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Got home late last night. Very tired but, I think, this was the best vacation I ever had. Go to Ireland if you can. Rick and I always say, if we can travel, than everyone can. 30 yrs ago we could have never imagined we could visit Ireland. What a wonderful time. What wonderful friends.

May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true!

Slán leat

The year of the gathering 2013

Throughout 2013, Ireland is opening its arms to hundreds of thousands of friends and family from all over the world, calling them home to gatherings in villages, towns and cities.
There are clan gatherings, festivals, special sporting events, music and concerts taking place all across the country, all year long.

Communities throughout Ireland are showcasing and sharing the very best of Irish culture, tradition, business, sport, fighting spirit and the uniquely Irish sense of fun.

Over 70 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry. The Gathering Ireland 2013 provides the perfect excuse to reach out to those who have moved away, their relatives, friends and descendants, and invite them home.

The Gathering is the people’s party. It kicked off in spectacular style at the New Year’s Eve Festival in Dublin and is being celebrated through gatherings of the people and Ireland’s major festivals during 2013. So now it is over to you. It is in your hands. Be part of it.

Mapping the Trip

After the car was picked up, Rick and Mike took turns driving, every other day. At the end of the day, Mike would mark their driving trail that day. Rick was pink and Mike was yellow. The thick yellow line at the top is the division with Northern Ireland to which we didn't have enough time to visit

Bloopers

The last photo was Mike trying to take a picture of some sheep but accidentally took his own picture

Irish Folklore

Trooping fairy abduction

Old man described to a visitor in complete seriousness of how he knew his son would die 4 days before it actually happened.. Going home one evening he had seen a large group of fairies moving fast over the plain their red dresses fluttering in the wind and the lakes turning to ice as they approached and walls and trees bowed themselves to the earth as they approached . they rode over the top of the thicket as if it were grass.Then he saw the queen riding in front on a white horse and by her side he saw with a shudder his son whom she smiled upon and carressed while he with a fevered eye looked wistfully at her.. then I knew it was over with him .the next day he took to his bed and three days later I buried him.There was not a handsomer man in connemara and it was for that the queen chose him.

This story was told by the carer of the woods in castle Hackett in Headford to a german visitor who claimed he was so firmly convinced of the truth of his story that it would have been rude to express the least doubt.

Brazen Head Pub & the Ha' Penny Bridge

Walking to Brook's Hotel after Brazen Head

Evening of food, folklore, and fairies on the upper floor of the Brazen Head Pub

Ha' Penny Bridge. Locks are left on the bridge for couples to declare their love for each other

St Patrick Cathedral

The inside was beautiful but pictures were no allowed. This is a Protestant church