I missed posting yesterday. It was a busy day with a horseback ride (described in the Irelandloveodyssey blog). We also visited Ross Castle where we saw the sights above. And, we took a drive to Kenmare where we walked around town, looking for a geocache.
Annie has taken off on a hike, and I'll be going to Mass today. Msgr. O'Donovan will be proud because I'm in the town where his family originated.
The Cathedral is huge, and it sits in the middle of huge, beautiful grounds. I have noticed in our first few days in Ireland the prominence of the church steeples. St. Mary's, so far, towers far above the rest, but we have yet to see many more.
I'll do the rest of my writing and picture posting later today on www.irelandloveodyssey.blogspot.com. So, check there for more news.
Now it's off for a walk on a lovely day through Killarney town and to the Cathedral.
~~~~
Am now back at the hotel. Annie has reached the summit of her mountain, the tallest in Ireland. I'll feel good when I see her walking through the door.
The walk to Mass was beyond pleasant, through downtown Killarney. I've had two offers for a cart ride through town. May do that later.
My mission this morning was to make it to Mass, and I did. The Cathedral is beautiful, all stone and huge. I was disappointed that a choir did not sing, but a lady with a haunting Celtic voice sang a cappella throughout the Mass.
It took me a while to understand the priest. He says prayers and Mass fast---must be an Irish tradition. He used lovely anecdotes to get his message of involvement across.
In one case, he told of a lady with cancer. She had lost her hair from treatment and worried about her 5-year-old son when he saw her. She knew he would be upset with her appearance.
When she reassured him that Mommy would be better soon, the little boy said, he saw her hair and that it had changed but that he also saw her heart and it would never change.
Another story told involved a young man who set out to change the world. Later in life, he decided to cut back on his expectations and to just change the country. Even later, he decided to concentrate on changing his family.
On his death bed, he decided it was best to change himself.
The message being that if we change ourselves, we can accomplish all of the above. So, I guess if we always work on ourselves, we can affect the mission of changing the world, our country and our family.
I'll take that away from Ireland.
When I walked outside the Cathedral, I told the priest I had come from Idaho and had not been to Mass in a long time. He gave me a blessing of absolution and said, "Welcome home."
Talk about meaning---in several dimensions.
I'm back at the hotel and will leave soon for another walk downtown. Maybe I'll say yes when one of those cart drivers offers me a buggy ride.
Question to be answered on this Sunday of our third day: is Ireland everything it's cracked up to be.
The answer: yes. I have found its beauty in the landscape and in the people. There's Joel Forde who worked his career as a civil servant. He offered to get me a chair the other night as I stood at a table, trying to post some stuff on line and in the state of extreme fatigue.
Since then, Joel, an avid photographer who, has won Ireland-wide awards and has photographed the tour de france, has introduced me to his wife Pat and his daughter Orla and her hubby, the world's greatest son-in-law. I have also met his grandchildren---a boy and a girl.
The youngest lady of the Forde family reminds me of Annie----an independent adventurer.
I've also made permanent friendship with Mikey and Alice who guided us on our horseback ride yesterday. They are wonderful young people who LOVE being around horses.
When we returned to the hotel yesterday, we found an envelope in the room addressed to Ms. Love. I figured it was for Annie. She said it was for me.
The envelope had a business card for Dunboy Construction---owner Pat O'Sullivan. A note at the top said, "Haley's cousin." I'm assuming that's my friend Haley Butler Sorbel, who just moved to Alaska.
She told me she'd been in Ireland, but she didn't tell me about Pat. Maybe I'll meet him before we leave Killarney.
This is a special place which deserves all the acclaim it gets, and it has been worth the wait of a lifetime to see it.
So much more to come. I'll post when it's possible, but that may be intermittent. Learned today from Bill that my phone will NOT work all through Ireland because it's too old---look at what two years difference in technology does to us common folk.
Enjoy the pictures and do check back. Also, for my friend Helen, there ARE Methodist churches here in Ireland, as you can see from the top photo. They just aren't quite as prominent as the Cathedrals!
Happy Sunday. GO ZAGS!
Also, be sure to check Annie's "Rainier Girl" link at her blogsite: www.nnlove.blogspot.com. She is posting about the trip also.
~~~~
Am now back at the hotel. Annie has reached the summit of her mountain, the tallest in Ireland. I'll feel good when I see her walking through the door.
The walk to Mass was beyond pleasant, through downtown Killarney. I've had two offers for a cart ride through town. May do that later.
My mission this morning was to make it to Mass, and I did. The Cathedral is beautiful, all stone and huge. I was disappointed that a choir did not sing, but a lady with a haunting Celtic voice sang a cappella throughout the Mass.
It took me a while to understand the priest. He says prayers and Mass fast---must be an Irish tradition. He used lovely anecdotes to get his message of involvement across.
In one case, he told of a lady with cancer. She had lost her hair from treatment and worried about her 5-year-old son when he saw her. She knew he would be upset with her appearance.
When she reassured him that Mommy would be better soon, the little boy said, he saw her hair and that it had changed but that he also saw her heart and it would never change.
Another story told involved a young man who set out to change the world. Later in life, he decided to cut back on his expectations and to just change the country. Even later, he decided to concentrate on changing his family.
On his death bed, he decided it was best to change himself.
The message being that if we change ourselves, we can accomplish all of the above. So, I guess if we always work on ourselves, we can affect the mission of changing the world, our country and our family.
I'll take that away from Ireland.
When I walked outside the Cathedral, I told the priest I had come from Idaho and had not been to Mass in a long time. He gave me a blessing of absolution and said, "Welcome home."
Talk about meaning---in several dimensions.
I'm back at the hotel and will leave soon for another walk downtown. Maybe I'll say yes when one of those cart drivers offers me a buggy ride.
Question to be answered on this Sunday of our third day: is Ireland everything it's cracked up to be.
The answer: yes. I have found its beauty in the landscape and in the people. There's Joel Forde who worked his career as a civil servant. He offered to get me a chair the other night as I stood at a table, trying to post some stuff on line and in the state of extreme fatigue.
Since then, Joel, an avid photographer who, has won Ireland-wide awards and has photographed the tour de france, has introduced me to his wife Pat and his daughter Orla and her hubby, the world's greatest son-in-law. I have also met his grandchildren---a boy and a girl.
The youngest lady of the Forde family reminds me of Annie----an independent adventurer.
I've also made permanent friendship with Mikey and Alice who guided us on our horseback ride yesterday. They are wonderful young people who LOVE being around horses.
When we returned to the hotel yesterday, we found an envelope in the room addressed to Ms. Love. I figured it was for Annie. She said it was for me.
The envelope had a business card for Dunboy Construction---owner Pat O'Sullivan. A note at the top said, "Haley's cousin." I'm assuming that's my friend Haley Butler Sorbel, who just moved to Alaska.
She told me she'd been in Ireland, but she didn't tell me about Pat. Maybe I'll meet him before we leave Killarney.
This is a special place which deserves all the acclaim it gets, and it has been worth the wait of a lifetime to see it.
So much more to come. I'll post when it's possible, but that may be intermittent. Learned today from Bill that my phone will NOT work all through Ireland because it's too old---look at what two years difference in technology does to us common folk.
Enjoy the pictures and do check back. Also, for my friend Helen, there ARE Methodist churches here in Ireland, as you can see from the top photo. They just aren't quite as prominent as the Cathedrals!
Happy Sunday. GO ZAGS!
Also, be sure to check Annie's "Rainier Girl" link at her blogsite: www.nnlove.blogspot.com. She is posting about the trip also.
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