I had the incredible fortune to be in Ireland over St. Patrick's Day, where my Fife and Drum Corps played in the Galway St. Patrick's Day parade, and I had the pleasure of sitting in on some *VERY* crowded sessions for three nights (The Crane, Tigh Choili, and in our Hotel pub - the Park House).
After that, about half our group (11 of us in total, wives included) headed down to Doolin for three days. The faeries were smiling on us, as the day after we arrived in Doolin, we heard they were having their own St. Patrick's Day parade (on Sunday). We had just enough of our Corps with us (3 fifes, 3 snares and 1 bass drum) to offer our services, to which they replied "That would be great craic!".
Long story short, we led the parade, just behind a cursing St. Patrick impersonator blessing the crowd, and we have the video to prove it. Here we are playing as we pass the famous Gus O'Connor's pub in downtown Doolin. Enjoy!
I'd be happy to share more of our experiences and Ireland if we have enough willing eyes and ears ...
-Chris
PS. I also sat in on sessions in each of Doolin's 3 pubs on each night we were there, and at McGann's I played with none other than banjo player Kevin Griffin. Smokin!! http://members.cox.net/chrismyers/Me_KG_McGanns.jpg
Yes, it is. There is also a pair of mics hanging over his head that you can't see.
All the pubs in Doolin had mics set up over the session area, and the music is amplified around the rest of the pub. It's subtle, but effective. This is especially useful at O'Connor's since there is a dining area in a totally separate room. This way, everybody can hear what's going on -- for good or ill.
AFA the "Fanta Orange", I can only assume it belonged to the fiddler (whose name escapes me -- any help?), or the swooning crooner to her right. I'm gonna guess it was an Orange juice with a little sumtin' based on the better color in this photo: http://members.cox.net/chrismyers/McGanns_2.jpg
And yes, the geeky fife and drum corps thing does have its perks ...
Zina, try doing a right-click/Save As... on the vid and then open it with Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. Sometimes one or the other is the default for your browser, but the other may work better.
Man - Seems like there's a lot of elbow room in O'Connors in the off season. I couldn't get within 30 feet of the session when I was there (although I could almost hear it through the tinny old speaker over my head).
The pics are from McGann's on Sunday night, which was more crowded up until 11-ish or so (hard to remember ...)
We were at O'Connor's on Saturday night, and it was indeed as you describe at least until midnight. That day was the big Ireland v. Wales Rugby game, so the place was elbow-to-elbow w/punters. At one point, a gentleman tried to sing a lovely song in the session, and try as they might, they couldn't get the crowd to shut up enough for him to be heard. Luckily I was close enough to hear, but the majority of the patrons missed out. Their loss, IMO.
K, which one is O'Connor's and which one is McGann's? I thought O'Connors was the one with the vegetarian eggplant dish on the menu (delicious but gassy). I don't think I went to O'Connor's, if that's the one on the main drag.
Well, I had to go download the newest Real player, I'm afraid. Anyway, was anyone seemingly mystified what the purpose of an American fife and drum squad was doing in an Irish parade for St. Patrick? But it looks like it was indeed great crack!
Hmm - I don't remember the menu choices. I had Irish stew or Fish 'n Chips everywhere I went ...
And there are two "main drags" on Doolin. One is where O'Connor's is, which is on the strip with the touristy stores, and the ITM shop, I think that's "Fisher St." (see video I posted earlier), and the other is where McGann's is, which is also kinda across the street a bit from McDermott's (the other pub). Without pointing you to a map, I think that's the best distinction I can provide.
I think they were a bit mystified as to our presence, but we kinda made ourselves "celebrities for a day". Their parade was really a bit "thrown together" - nothing like what we're used to. We were told that it started at "noonish", and that folks were gathering at O'Connor's around 11:30 for a pint, then we'd proceed down the Quays, just down the road a ways.
