MO RANG SEAN-NÓS

Last day of the sean-nós class.

SUNDAY WALK

"go ciúin sa ghleann ina luí"




Each year the ard-rang goes out for a walk with a local native speaker. This year, the usual “victim” Paddy Beag was not available so Tony Birtil from Liverpool led the group. Usually, Tony “teaches” the hillwalking class but today he took us on a less strenous hike to the church.
We were a big group – Rang 6, Rang, 7, and Rang 8 all together. We walked in bright sunshine, seeing the valley at its best. Tony pointed out the damage to the trees from the storms of the previous Winter. Many of the trees suffered from the increased salt in the air. The fir trees, in particular turned brown and ugly and many other kinds of trees died. The local people refer to this phenomenon as “an gaoth rua” – the red wind.

At the church Tony opened the access to the souterrain. There is a wooden ladder now, something that wasn’t there last year. It is a lot easier to climb down into it than ever before. No one had a flashlight. I used the flash on my camera to poke around but I’ve been inside it so many times that I didn’t really need a light to find my way around.

After the church the group split up. Today is Open House at the Folk Museum. The majority of the group headed up there to get a taste of life in Sean Dún na nGall while a small group went with Tony and Seosaimh Watson to investigate a group of passage graves that the local people refer to as the “Necropolis”.

DONEGAL TOWN

Mary offered a ride to Donegal Town. Sandy wanted to come along but she also wanted to spend the day in the Gleann. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, the perfect day to go swimming. We agreed we would go into Donegal to do the weekly shop but try to be back early so Sandy could go swimming.

When we got to town we parked the car and split up. They were going to the castle first but I wanted to get a little breakfast. I walked out to the Catholic church by myself then walked a little further to the Famine Graveyard. I was surprised to see that all the rowan trees along the edge of the graveyard had been cut down. It seems the County Council is making an effort to clean up and maintain the site. Schoolchildren had planted a bed of flowers to commemorate the aid sent by the Choctaws during the Famine.

I walked back towards town. I crossed over to the other side of the river to explore a different part of town. I found a newly opened restaurant where I could sit outside and have a cappuccino. Directly across the street was the Magee's factory.

I went back to the castle. There was a tour about to start so I waited in the courtyard for a few minutes. I love visiting the castle and try to take the tour every time I visit Donegal. I love hearing the story of the Ó Domhnaill and how they defended Ireland from English encroachment. Ultimately though, they were defeated and we haven't had a day's peace since.

The tour was hardly finished when I got a call from Mary. Sandy wanted to go back to the Gleann. I had to meet them right away so we could do our shopping and they could get back. We went to the SuperValu together. Yuki (Sneachta) was there doing shopping too. Mary offered to take her back in the car so I decided I would stay in Donegal and take the bus back later.

I met Marcas in the Diamond. We had agreed earlier that we would have dinner together. We walked over to the Blueberry which wasn't as crowded as usual. I had the special - lamb kebabs served in a bhajji that was more like pita bread. Marcas had the chickeny thing. I couldn't resist the strawberry-rhubarb crumble with fresh cream. Everything was delicious.

When we were finished there was very little time left for walking around. We took the bus home, well satisfied with our day out in town.

MO RANG (MY CLASS)

My class is interesting. There are about 18 people in the class. Most of the people, maybe 10 or so, were in my class last year. I have the same teacher, too. Eithne is a lexicographer who is working on a massive project to identify every Irish word that has ever appeared in print. She is directing the project from a center in Donegal. The biggest part of the project is to digitize every book and manuscript that has ever been published. Each entry will have a paragraph from the original showing the word in context. Every spelling or varient form of the word will also be included to show how words have changed over the centuries.

Eithne has to do a lot of research as part of her job. Last night she gave a lecture on some of the more interesting material she has been working with. She showed slides of handwritten texts that children collected from the old people in their community in the mid-1930s. The school children of the country were given the task of collecting stories, songs, poetry, and games and this huge collection of material is maintained by the Folklore Commission. More than 100,000 children participated so there is material from every parish in Ireland but Eithne focused on the material from Donegal.

