Some Neolithic Ireland and a visit to Brú na Bóinne (The Palace of the Boyne)

 Ireland is rich in ancient sites. Some years ago Pauline and I stayed in Carran, Co. Clare and one of our first sights was in the evening when the majority of tourists had drifted away. It was Poulnabrone, an icon of Megalithic Ireland - an amazing sight, almost floating above the limestone pavement of the Burren. My supposition is that it is probable that the landscape at the time, 3800 -3200 BCE, was not so different - Hazel would probably have been extensive in the grikes in the pavement (it remains so where there is sufficient soil), but would be easily harvested for manufacture of baskets, fences etc. The free-draining geology would have militated against bog formation.

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb

 A year later saw us in Co. Mayo visiting the Céide (pronounced Kaydje, apparently!) Fields.

Céide Fields, Co. Mayo

Céide Fields are the site of the first known landscapes of stone walled fields in the world, possibly dating back some 6000 years*. This is a wholly different landscape to that of the Burren. There is not much to be seen in the open as the walls were covered by metres of depth of peat bog. A local landowner, Patrick Caulfield, discovered stones while turf cutting. The stones were in a regular pattern. Using the iron rods that were driven into the bog to find tree remains, his son Seamus, an archaeologist, uncovered the ordered nature of the stone walls. Since then artefacts have also been found. I am anything but a paleobotanist, or paleo-anything, so the following must be taken as approximate (the Céide Fields Visitor Centre has far more information).  It is thought that at around 3500-3000 BCE the forested lands (Pine and Birch) were cleared for grazing. With the warm wet post-glacial period, blanket bog took over and covered the land, burying the farmland, walls and remaining trees. 

* UPDATE, 20/08/25 On seeing 'The Mystery of the Desert Kites' on BBC Channel 4, I found it intriguing that to the SE of what is considered the fertile crescent of the Middle East, thousands of huge 'desert kites' have been found stretching from SW Saudi Arabia round to the Mediterranean and NE to Kazakhstan. These 'kites' comprised sails - enclosures - and 'tails' of stone walls believed now to have guided gazelle on migration into sophisticated traps. The kites are considered to date across the neolithic, perhaps to 7000 BCE. There are similarities with other structures to my mind - carvings of human figures that echo what I saw at Filtosa, Corsica, dating back 4000 BCE (although these latter carvings have been modified over time).

On visiting Ballycroy Nature Reserve nearby we were lucky enough to be told where to find the exposed stumps and roots of Pines that predated the overlying peat bog.

Pine Stump and Roots, possibly 6000 years old, below the Peat

 

 Although we had seen megaliths before, from across western Europe, it was with these sites in Ireland that we were truly bitten by the prehstoric landscape bug, and Newgrange, being on the Boyne just 30 minutes from our friends in Dundalk, was now in our sights. A speciality of Newgrange is seeing the Winter Solstice from within the tomb passage. Having my birthday at the Winter Solstice, we twice entered the raffle to see the sunrise on that day, but without luck.

 This year, for unrelated reasons, I was visiting P and M in July and took advantage to book a 3.5 hr tour of the Newgrange site, including Knowth. The Newgrange website is a little frustrating in that it provides limited information and urges booking for tours, with the focus very much on Newgrange. On the day, I visited with D and M as P felt 3.5 hrs was too long. I did wonder whether I should have booked the shorter 2 hr visit just to Newgrange but that would have been to miss the main bulk of the neolithic landscape.

Arrival: timing is stressed; the visitor centre is nowhere near Newgrange and parking at the centre gives a 5 minute walk to the centre itself where there are numerous staff to welcome, put on colored wrist bands (very important for the tour), and direct visitors where to go.  Built into the arrival time is an allowance to familiarise oneself and grab a cup of tea from the reasonable cafe. Then it is another 5 min walk across the River Boyne to the coach pick-up point. Then, onto the coach and off, along private tracks and narrow lanes until the arrival at Knowth.

 

 

Arriving at Knowth we were warmly welcomed by a very knowledgable guide who 'opened our eyes' to the value of Knowth. The site is astonishing! The first impact is that the main passage tomb is partly hidden by a number of smaller mounds:

 

Arriving at Knowth

 The main tomb has 17 smaller mounds surrounding it. It is larger than Newgrange and has two entrances (not accessible) which face East and West but are not solsticially aligned (although, like much else, there are different theories). The main feature seen are the kerbstones - 124 of what would have been 127. Many are intrically carved. There have been various reasons given for the carvings. Currently 'art' seems to be in favour - and why not, given the culture that erected the tombs was clearly sophisticated, simply lacking metal:

 

 

 

It was put to us that the Newgrange sites hold more than 50% of all neolithic art in Western Europe and that the vast majority of it is at Knowth.