Well, we got to the pub around 11:45, and no one was there! So, we assumed we were late, and proceeded to hoof it down the road "a ways" to the start of the parade route. It turned out that "a ways" was about 1.5 miles, in a blistering ocean wind, and when we got there, there was absolutely no indication that a parade was about to take place! Here we were, all decked out, ready to start a parade and there was no one to parade with!
Now, here there was a Coast Guard Stn. and it looked like they were participating in the parade as well, so we approached them, and one guy said he thought it started at 1, and another guy said 2 ....
So, we hoofed it all the way back to town, only to have another pint and a sandwich, and the parade finally began to get underway around 2:30!
Chris, an Irish friend of mine once sent me a little essay entitled "The Irish Explained, by an Irishman". The entry under "Time Zones" was:
Ireland has two time-zones:
(1) Greenwich Mean Time and (2) "local" time. Local time can be anything between ten minutes and three days behind GMT, depending on the position of the earth and the whereabouts of the man with the keys to the hall. Again, the Irish concept of time has been influenced by the thinking of 20th century physicists, who hold that it can only be measured by reference to another body and can even be affected by factors like acceleration. For instance, a policeman entering licensed premises in rural Ireland late at night is a good example of another body from whom it can be reliably inferred that it is fact closing time. When this happens, acceleration is the advised option; shockingly, the relativity argument is still not accepted as a valid defence in the Irish courts.
Yes, we came to realize this *after* the parade, sharing yet another pint with the other parade participants. However, not only is there concept of time slightly askew from an American perspective, but it is very strongly tied in (as it should be) with their measurement of distance (a la space-time continuum). The parade was "short" by their measure, yet after clocking it in our rental later that day, it was a full 5 km (around 3 miles)! Even for us seasoned parade-marchers, that's a big 'un!
Oh well. Free Guinness always makes up for any discrepancies in ILT (Irish local time) vs. American time.
"Man - Seems like there's a lot of elbow room in O'Connors in the off season. I couldn't get within 30 feet of the session when I was there"
You really have to go in the off season next time you go, Kerri -- it's a different country all together. I've never been to Ireland during tourist season, so I can't speak from experience, but often my stories about visits I've made contrast dramatically with other people's stories who were at the same locations.
I was in Ireland for 2 months on one of my trips -- February and March. I remember everything was quiet and peacefull until Paddy's Day weekend -- when all of a sudden amplification systems appeared out of nowhere, and every pub, (even the ones that don't usually have ITM,) was producing ITM for the tourists that streamed in. Everyone had a gig that weekend. It didn't take long before it was back to normal though... thank God.
Nice video FG, I'm sure any anti-British-rule parade would go down well in Ireland. I liked watching the wee girl running around all excited to see the spectacle as well. Good job!
I am not from Ireland, and am continuously put upon to deny that I am a philospher, so I do not deny the reality of time, however. . .it is not what we think it is. Time is merely how we sense the Second Law of Thermodynamics, through a glass darkly.
So it appears to speed up locally when the particles in the system are denser/moving faster, as they do when they are "agitated."
Fiddlemouse: That tells me that the two philosophers weren't on a "timeclock" for wages with a mean boss.
KFG: Let me consider the second Law of thermodynamics through my Guinness darkly. Can't see through it. I'll have to experiment with some of that other type of Guinness Lightly. I guess I'm on Guinness Standard Time (GST if you are into acronyms).
KFG --- lol! Would that Flanders and Swann had addressed that point in their song on the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics!
Ceol --- since when are philosophers *ever* on a time clock for a boss? ;) (The need to teach university classes doesn't count.)
Jim --- I used to have a horribly slow modem at home, so I sympathize. Click on the internet connection. Go make a cup of tea. Click on the website link in favorites. Go drink the cup of tea. Log in. Go make a second cup of tea. Click on a discussion. Go get rid of the first cup of tea. Etc, ad infinitum.
