Part 6 of our 2011 trip was the highly anticipated exploration of Ireland’s countryside. As a kid my Dad had a book by Leon Uris called “Ireland, a Terrible Beauty” and it had these incredible photos taken by his wife Jill. On the front cover was a stunning shot of a classic Irish landscape and on the back was a photo of a kid no older than 6 with a menacing look in his eyes holding a piece of pipe ready to strike. Obviously the reference of the book’s title was more to do with the religious factional war in Northern Ireland but images from that book stayed with me my whole life and to the prick who stole that book from me I haven’t forgotten and you can expect a middle-aged man with a menacing look on his face armed with a piece of pipe when you least expect it! Just kidding. I wouldn’t have the pipe.
We drove south from Dublin to Tipperary where Lynda’s descendants came from and we couldn’t believe how tiny the town was, given the historical significance of the wartime song! From there we headed to the bottom of Ireland and Cobh where we stayed the night. Like Scotland the photos will never do justice to the charm of the Irish countryside.
Here are my diary notes from that trip:
by Ian Wilson on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 7:49pm
Cobh, (yet another unnecessary use of a consonant), Ireland. It is a stunning part of Ireland down here in the South. This harbour is the second biggest natural harbour behind Sydney and it’s where Ireland sent all their immigrants to Australia. The Titanic even pulled in here. What blows you away when you drive in is the cathedral which is massive and sits atop the harbour. Inside it’s even grander and we couldn’t believe the detail and beauty of the place. Apparently it was assisted in its building by unemployed locals during the potato famine in the late 1800s. Good to get out of Dublin and into this beautiful countryside. Whilst in Dublin the other day we were walking near the Guinness factory and a half a dozen rat bag kids were throwing stuff at the road and passers-by…anything from soft drink cans to cigarette butts. Anyway I thought they would take one look at my 100kg frame and wouldn’t dare…well next thing I’ve copped the cap off a soft drink bottle and a pen right on top of my scone!! I turned to remonstrate but they didn’t blink an eyelid. To be honest I was pretty impressed with their accuracy….well done. Anyway there are plenty of photos of Tipperary for the Harris’s and another 2 instalments of the “Man’s Arse” series. Firstly “Man’s arse preparing dirty laundry” and “Man’s arse with gas bottle and broken chair.” L Harris 2011 Canon Digital
Ireland country 15/8/11
by Ian Wilson on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 7:52pm
Killarney. What a spectacular drive yesterday to the bottom of Ireland then north-west to Killarney. Actually saw beautiful Wilson’s Prom-like beaches with hundreds of people taking their lives and genitals in hand to swim them! We drove through mountain tunnels and it was difficult to stay on the road with what we were witnessing. It wasn’t until we got to Killarney last night that we realised this is a serious adventure tourist haven with hundreds of B&Bs and 5 star hotels to boot. The drive was quite slow and windy and took us through picture postcard villages with roads the width of Anderson St, Yarraville where you are touching side view mirrors. We have decided given time constraints, to head direct to Galway today as we want to see all the beauty of that rugged region before we head back to Dublin to fly to Paris on Saturday. Apologies in advance as these photos include 3 new instalments of the “Man’s Arse” series of modern art…”Man’s arse in magic forest”, “Man’s arse on cliff” and “Arse end of Ireland”. There are also some quite beautiful shots of real things taken by Lynda which we hope you enjoy.