The class is well structured and for the most part everyone is at the same level of ability in Irish. Madelyn, the Swedish woman from my class last year, has really improved. Last year she struggled a little but this year she is able to hold her own in any conversation. Barton and Scott are back again but Scott left today to go back home to North Carolina. Barton is a Fulbright scholar, originally from Santa Rosa who has moved with his wife to Belfast. He is very funny. Some of the other people from last year have moved up a level to the translation class. They spend their time learning how to translate government documents into Irish. It seems awfully boring to me.

SIÚLÓID: A NICE WALK

Marcas invited me up to his house for dinner. When Marcas is here his parents rent a cottage and the whole family comes down together. Marcas teaches the lower level class.
Before dinner we went out for a walk together. Marcas' friend Colm came along, too. Colm has no Irish so we have to speak in English when he is around. I know that irritates Marcas.
We walked up the hill from the cottage where they are staying. The rain had stopped earlier in the day but there was still plenty of clouds in the sky and gusty wind. We walked for about 45 minutes in the direction of the Atlantic then turned around and walked back to the house for dinner.

Marcas' mom is the cook. His dad is a dentist but he is retired. They are both well educated people and have a lot to say about the situation in Belfast where they live. It was good to hear the perspective of people who live there.
We had a really good dinner. His mom baked fresh local salmon and made mashed potatoes and mashed turnips to go with it. I was put in charge of making the white sauce to go with the fish.

FIDIL

Fidil

The boys were back in town, fresh from their triumph at the National Concert Hall in Dublin the night before. I saw them last year here and was really impressed but this year they were even better.

The evening started with a warm-up act – a group of three young local women who sang a bunch of traditional songs in harmony. It was really nice to hear these fresh interpretations of old classics like An Cáilín Rua and Cad É Sin Don Té Sin. Two of the girls also played a few tunes on the fiddle. It was a really nice complement to the main act.

Fidil were absolutely brilliant. They had their patter down pat for the audience and they certainly seemed in command of their instruments. Two of the boys are from this part of Donegal so it was something of a homecoming for them. They played many local favorites and remembered the great local fiddler James Byrne by playing some of the tunes associated with him.

Ray, Mary, Sandy, Yvonne

FOREIGNERS' CHURCH

The Protestant church in the valley.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PEG

Margaret Fogarty (McGill)
July 17, 1923

RAIN AND WIND, WIND AND RAIN

The Ugliest Building in Europe?

I took the bus up to Donegal from Dublin. Gemma’s Kevin was going to give me a ride to the Luas so I could get to Busaras for 11 but he decided instead to take me all the way in.
Since I didn’t have to take the Luas I had lots of time to wander around after I bought my ticket. I walked over to the ISAAC’s youth hostel for breakfast. The Caribbean man in charge was just setting up but he made me the best cappuccino of the trip.
I walked back to the bus station to take some pictures. Busaras (bus palace) competes with Liberty Hall for the title of “Ugliest Building in Europe”. What were they thinking? Inside the design is equally bad. The toilets are in the basement so if you have to go (and who doesn’t have to go before they get on a bus?) you have to lug all your baggage down a narrow flight of stairs.

The bus trip itself wasn’t too bad. It takes four hours to get from Dublin to Donegal Town with a very short stop in Cavan Town. In the old days there was a 15-minute stop so you could have a sandwich and stretch your legs before getting back on the bus. This time the driver warned that there was only time to go to the bathroom and that he would leave without anyone who took too long. The cuts are deep everywhere, it seems.

The bus schedules have completely changed. Before, there was an hour wait in Donegal for the bus to GleannCholmcille but now it is more like 3 hours. Donegal is an interesting place with lots to see if you have a couple of hours to spare. But when it is lashing down rain and the winds are howling you don’t feel like walking around with a heavy suitcase in tow being a tourist. I didn’t feel like going to a pub for the afternoon so I just hung out in doorways until it was time to get something to eat – two houses around the world but I was homeless in Donegal Town.