 

From the top of the tomb at Knowth it is possible to see across the neolithic landscape to Newgrange:

Newgrange from Knowth

 

The remaining passage tomb making up the Newgrange complex is Dowth, which was iredeemably damaged during ill-thought archaeology in the past. The site is freely accessible and I hope to visit it on another trip!
 

 Scattered to the foreground of the tomb at Knowth is white quartz. It is thought, somewhat controversially, that this was a revetment of the wall of the tomb. There are a couple of examples of such in France, but the most striking is the reconstruction at Newgrange, which apparently, was based on reverse modelling the assumed fallen positions of the quartz stones:

 

To enter the tomb, we had to split into two groups and make sure that we had nothing extraneous that could be caught in the narrow passageway. Sadly, but understandably, photography was forbidden. Squeezing along the passage we arrived at a cruciform chamber where the guide explained about the finds and the magnificent corbelled roof, made of interleaved rock slabs.In front of the passage is a very impressive kerbstone which I thought I had not photographed but it turns out to be the first snap taken at Newgrange before the rest of the tourists turned up!

 

 

Although striking in its appearance, in some ways, Newgrange was less impressive to us than Knowth. I suspect that this is because the reconstruction at Newgrange, while undoubtedly impressive, can never be conclusive and the surrounding landscape will be different to how it was, whereas the very intensity of structures and rock art at Knowth is enveloping. (It must also be said that the focus at Newgrange is the passage and that was reflected by the people management there).

 

Back at the Visitor Centre there were displays, including a reconstruction of the Newgrange chamber. Question to myself - would I visit again? Certainly, but there are other sites as well: Loughcrew and Fourknocks, as well as Proleek that we visited in 2019. It sits on the edge of a golf course:

 

Proleek

 

Using my guide 'The Old Stones', a field guide to the megalithic sites of Britain and Ireland (a 'must have' for anyone interested in such things), I have also noted down a few sites in NI to visit. What with those and the old castles and religious ruins ...

 

 

 

 

Ireland in July

Trips to Ireland in recent years have tended to be out of Summer, but a few weeks ago the bug got to me and I booked a fortnight at Chez Lennon.

I have had multiple eye problems recently - periorbital stuff - psoriasis, blepharitis, plus conjunctivitis which started before my trip to Wales and have waxed and waned since then. The previous week everything was looking good, but that had a sudden reversal on Sunday, 6th July, such that driving the next day was a problem. For this trip I had decided to stop at motorway services a couple of hours from Holyhead to get several hours rest and that proved wothwhile. The original reason for this was Travelodge/Premier Inn dynamic pricing. Uusally at Holyhead I pay £30-£40, but both chains had taken the price to £140+. The 04.00 ferry from Holyhead was almost empty. Arriving in Dublin at 07.15 on the 8th meant a leisurely drive to Dundalk and the first of many cups of tea. 

Pamela kept reminding me of how, on my last trip, within a couple of hours of arrival she needed me to give her a lift to the nearby Dunnes store and then I had immediately to repack for our nights away in the Irish Midlands, but this wouldn't be the case this time. My eyes were bad so we did nothing until the next morning. At that time my eyes were a little better and Pamela asked me to take her out for a photoshoot, which was accomplished at the Gateway Hotel. This was repeated on Wednesday at The Fairways Hotel. The second was a little less successful as the sun and heat were becoming testing for both of us. My eyes remained quite poor so I wasn't dressing as Thursday was Warrenpoint day and I was saving myself for that. 

On Carlingford Lough

Knowing the predicted temperatures, Pamela thought it unlikely she would accompany us and even early in the morning it was getting hot so Pamela stayed at home while Debbie drove Mary and myself to get the ferry from Greenore (RoI) to Greencastle (NI). I was wearing my new short-sleeve Seasalt dress. At Greenore we had drinks at the COOP (an old coverted COOP shop). The ferry ride was fun and when we arrived at Greencastle we drove to Rostrevor to Kilbroney Park and its Narnia Trail where we had tea. Unfortunately, although I was wearing my old comfy town shoes, something was wrong, especially walking in the park ... blisters, blisters, blisters! (I think that my feet have changed over the last few months). 

