York in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  The rapidly-aging population left behind declined to a little over 4 million.

There are lots of movies and novels set in that time period, and perhaps you've enjoyed a few.  Last year, I happened to come across a movie called "Brooklyn" which told a story of a young Irish woman's immigration in the 1950's, imparting the angst of leaving all you've known and much that you love in hopes of a finding better life.

Losing the cream of its next generation took a toll on the Irish economy.

According to our guide Mary, the frustrated Irish government asked President John F. Kennedy --- the first US President of Irish and Catholic heritage --- to stem the flow of Irish immigrants to our shores for fear Ireland would soon no longer have a country at all.  I couldn't verify that anywhere, but I did see that in 1963, JFK spoke strongly in favor of immigration reform.

After his assassination, JFK's brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, took up the cause and was an instrumental part in replacing the prior immigration system with one that favored refugees and immigrants from less economically-developed regions rather than Western Europe.

The Immigration Act of 1924 had severely curtailed immigration overall to only "two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census." This would presumably give all Americans a chance to assimilate following a century of dramatic growth.  Nonetheless, Irish immigrants had the advantage of a high percentage in that quota system which codified maintaining "the ideal of U.S. homogeneity." It essentially blocked some nationalities entirely.

The new system advocated by the Kennedys, when enacted into law as the Immigration and Nationalization Act of 1965, put more stringent caps on immigration from Ireland and the rest of Western Europe.

To give an idea of the impact of immigration to the USA had on Ireland during the peak era, the total population of the island of Ireland is now about 6.5 million, including Northern Ireland which accounts for about a fourth of that number, whereas Americans of Irish heritage number over 30 million, according to our guide.

Ireland is now itself a magnet for immigrants from other countries seeking opportunities, as evidenced by the restaurant staffs in Dublin.

As a traveler, I wish all countries could maintain their unique qualities, including their native accents and languages, but we are increasingly a globalist society, with big cities in particular becoming quite similar to each other, which is another reason we seek smaller towns and villages to experience the unique characters of nations we visit.

Back in February of 2002, we had historic Glendalough essentially to ourselves, but times have changed with the booming world economy.  Ireland now attracts tourists from around the world.

During our summer visit, we found multiple tours guiding groups through the historic buildings and grave stones of Glendalough.

Mary shared oral legends passed down from the Sixth Century about Saint Kevin, who founded the Abbey there at what might have also been a holy place for ancient Celts.

This hermit was probably the second child of a noble family, as was the tradition in Europe in the age of primogenitor when the eldest male child inherited the keys to the castle along with the titles and wealth belonging to the head of the family.

After learning a bit about the well-preserved round tower, which likely served as refuge from Vikings and other marauders, and "Kevin's Kitchen," we strolled along a path to take a closer look at one of the lakes.

Continuing with the landscape appreciation part of our tour, we drove to the Wicklow Gap for what was primarily a photo opportunity.  Wicklow Mountains National Park is the largest protected natural area in Ireland, but after a few minutes meandering about and taking selfies, we were back on the bus.

The medieval village Kilkenny was the last destination on this tour.

After a brief orientation, we were cut free for lunch.

Julie and I went to a cafeteria on the second floor of a building across the street from Kilkenny Castle, as recommended by our guide.

We saw Mary and our driver dining there, confirming the recommendation as legitimate.  I had an individual cottage pie that was pretty good, if not quite as good as Madigan's.

Following lunch, we headed through the handsome royal gate, taking in the impressive castle and its lovely gardens.

Kilkenny Castle was built in 1195 as a symbol of Norman power, and it remains quite impressive to this day, very much along the lines of what you might expect for the grand palace of a knight who returned from a successful Crusade as a very wealthy man.

In the park, some kids were running around with Hurling sticks, not really playing a game but nonetheless practicing, like American kids might throw grounders and flies to each other with a baseball or kick around a soccer ball.

From the castle, we walked to the historic village center, where our guide pointed out interesting places.

The most intriguing to me was Kyteler's Inn, named for Alice de Kyteler, who reportedly once owned the pub, though it says it was founded the year she fled from Ireland.

Born in Kilkenny in the late 1200's, Alice was a woman of beauty and charm apparently, as she attracted four wealthy husbands.

As each of those husbands in turn soon died of mysterious causes, rumors began to emerge about Alice being a witch.  Helping to compensate her for such unfair accusations, the "Merry Widow" of Kilkenny became increasingly wealthy with each husband's death.

She may simply have been a great entrepreneur whose husbands died prematurely, but in that era, successful people were often subjected to unfair persecution, as evidenced by the treatment of Jews intermittently throughout history.  Even today, you hear politicians clamoring to tax the evil rich who for the most part earned their family money by providing valuable goods and services to free-willed consumers, even as the tax-proposing politicians pad their own pockets as "public servants."

To avoid being burned at the stake, Alice permanently fled to England in 1324.

After we walked through town to see two prominent churches, Julie and I took a break for coffee time rather than pay admission to go inside Kilkenny Castle this time.

As often happens on this type of tour, the drive back was more of a resting time but still included nice countryside views.

There are lots of other great day trips you can take from Dublin, including Powerscourt, Blarney Castle, Cliffs of Moher or even Belfast with the Giant's Causeway, but keep in mind that a multi-day tour with a company like Insight Vacations will avoid doubling back to Dublin every afternoon.

Kilkenny

Wicklow Gap at Tur Lough

Glendalough