Jack, I was there well into October. What a difference. September hit, then BAM, nothing happening on Inisheer, except on the week-ends and even that was iffy. Next time I go I'm going to try for that festival in Ennis in November. (I'll have to quit my job though - they'd just laugh at me if I tried to get a holiday in "the busy season").
That must have been a lot of fun to go with your corps over there, I wish my corps would do something like that, but we're so small. :( How many members does yours have?
It's always a lot of fun to march in parades, even when you make your own!
Wow, I didn't even know Oregon know what F&D corps were!
We marched in the Galway parade with 13: a drum major, 7 fifes, 4 snares and 1 bass, and that's about as big as we usually get, though we have 2 bass drummers and 1 snare who didn't make the trip. We financed a good portion of the trip (3 nights lodging, plus airfare) for our members in good standing (not the wives, though) with money we get from our normal gigs (parades, etc.).
Yes, it was grand, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!
I went to Doolin in June, mostly to catch the ferry. We stayed over to hike to the cliffs (lovely walk, by the way). So yeah, it was packed enough to put me off going back when things got quiet. After that first trip I mostly stuck with the Rossaveal and Galway boats.
OK, I'll try this here, though I think it'll get buried on page two within the hour.
Just wanted to share my Shutterfly photo album with y'all (at Zina's request). If nobody views, I'll have to post it in its own thread, and I think that's cheating.
Very cool pics, Chris! Enjoyed flipping through them. Is the "ruined 15th century church" the one at Kilnaboy? That's the one with the famous sheela, isn't it?
Uhh... not quite sure. It was near the Leamaneh Castle if that helps. I tried to organize the slide show cronologically, so since Leamaneh is next, I think that's right.
And - what's a "sheela"? I recall in our reading, when we found this place that there was some sort of ancient carving here, but we couldn't see anything. Couldn't get much closer that you see in the picture. The gate to the graveyard (and to the church grounds) were padlocked, and we appeard to be on someone's cow pasture (isn't everywhere someone's cow pasture?), so we didn't want to press our luck with hopping fences and such.
I wasn't going to say it. I don't think anyone really knows what the sheelas really meant, though there's a lot of guesses. There's a pic of the sheela at Kilnaboy here: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/17943/photo4.html
On our honeymoon five years back, my husband and I actually wandered into the Kilnaboy graveyard quite by accident, to discover that it's still an active cemetary. Turned out the caretaker of our rented cottage had buried his father there just the month or two before.
Zina - we saw the "new" graves as well - they just didn't make it into the slideshow in Shutterfly (we took around 500 pics, and I only included 92 there). Here are a couple more pics from that cemetery; I wonder if this grave (same grave seen from opposite sides) is the one to which you are referring: http://members.cox.net/christophermmyers/cemetery1.jpg http://members.cox.net/christophermmyers/cemetery2.jpg
Note the "pond" below the headstone. We found that very cool.
Thanks for the sheela link. I love stuff like that.
BTW - what's with the inside joke that i missed? Are you a witch or something??
I'm not sure. Paddy's father's grave might be inside the church ruins, actually, now that I'm trying to remember.
There've been people who have called me a witch before, or perhaps I'm on the wrong end of the alphabet. ;) No, it's just that the "Earth Mother" label is a very family-safe one, which was what made Sara laugh. Heh. Given the classic sheela pose, it's certainly one interpretation.... The sheela at Kilnaboy is, like many sheelas, over the door of the church.
Given that positioning, one of the interpretations of the sheela na gigs is that they represent the hag or woman who often shepherded people through the re-birth process into the Otherworld.
But nobody really knows what they were supposed to mean.
Two points, Zina. Your post cracked me up too, though, because my husband gives a very funny and very popular lecture on a rather loony British cleric named Owen Morgan. The Rev. Morgan wrote a long book which, among many other things, ended up making the case that a church door represents exactly what the sheela-na-gig is showing off. I'd forgotten that the ladies in question are usually over the church door. Probably one of the Rev's inspirations for his theory. ;)
An American in Ireland, part 2
An American in Ireland, part 2
Just had to share ...