With Aslan

We cut short our walk in the park and made our way to Warrenpoint, which is a nice little seaside resort at the head of the Carlingford Lough that I remember fondly walking round with Pauline (we even did a bit of tentative house hunting there in the one year that prices seemed affordable). We had a snack at the Whistledown Hotel before heading back to Dundalk via Newry. The Whistledown Hotel was where, years before, Pauline had insisted finishing a snack despite us being due back at Dundalk in 20 minutes to pick up a Christmas cake ... we made it, just! Back at Chez Lennon it was apparent, on inspection, my right foot was a mess where the skin had blistered over a bunion and bled. I had really enjoyed the Carlingford ferry and I hope it manages to keep going despite a bridge across the lough near Warrenpoint.

 

Three's A Crowd in Next, Newry!

 On Friday, the weather was getting hotter but we got away fairly early in the morning with Debbie who drove us to 'The Secret Garden', part of Carrickdale Hotel and Spa. I was wearing a t-top and long peasant skirt over my flatties. More tea was drunk by the others - I was sticking to black coffee - and photos taken, before a drive into Newry, The Quays. We visited Next and M+S (including tea at Next!) before going into the shopping centre itself. I picked up some things for my blisters in Boots and then we did the tour of the sadly diminishing shops there - River Island, H&M, and even Waterstones. Then it was back to Dundalk again.

 

My right foot was now outdoing my eyes as a source of difficulty and it was very hot. Saturday was a day for doing nothing.

On Sunday, realising that my flatties wouldn't do for the whole time away,  I took myself off to Newry and managed to buy two pairs of sandals - a female pair in Regatta and a male pair in JD Sports, both at half-price. I thought that would be sufficient to cover eventualities.

On Monday, Debbie came and picked Mary and myself (Male mode) up to go to Newgrange, a Neolithic site. The heat and the length of the tour (3.5 hr) had dissuaded Pamela from joining us. It was a long day, but very successful. I'll write about that separately. 

In the Judge and Jury

Tuesday and we headed for Trim for a two-night stay. I was wearing my Regatta sandals which worked perfectly. I was back in my first dress for the day, but wearing the new RW wig. We stopped at Bective Tea Rooms for lunch on the way but it was very crowded and noisy; a different experience to the previous visit for me. At Trim  Castle Hotel, I changed into the blue/blk/white dress for photos and dinner. Unfortunately, the white sling backs I had for evening wear were too uncomfortable and I stuck with the sandals. The hotel was very busy and there was a large group of middle-aged women (from NI) who were clearly having a riotous time! We had mocktails, provided by Debbie on the roof terrace. Dinner was uninpsiring. We decided to go for a drink and after passing plenty of closed bars and cafes stopped at the 'Judge and Jury', near the hotel. 

The next morning I felt very sluggish and with all the bits to do - eyes and feet - I decided to skip breakfast. I chose to wear my other new, blue Seasalt dress. After meeting the others in the foyer we went to the Tourist Information Office where a chap was very helpful. We then went back to the hotel while Pamela and Mary went off to the chemists for whatever they needed. When we got together again we all went in Debbie's car to the outskirts of Trim where we stopped to visit the ruins of the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul and Marcie Regan's where we had a drink (my first coffee of the day!)

On the banks of the Boyne 

 

A few photos were taken and then back to the hotel so Pamela could rest - she'd had little sleep the night before through discomfort to her knee. Debbie and I stayed out for a stroll along the Boyne.

Trim By Night

It was very pleasant and then we went back to the hotel and I rested until it was time to meet up for an evening meal which we had at the Stockhouse. I had changed into my green Seasalt dress. My salmon was excellent but Mary's burger order was all wrong; they had to redo that and the apple pie desserts were very poor with curdled custard; sad really as the place had a good atmosphere otherwise. On the way back to the hotel we took street pictures. 

On the last morning, in my first dress again, I decided to join the others for breakfast but that took a while to sort out as the breakfast room was on the first floor and the signage was inadequate (only being in the lift and I was using the stairs). Breakfast over, we decided we would stop at the Conyngham Arms, Slane, for tea-top-up. We had to park a long way off and the hotel was shut for a wedding, so we just headed back to Dundalk. Knowing how hungry P and M would be I went off to Mullens to fetch chicken 'n chips, before we settled down to the TV series of the Ipcress File.

