Our Full Circle

This morning found us on the road from Belfast heading towards Dublin, completing our drive around the island. We have driven over 2000 miles in our 21 days of touring the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Leaving Belfast, we saw many more murals. Most were of a political nature, but one was interestingly about the Titantic. As we approached C. S. Lewis Park, there were a lot of murals relating to The Narnia storyline and the park has several statues of characters from these books. 

Our next stop was in County Down and the gravesite of St. Patrick (c. 387 - 461) at the Down Cathedral. Legend says he died in the 5th century and was buried here on the highest peak. Alongside of St. Patrick, are St. Brigid (c. 451 – 525) and St. Columcille (or St. Columba) (521 - 597), placing Ireland's three most important saints in one place.

“In Down, three saints one grave do fill,
Patrick, Brigid and Columcille.”
-- a rhyming translation of Latin at the time the burial site was discovered in the 10th century.

The cathedral was not built here in the 11th century and in the early 1900's, a large piece of granite was placed on top of the gravesite to protect the site. The stone was quarried nearby and took 12 men 14 days to cut! If you zoom in on the photo, you just can see where the name "Patrick" is engraved into the stone.

A quick stop at Monasterboice was next. This site is known for it's three, 10th century high crosses. The photo shows Anna in front of the Muiredach's High Cross. This 5.5 meter cross is known as the finest high cross in Ireland. It is covered in carvings that tell stories from both the Old and New Testaments.

Off to Bru Na Boyne (Valley of the Boyne), a UNESCO World Heritage Site just to the north of Dublin. Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth (which we did not visit) are prehistoric passage tombs built in the bend of River Boyne. They date to circa 3200BC, making them older than Stonehenge or the pyramids!

Our guided tour (the only way you can visit these sites) began at Knowth. This is the largest of the 3 passage tomb sites and is surrounded by 18 smaller tombs. While Knowth is unstable to go inside, we could walk on top of the 1.5 acre site. Seems a bit contradictory to me, but up the steps I went. Richard's knees were "done for" by this point, and he sat and waited for us while admiring the beautiful view of the valley. Knowth is surrounded by large stones covered in megalithic art and is oriented towards a spring and autumn equinox.

At Newgrange, you can enter the tomb. It was really amazing inside, but we were not allowed to take photos. Our group had about 10-12 so it's a good size inside. There was a demonstration of how the winter solstice light fills the chamber. The knowledge they had to align the construction to corralate with the soltice is stunning. Scroll down to the Newgrange section on this link to see an image of the inside! https://www.ireland.com/en-us/things-to-do/attr…

When setting up our trip, we found a great little working farm in the Boyne Valley we booked for our last night in Ireland. The farm house is 300 years old, and the farm is full of sheep, goats, cows, a pig, and all sorts of birds. Alison, the owner, uses the wool from the sheep on the farm to make her own yarns, which is turned into beautiful items to sell in her onsite shop. Once it is cold enough in NC again, you will see what I bought! I

After shopping, we finished up our last evening watching all the critters and getting our bags repacked to head out the next morning for the Dublin airport and the trip home.

While it was sad to leave, it was time to come home! The trip was everything we had hoped it would be and then some. Of course, there were a few things that didn't go as planned, but the alternatives filled the gaps magnificently. 

The very last photo was taken before we landed on May 3 and shows our trip coming full circle as we visit/stay in the place we first saw upon our arrival. ☘️💚Read more