Long the land of twinkling eyes, charming smiles and warm hospitality. It’s easy for fall in love with this captivating emerald isle. History meets tall tales in every corner of this beguiling destination. The scenery ranges from rolling green hills to the fabulously raw wild Atlantic coast. History reaches back thousands of years and still reverberates through more recent times, with ‘The Troubles’ not so far behind us.
As two countries on an island, Ireland and Northern Ireland occupy a unique socio-economic and geographic position. Ireland is an isolated part of the European Union butting up to an invisible land border with Northern Ireland, which is a similarly isolated part of the United Kingdom. A quandary in the wake of Brexit.
Yes, the Emerald Isle is two different countries. The Republic of Ireland (called Ireland, and in the south) is in the European Union. Northern Ireland is not, it’s part of the United Kingdom, and it’s the land border between the two Irelands that has caused so much discussion following Brexit. A land border exists but has no barriers or passport checks.
We started our tour in Dublin, and drove clockwise around both countries. The roads are first class and the driving easy. There’s much to see, and experience even in winter when we sampled Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Any visit to Dublin (and across Ireland) will inevitably bring you into contact with commemorations of the ‘Great Famine’, the potato famine which meant Ireland lost almost a third of its population – either to starvation, or migration. Its impact is deeply embedded in the Irish psyche, so much so that there is an official website commemorating this terrible tragedy.
“No other event in our history can be likened to the Great Famine, either for its immediate, tragic impact, or its legacy of emigration, cultural loss and decline of the Irish language. The population of Ireland, which was close to 8.5 million in 1845, fell to 6.6 million by 1851…”
Much of the Irish diaspora that flourishes around the world can be traced back to migration during the famine.
Ireland and Northern Ireland have more recently been shaped by ‘The Troubles’, which began in the late 1960s. For more than 40 years, ‘the Troubles’ saw incendiary sectarian violence spill over into everyday lives and spread across the United Kingdom and beyond. Today, while peace prevails, it’s easy to scratch the surface and catch a glimpse of ‘The Troubles’ at any one of the significant sites or tours aimed at sharing this dark chapter in Irish history.
An introductory sample of these troubles times can be found in Belfast, the movie and the book ‘Say Nothing’ which ‘weaves the stories of Jean McConville and her family with those of Dolours Price, the first woman to join the IRA as a front-line soldier, who bombed the Old Bailey when barely out of her teens; Gerry Adams, who helped bring an end to the fighting, but denied his own IRA past; Brendan Hughes, a fearsome IRA commander who turned on Adams after the peace process and broke the IRA’s code of silence; and other indelible figures’. More on this in the TravelSampler book pages.
Belfast itself is an interesting stopover. City tours will take you walking through The Troubles, while also showing you Belfast of today. And of course, finishing in a heartwarming pub for a Guiness or two.
The Giant’s Causeway, located in the north, is said to been a connection across the sea to the England. Legend has it Finn MCool, the giant, created it to do battle with a Scottish giant – or is it a remnant of a tragic story where Finn fell in love with a Scottish maiden? On a grey, misty day it’s easy to imagine this spectacular formation has a sweeping, romantic reason for being! The National Trust has more information here.
We loved the Wild Atlantic Way. This coastal road runs most of the length of Ireland, and exposes travellers to the full unbridled power of the Atlantic Ocean. Beaches are windswept, the ocean wild and unforgiving, and in winter it’s raw, powerful and blustery. Full exposure to the elements. Rug up and experience the intensity of nature.
The Wild Atlantic Way says this: …’Enchanting villages are nestled along the coast as well as ancient monuments – their origins having long sunk into the mists of oblivion dot the landscape…The wild Atlantic with its unrestrained and untameable tides and storms has continuously been moulding the west coast of Ireland. With a constant meeting of water and land, a deeply indented and wild terrain has emerged with towering cliffs, spellbinding bays and beaches, mystical islands, always changing and never reaching the end’…
There’s so much to see and experience in Ireland and Northern Ireland. From fine Waterford Crystal, to Irish Linen, film locations for Game of Thrones, great golf courses, fast racehouses, rugby and all things maritime. We highly recommend it!