Friday was definitely a rest day ... and my eyes felt reasonably OK!!! In the afternoon we drove into town to get a cake for Mary and have dinner out - the Jockeys...full, the Windsor ...not serving for another 1/2 hours, so P and I dropped Mary off and got more food from Mullens before settling down to more Ipcress File.

Saturday was another rest day for me. I was feeling better than I had done for ages and wanted to enjoy that feeling! My eyes were still a tiny bit gritty and on close-up there was still blepharitis, much-reduced, but the periorbital odema to my left eye, which seems to be caused by psoriasis, was completely clear and the drooping on the left lower lid was gone (as far as the chalazion lets it go). Pamela dressed and we went to the Gateway for dinner to celebrate Mary's birthday. Then back for the final part of the Ipcress File.

Sunday was spent continuing rest. Debbie had indicated that she would like us to go out on Monday, and that was fine for me - more rest for my eyes and feet (almost better). Pamela had had a bad night so I decided to take the opportunity to take some pictures in Dundalk. I even managed Blackrock alone, much to the chagrin of my hostess. Sleep prevailed inbetween times - the house is very warm and I felt like an old dog!!! No Ipcress File, so we had Miss Marple (don't ask me which ...)

St Patrick's Church, Dundalk 

Dundalk was an industrial town, with the manufacture of shoes (five factories), cigarettes (Sweet Afton) and lager (Harp) - now all gone.

It is now focusing on tech, but many of the trappings of that history are visible.

Carlingford Priory

Monday, we were due to go to Carlingford, but the weather was dreek, so I took the time to pack. In the evening we went for a farewell drink at The Gateway, but we had reserved enough time for Debbie to kindly drive us to Carlingford on Tuesday morning, for a visit to the priory, tea and scones and a visit to a well-frequented (by Pamela and Debbie) dress shop!

 

 There will be more pictures on flickr, but by 6.15pm it was time for me to take my leave and head to Dublin for the ferry. The uneventful return may be more eventful (I might have triggered a speed camera) and, sadly, there was a major diversion before the M2 ... possibly a suicide. But I was back by 7am to unwelcome visitors  ... wasps - a queen has found a way in!!!

All in all, a wonderful two weeks at Chez Lennon with regular appearances of Debbie, who was charming.

 (Apologies if the format is odd, I wanted to get this up before going onto Newgrange and I have difficulty with Blogger, and everything else nowadays ... I've now tidied it up a bit, 23/07).

Footnote ... on 10/08 it is now passed the time for me to have received any summons re speeding ... phew! However, the lesson has been learnt ... there was no purpose to me driving the speed I was (I was simply bored with repeated speed reduction areas with nothing happening at 3am, so didn't slow down the third time I saw the 50 mph sign with no indication as to why the need for the reduction). And the hold-up at the M2 was because of a suicide, putting life into perspective.

Dipping a Toe in The Gulf of Americana

 

I started this blog over two weeks ago and then managed to lose it all (fat finger syndrome), so re-started it, As with almost everything I do, it soon took on a different, and much longer, meandering path. It may be continued, although I think I've covered the main players in my Americana. (I might add more later).

Although no one in my family has ever played a musical instrument (I did try to play piano for a month, or so) I was brought up with music. I can’t remember how young I was when my mother taught me the words to ‘This Land is Your Land’, words that established my general political views well before I was 10! It was several years before I made the connection with Woodie Guthrie, who wrote the song.

I don’t intend to cover all the musical influences in my youth – I think I’ll write another post on The Everly Brothers, Adam Faith and the late 50’s/very early 60’s, if I can remember enough. Here I want to focus on a genre that has become important with age.

Through an elder brother, the arrival of Bob Dylan’s first LP in ’62 introduced me to a raw American folk to replace the more commercialised folk in his collection of The Kingston Trio, the Weavers, and Peter, Paul and Mary. The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Maken in their Aran sweaters, seemed to sum up the influence of commercialism; I have since revisited them all with more wisdom. But Dylan - talk about “blowing the bloody doors off”! The music, together with an introduction to ‘alternative’ literature*, hit me as strongly as testosterone did. I saw the world ‘differently’ and probably became a pain in the butt for my parents for some years, whose ‘liberal’ views appeared to come through a relaxed wealth rather than conviction.

* I had moved from Dracula to Camus and Genet. 

Then a couple of years later, there were The Stones and the blues-orientated rock, which was my preference, although I had time enough for the ‘Liverpool Sound’ and soon afterwards I met Pauline, with whom I did buy Beatles LPs.