I had the incredible fortune to be in Ireland over St. Patrick's Day, where my Fife and Drum Corps played in the Galway St. Patrick's Day parade, and I had the pleasure of sitting in on some *VERY* crowded sessions for three nights (The Crane, Tigh Choili, and in our Hotel pub - the Park House).
After that, about half our group (11 of us in total, wives included) headed down to Doolin for three days. The faeries were smiling on us, as the day after we arrived in Doolin, we heard they were having their own St. Patrick's Day parade (on Sunday). We had just enough of our Corps with us (3 fifes, 3 snares and 1 bass drum) to offer our services, to which they replied "That would be great craic!".
Long story short, we led the parade, just behind a cursing St. Patrick impersonator blessing the crowd, and we have the video to prove it. Here we are playing as we pass the famous Gus O'Connor's pub in downtown Doolin. Enjoy!
(Warning: 6.7M download!)
http://www.kentishguards.org/images/KG_Doolin_parade.avi
I'd be happy to share more of our experiences and Ireland if we have enough willing eyes and ears ...
-Chris
PS. I also sat in on sessions in each of Doolin's 3 pubs on each night we were there, and at McGann's I played with none other than banjo player Kevin Griffin. Smokin!!
http://members.cox.net/chrismyers/Me_KG_McGanns.jpg
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Fun video, Fyffer. Looks like you had a good time!
Is that a microphone stand set up in front of Kevin??
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by grego
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Yes, it is. There is also a pair of mics hanging over his head that you can't see.
All the pubs in Doolin had mics set up over the session area, and the music is amplified around the rest of the pub. It's subtle, but effective. This is especially useful at O'Connor's since there is a dining area in a totally separate room. This way, everybody can hear what's going on -- for good or ill.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
And yes, we had an amazing time!
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
And who was that on their second pint of Fanta orange? Or is Guinness producing dreamsicle orange now?
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Jode
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I'm jealous and ready to convert to parade piping or drumming if that is the ticket to all this fun in Ireland.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Yay, Chris! Unfortunately, I can't seem to view the video, though I could hear it.
Def share some more of your stories, we always love to hear them!
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
AFA the "Fanta Orange", I can only assume it belonged to the fiddler (whose name escapes me -- any help?), or the swooning crooner to her right. I'm gonna guess it was an Orange juice with a little sumtin' based on the better color in this photo:
http://members.cox.net/chrismyers/McGanns_2.jpg
And yes, the geeky fife and drum corps thing does have its perks ...
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Zina, try doing a right-click/Save As... on the vid and then open it with Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. Sometimes one or the other is the default for your browser, but the other may work better.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I love that inscription over the crooner's head:
"Everyone who visits this place brings happiness.
Some by coming in.
Some by going out."
Probably works around these parts too, eh?
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by grego
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Man - Seems like there's a lot of elbow room in O'Connors in the off season. I couldn't get within 30 feet of the session when I was there (although I could almost hear it through the tinny old speaker over my head).
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
The pics are from McGann's on Sunday night, which was more crowded up until 11-ish or so (hard to remember ...)
We were at O'Connor's on Saturday night, and it was indeed as you describe at least until midnight. That day was the big Ireland v. Wales Rugby game, so the place was elbow-to-elbow w/punters. At one point, a gentleman tried to sing a lovely song in the session, and try as they might, they couldn't get the crowd to shut up enough for him to be heard. Luckily I was close enough to hear, but the majority of the patrons missed out. Their loss, IMO.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
K, which one is O'Connor's and which one is McGann's? I thought O'Connors was the one with the vegetarian eggplant dish on the menu (delicious but gassy). I don't think I went to O'Connor's, if that's the one on the main drag.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Well, I had to go download the newest Real player, I'm afraid.
Anyway, was anyone seemingly mystified what the purpose of an American fife and drum squad was doing in an Irish parade for St. Patrick? But it looks like it was indeed great crack!
