Shamrocker Day Three; Day Three – Doolin back to Dublin

Our day started out with a visit to the faeries, as we stopped at a faerie ring. These are where faeries can travel between their plane and ours, through tree roots exposed above the soil. At this point we were in the County Clare, which is apparently the most superstitious part of Ireland. We had to walk clockwise around the ring, and say thankyou in Gaelic once we exited it. I never knew when Murf was being serious or pulling our legs, but everyone did it anyway. There are many types of faeries, including the Pooka who cut and scratch you when you’re out at night, another type who jump on your shoulders and make you stagger from side to side (ie the faerie who makes you get drunk!), leprechauns, banshees, heaps of others that I have no idea how to write as they are Gaelic words. The drinking culture is pretty scary though, bit of an eye opener.

We drove through the Barren, a limestone plateau which was apparently left when Ireland was back at the equator under that shallow sea. It’s pretty ‘barren’ and rocky but this was where Oliver Cromwell sent a bunch of people who he didn’t kill, to eek out a meagre existence amongst the rocks. There are lots of tombs there dating back 7000 years (that’s right, WAY older than the pyramids), with massive slabs of rock hoisted somehow onto their roofs. Human bones were placed inside with the idea that this portal would transport that soul into the next realm or existence.

We journeyed on to Clonmacnoise which is a site of foundation of Christianity in Ireland. It is now a site of pilgrimage and even Pope John Paul II journeyed to pray there. There are some amazingly carved Celtic crosses in the graveyard dating back to 900AD, and in attempting to preserve and restore them it was discovered that even with lasers and all the modern technologies we have, the skills of these ancient stonemasons can’t be replicated. They had to take casts of them instead.


Last stop was the Locke Whisky distillery, where Hamish took on the female species in a taste-testing game and won himself a lil bottle of whisky. I still like scotch more 