Blues Influence and Change of Direction 

Back to the influence of Dylan and Guthrie: I started picking up bits and pieces of American music, from ‘Cisco Houston, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot through to the blues of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. I even traced back to Blind Lemon Jefferson and  Robert Johnson’s Cross Road Blues as well as Champion Jack Dupree, all of which cemented an interest in blues, rather than rock. At that time the UK music scene was exploding, but again that isn’t what this piece is about, so I’m even zipping past John Mayall.

From the late ‘60s rock and pop music became a widespread cultural force throughout the world. With our move to Germany in early ’77, the music we were exposed to was mainly that supplied by American Forces Network (AFN). I did get to some interesting gigs in the UK just before we left and on returns, but again, they’re for another time.

By the time we returned to the UK, pop music had gone somewhere that didn’t interest me (there may be the odd exception) and I was using the Britannia Music Club to find out more about classical music – it was a wonderland, and I’ve never looked back! 

Actions Speaking Louder Than Words

Then there’s a memory gap – these were tumultuous years of house buying, moving, of deaths in the family, jobs found, and jobs lost and a new career being forged. So, I’m not sure where the influence came from, but the old interests started to return, and Americana appeared … I recall being familiar enough with Cajun music that I was stomping to it in a Glasgow pub in ’93.

In ’94 I bought ‘The Pearl’ by Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain who we saw sometime at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury (a theatre that also provided us with an evening of Stephan Grappelli). I have to admit that despite Phil Cunningham’s ability, I never could really get on with his style of accordion playing, it is just too mellifluous, but the connection with Aly Bain was important as in 1995, The Transatlantic Sessions started, and the door was opened to wider Americana.

The people featured below, except for Iris DeMent, are all dead, before their time. 

Iris DeMent 

From The Transatlantic Sessions I took Iris DeMent, a singer with a unique voice, to heart. ‘Our Town’ closed the final series of ‘Northern Exposure’ and, even more powerfully, she sang the Carter Burwell song at the end of the Coen Brothers excellent version of ‘True Grit’. Singing quite a lot of gospel, she can test my atheist patience but ‘When My Mornin’ Comes Around’ has an extremely powerful sentiment for me, and ‘Easy’s Getting’ Harder Every Day’ is very evocative of a poor woman’s existence in the Midwest.

Iris DeMent, John Prine and Nanci Griffith 

A lighter side of Iris DeMent is here with the John Prine - 'In Spite Of Ourselves'. John Prine was regarded highly for his song writing and 'Paradise' from his first album (1971!) harks back to the style of Woody. He also sang about Vietnam vets ...'Sam Stone'. Among his songs is one sung with Nanci Griffith - 'Speed of The Sound of Loneliness'. I knew of Nanci from Transatlantic Sessions and was lucky enough to see her in 2012 (she was a little croaky, she had been having treatment for thyroid cancer). She wrote lovingly of the smell of a Woolworth’s Store when visiting London!

Nanci Griffith, Townes Van Zandt, Kate Wolf

 It was looking at the writers of songs that increased my contact with Americana. ‘The Cowboy’s Lament’ was slightly different. Featured on Nanci’s album 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' it had Don Edwards yodelling and following his name, I took a little trip into cowboy music (but not ‘Home On The Range’ which seems to run counter to ‘This Land is Your Land’, especially in John Lomax’s ’red man’ version). Another writer on Nanci's album was Townes Van Zandt and 'Tecumseh Valley' stood out. Townes was a very talented songwriter, who lived a troubled existence. One of his best known songs is 'Pancho and Lefty' but 'Nothin'' seems to sum up an inner melancholy. Another writer I discovered through Nanci Griffith was Kate Wolf - here 'Across The Great Divide' sung by Nanci and Emylou Harris. Kate Wolf wrote some great songs. One, perhaps bookending John Prine's 'Paradise' is 'Old Jerome'.

Remembrance 

There are two songs of Kate's that have special meaning for me. They date from when I was caring for Barbara. The more poignant, which came on purely at random while I was driving home from her funeral was 'Shadow of a Life'. It was and remains my farewell to Barbara.

The last concert I saw with Pauline was Sharon Shannon at Colchester, so here's Sharon playing with John Prine and Mary Staunton singing one of John's songs 'Love, Love, Love' - my burn scars proudly define me.

(Apologies to anyone mad enough to read this for any grammar, link errors etc. they'll be corrected later, but I have dresses to pack!)