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Sorry, that sentence made little to no sense! But you probably got the gist of it anyway.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Great crack, Zina? Does the fife and drum corps have ill-fitting pants?
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Hard to tell from the video. You know why I don't use "craic" anymore!
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Hmm - I don't remember the menu choices. I had Irish stew or Fish 'n Chips everywhere I went ...
And there are two "main drags" on Doolin. One is where O'Connor's is, which is on the strip with the touristy stores, and the ITM shop, I think that's "Fisher St." (see video I posted earlier), and the other is where McGann's is, which is also kinda across the street a bit from McDermott's (the other pub). Without pointing you to a map, I think that's the best distinction I can provide.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I think they were a bit mystified as to our presence, but we kinda made ourselves "celebrities for a day". Their parade was really a bit "thrown together" - nothing like what we're used to. We were told that it started at "noonish", and that folks were gathering at O'Connor's around 11:30 for a pint, then we'd proceed down the Quays, just down the road a ways.
Well, we got to the pub around 11:45, and no one was there! So, we assumed we were late, and proceeded to hoof it down the road "a ways" to the start of the parade route. It turned out that "a ways" was about 1.5 miles, in a blistering ocean wind, and when we got there, there was absolutely no indication that a parade was about to take place! Here we were, all decked out, ready to start a parade and there was no one to parade with!
Now, here there was a Coast Guard Stn. and it looked like they were participating in the parade as well, so we approached them, and one guy said he thought it started at 1, and another guy said 2 ....
So, we hoofed it all the way back to town, only to have another pint and a sandwich, and the parade finally began to get underway around 2:30!
(TBC ...)
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Chris, an Irish friend of mine once sent me a little essay entitled "The Irish Explained, by an Irishman". The entry under "Time Zones" was:
Ireland has two time-zones:
(1) Greenwich Mean Time and (2) "local" time. Local time can be anything between ten minutes and three days behind GMT, depending on the position of the earth and the whereabouts of the man with the keys to the hall. Again, the Irish concept of time has been influenced by the thinking of 20th century physicists, who hold that it can only be measured by reference to another body and can even be affected by factors like acceleration. For instance, a policeman entering licensed premises in rural Ireland late at night is a good example of another body from whom it can be reliably inferred that it is fact closing time. When this happens, acceleration is the advised option; shockingly, the relativity argument is still not accepted as a valid defence in the Irish courts.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Yes, we came to realize this *after* the parade, sharing yet another pint with the other parade participants. However, not only is there concept of time slightly askew from an American perspective, but it is very strongly tied in (as it should be) with their measurement of distance (a la space-time continuum). The parade was "short" by their measure, yet after clocking it in our rental later that day, it was a full 5 km (around 3 miles)! Even for us seasoned parade-marchers, that's a big 'un!
Oh well. Free Guinness always makes up for any discrepancies in ILT (Irish local time) vs. American time.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Ouch -- I used "there" rather than "their". What a hick ...
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
"Man - Seems like there's a lot of elbow room in O'Connors in the off season. I couldn't get within 30 feet of the session when I was there"
You really have to go in the off season next time you go, Kerri -- it's a different country all together. I've never been to Ireland during tourist season, so I can't speak from experience, but often my stories about visits I've made contrast dramatically with other people's stories who were at the same locations.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I was in Ireland for 2 months on one of my trips -- February and March. I remember everything was quiet and peacefull until Paddy's Day weekend -- when all of a sudden amplification systems appeared out of nowhere, and every pub, (even the ones that don't usually have ITM,) was producing ITM for the tourists that streamed in. Everyone had a gig that weekend. It didn't take long before it was back to normal though... thank God.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Nice video FG, I'm sure any anti-British-rule parade would go down well in Ireland. I liked watching the wee girl running around all excited to see the spectacle as well. Good job!
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Ireland has produced two world-class philosophers, and both of them denied the reality of time.
