Monday, June 24, 2013
COILL NA SÍÓGA: THE FAIRY TREE
It being of a Sunday, we went for a walk before the family came for Sunday Dinner At Timmy and Helen's House.
We drove out to Marlay Park and caught the tail end of the Sunday Market. It was blustery and overcast but at that stage there was no rain.
We walked out to the play area first. Mercedes challenged everybody to climb the SpiderWeb in 90 seconds or less. It took her about 40 seconds to climb about 10 metres. It took me about 10 minutes to reach her at the top.
We took shelter under the trees for about 10 minutes of driving rain (Summer. Ha!)
Helen led us to the Fairy Tree, a magical place for the imagination. The Fairy Tree Man was doing some maintenance. He gave us a tour and told us the history of the tree (Wikipedia's take on Fairy Trees) He started making windows and doors for the holes in a rotting stump of a tree that had been hit by lightening. He added turrets and fairy walkways. People started leaving notes for the fairies and children would leave their soothers when they were old enough to not need them. The Fairy Tree started to take on a life of its own. The Fairy Tree Man takes care of it every weekend. He makes new elements for it with the children of the special needs school where his son is a student.
Mercedes wrote her wish on a piece of paper. The Fairy Tree Man placed it in a hole in the trunk and sealed it up so that it will be there for ever.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
DRABHLÁS: THERE WAS DRINK TAKEN, YOUR HONOUR
The Palace Bar, Fleet Street - one of the Great Ones
We stopped in here for a drink and some good conversation.
DUBHTOWN: THERE'S A MUSEUM FOR THAT
Mercedes has been keeping an eye out for leprechauns since she got off the plane in Dublin. When she heard that there was a museum of the leprechaun she just had to visit it. In all my years of visiting Dublin I have managed to avoid this "museum". But the "little people" worked their magic and Uncle Máirtín broke down and gave in.
Iontas na n-iontas, I really liked it. It was really a small museum of rural folklife and storytelling. The guide brought us through dark passageways into various lit areas where he told stories about the Little People and how they have captured the imagination of a very superstitious people. He began with the modern idea of leprechauns that was almost exclusively an invention of Walt Disney and Darby O'Gill (A touch o'Blarney ... A heap o'Magic ... A LOAD O'LAUGHTER). But he quickly moved into mythology and legend with stories of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fianna. There were very few props but everyone was spellbound by his way of telling the stories and the history. It was a great reminder that singing and dancing are not our only national arts.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
AN RADHARC ÓN ÓSTÁN
We are staying at my brother's house in Perrystown. Timmy and Helen are away in Italy on their annual hollyers but Gemma and Kevin are taking good care of us.
From the attic bedroom we can see south to the Wicklow Mountains. When you can actually see the mountains, it is the best time to visit GleannDáLoch.
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