So it just goes to show. ;)
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I am not from Ireland, and am continuously put upon to deny that I am a philospher, so I do not deny the reality of time, however. . .it is not what we think it is. Time is merely how we sense the Second Law of Thermodynamics, through a glass darkly.
So it appears to speed up locally when the particles in the system are denser/moving faster, as they do when they are "agitated."
KFG
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by KFG
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I've noticed, as I get older, that hours, minutes and seconds stay pretty much the same, but years keep speeding up.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Bob himself
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Fiddlemouse: That tells me that the two philosophers weren't on a "timeclock" for wages with a mean boss.
KFG: Let me consider the second Law of thermodynamics through my Guinness darkly. Can't see through it. I'll have to experiment with some of that other type of Guinness Lightly. I guess I'm on Guinness Standard Time (GST if you are into acronyms).
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
KFG --- lol! Would that Flanders and Swann had addressed that point in their song on the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics!
I used to have a horribly slow modem at home, so I sympathize. Click on the internet connection. Go make a cup of tea. Click on the website link in favorites. Go drink the cup of tea. Log in. Go make a second cup of tea. Click on a discussion. Go get rid of the first cup of tea. Etc, ad infinitum.
Ceol --- since when are philosophers *ever* on a time clock for a boss? ;) (The need to teach university classes doesn't count.)
Jim ---
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Jack, I was there well into October. What a difference. September hit, then BAM, nothing happening on Inisheer, except on the week-ends and even that was iffy. Next time I go I'm going to try for that festival in Ennis in November. (I'll have to quit my job though - they'd just laugh at me if I tried to get a holiday in "the busy season").
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
When were you at O'Connor's pub? It sounded like you were there during tourist season the way you described it.
# Posted on April 5th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
That must have been a lot of fun to go with your corps over there, I wish my corps would do something like that, but we're so small. :( How many members does yours have?
It's always a lot of fun to march in parades, even when you make your own!
-Brian
drummer, Oregon Fife and Drum Corps
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by brianp
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Wow, I didn't even know Oregon know what F&D corps were!
We marched in the Galway parade with 13: a drum major, 7 fifes, 4 snares and 1 bass, and that's about as big as we usually get, though we have 2 bass drummers and 1 snare who didn't make the trip. We financed a good portion of the trip (3 nights lodging, plus airfare) for our members in good standing (not the wives, though) with money we get from our normal gigs (parades, etc.).
Yes, it was grand, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I went to Doolin in June, mostly to catch the ferry. We stayed over to hike to the cliffs (lovely walk, by the way). So yeah, it was packed enough to put me off going back when things got quiet. After that first trip I mostly stuck with the Rossaveal and Galway boats.
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
OK, I'll try this here, though I think it'll get buried on page two within the hour.
Just wanted to share my Shutterfly photo album with y'all (at Zina's request). If nobody views, I'll have to post it in its own thread, and I think that's cheating.
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOWrNy2cM3DgY¬ag=1
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Very cool pics, Chris! Enjoyed flipping through them. Is the "ruined 15th century church" the one at Kilnaboy? That's the one with the famous sheela, isn't it?
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Uhh... not quite sure. It was near the Leamaneh Castle if that helps. I tried to organize the slide show cronologically, so since Leamaneh is next, I think that's right.
And - what's a "sheela"? I recall in our reading, when we found this place that there was some sort of ancient carving here, but we couldn't see anything. Couldn't get much closer that you see in the picture. The gate to the graveyard (and to the church grounds) were padlocked, and we appeard to be on someone's cow pasture (isn't everywhere someone's cow pasture?), so we didn't want to press our luck with hopping fences and such.
# Posted on April 6th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like you had a good time and saw many things in your visit.
You're right. A sheela is an ancient carving. Zina can probably say more about it, but I think it is something to do with "Earth Mother".
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by John Culhane
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
*Splutter* lol!
Very tactful, John. There's an excellent website about sheela-na-gigs here:
http://www.sheelanagig.org/
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I wasn't going to say it.
I don't think anyone really knows what the sheelas really meant, though there's a lot of guesses. There's a pic of the sheela at Kilnaboy here: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/17943/photo4.html
On our honeymoon five years back, my husband and I actually wandered into the Kilnaboy graveyard quite by accident, to discover that it's still an active cemetary. Turned out the caretaker of our rented cottage had buried his father there just the month or two before.
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Zina - we saw the "new" graves as well - they just didn't make it into the slideshow in Shutterfly (we took around 500 pics, and I only included 92 there). Here are a couple more pics from that cemetery; I wonder if this grave (same grave seen from opposite sides) is the one to which you are referring:
http://members.cox.net/christophermmyers/cemetery1.jpg
http://members.cox.net/christophermmyers/cemetery2.jpg
Note the "pond" below the headstone. We found that very cool.
Thanks for the sheela link. I love stuff like that.
BTW - what's with the inside joke that i missed? Are you a witch or something??
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
I'm not sure. Paddy's father's grave might be inside the church ruins, actually, now that I'm trying to remember.
The sheela at Kilnaboy is, like many sheelas, over the door of the church.
There've been people who have called me a witch before, or perhaps I'm on the wrong end of the alphabet. ;) No, it's just that the "Earth Mother" label is a very family-safe one, which was what made Sara laugh. Heh. Given the classic sheela pose, it's certainly one interpretation....
Given that positioning, one of the interpretations of the sheela na gigs is that they represent the hag or woman who often shepherded people through the re-birth process into the Otherworld.
But nobody really knows what they were supposed to mean.
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Two points, Zina. Your post cracked me up too, though, because my husband gives a very funny and very popular lecture on a rather loony British cleric named Owen Morgan. The Rev. Morgan wrote a long book which, among many other things, ended up making the case that a church door represents exactly what the sheela-na-gig is showing off. I'd forgotten that the ladies in question are usually over the church door. Probably one of the Rev's inspirations for his theory. ;)
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Your husband gets *paid* for this lecture?!
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Only in applause. (Note I said "gives". ;) But he usually gets a *lot* of that. The good Reverend is extremely funny by modern standards.
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
What's the name of the book?
# Posted on April 7th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
"The Light of Britannia".
Check your email. ;)
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by sara g
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
"But nobody really knows what they were supposed to mean."
Or maybe everybody knows but can't get past the giggling and blushing phase of expressing their feelings on the matter.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Remember now, you guys -- this is a FAMILY website.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Hey, we all enter the world the same way.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
... and then we go out for doughnuts.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Not recently, she said, pointedly. ;)
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Well, pizza is a lot more Guinness friendly if you know what I mean.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Heh. I'll have to admit that that's some good pizza. Still not doughnuts, though. Nothing quite like a good doughnut.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Those big sticky cinnamon buns, smothered in cream cheese icing and fresh out of the oven put doughnuts to shame IMHO.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Put that on top of a full belly of Guinness, Kerri. (is there a puking emoticon?)
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Well, those are pretty good, yes, Kerr, but fresh doughnuts? Especially the jelly ones? Mmm, mmm, good!
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
All right, NEXT time, we go out for breakfast, so I can get in my doughnuts.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Boy, talk about your serious thread creep .....
Y'all are making me hungry, and I just ate lunch!
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by FyfferGuy
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Don't call Jack a creep, Chris! You'll hurt his poor widdow feelings...!
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
What can I say, Chris. This thread just gives me the munchies for some reason.
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Kerri Brown
No wait, I'm thinking of that other thread...
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Kerri Brown
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
Hur. Hur. Hur. ;)
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Zina Lee
Re: An American in Ireland, part 2
"Don't call Jack a creep, Chris! You'll hurt his poor widdow feelings...!"
I have a widow???? This has dire implications about the state of my health!
# Posted on April 8th 2005 by Phantom Button