I had a very pleasant meal at the Blueberry Café off the Diamond. The towns that came into being during Plantation times always have a central plaza that is referred to as a diamond. Donegal does have a diamond but it is more like a triangle. I had a braised steak with vegetables and mashed potatoes. As always it was very good. The owner always greets me warmly and enquires about Rich and Nephew Vladimir who he met lo these many years. That’s why I like going there – it’s like family.

I finally reached GleannCholmcille at about 7:30 in the evening. We had one more change of buses in Killybegs but there wasn’t time to see much. Besides, the rain never let up so there was no lingering for pictures.


'Universal Links on Human Rights' (1995) by Tony O'Malley
Eternal Flame for prisoners of conscience.

BON VOYAGE, TROGLO PHIL (AGAIN)

My airplane has arrived.

BON VOYAGE, A MHÁIRTÍN

Are we not Devo?

Rich took me to the airport this morning for the flight to Dublin.
It was blazing hot, maybe 30°C already. But Dublin was considerably cooler and it started to rain while I was waiting for the bus.
Now I have to find a way to get to Donegal tomorrow.

HAPPY BASTILLE DAY

The BIG Parade


Local citizens

FEUX D'ARTIFICE

The fireworks in the village were a little less dramatic than in the past. We had a leisurely dinner with the Willis' and Lucien and Denise from the North. Mr. Willis made barbecue on his new Weber Kettle. He grilled merquez and shrimp as an appetizer. His pièce-de-resistance was a perfectly grilled leg of lamb.

After dinner we wandered down to the river for the big show. It was already quite dark. The show started almost as soon as we found a place to sit on the wall. It lasted for about 20 minutes and there wasn't really a grand finale. We did enjoy it though. Afterwards we wandered around the crowded main square where there was a live band and dancing.

13 JUILLET

The dinner party before the fireworks.

PAINTED LADY

Rich has been busy painting. After an initial setback with Great Leap Forward Green he went back to the paintstore in Saumur to find something closer to Village of Montsoreau Official Green. The result is a very pleasing color that is the perfect backdrop for the hollyhocks.

LOVEBIRDS

For those of you keeping track of the gossip in the village (you know who you are TH) Bertile and Jeremy have been spotted swanning around like two teenagers.
Bertile appeared in the village about two weeks ago. Reliable sources indicate that she spent the Winter in a sanatorium in Paris. Jeremy arrived in his late-model Merc on Thursday and they have been inseparable (and insufferable) ever since.
Our source also reports that the EX is living in Chouzé on the other side of the river. He has not been to visit yet.

AMUSE-BUCHE

Haché de tomate sur un lit de mayonnaise et endive avec anchois marinés surprise d'été.

BIA BLASTA: SHUSHIKITA (ARE WE WITHIN 25km OF THE OCEAN?)

I always thought that this was a statue of Beaurepaire ("He was buried in the Panthéon, but then he went missing") since it is very close to the Rue Beaurepaire in Saumur. In fact it is a statue of Petit-Thouars, the hero of (the first battle of) Aboukir.

We were in Saumur with Karen and M. Leclerc de Montréal to have dinner at the Japanese restaurant. We parked in the street in front of the post office where this imposing statue dominates the place.
Petit-Thouars and his leglessness is haunting me (The headless ama-ebi was also a surprise).

PARNAY

Parnay

Troglo Phil took us on a jaunt through the countryside to look for a wine co-operative where we could get in on the ground floor of the next big thing. We never found the co-operative despite multiple passes through the villages of Saumur-Chamipgny on the D147: Souzay, Champigny, and a host of unnamed hamlets.
We ended up at the Chateau de Parnay, the place where Antoine Cristal started it all. We sampled their 2009s and 2010s and a rosé. Phil bought a box (un cubi) of the Saumur-Champigny to take back home.

GREEN COLOR #2

Do you prefer this color?
Vote by "reacting".

GREEN COLOR #1

This is the approved color by the Architecte des bâtiments de France.
This green is very subtle - and the photograph makes it even harder to see.

Vote by "reacting".

BIA BLASTA: AUBERGE LA SANSONNIÈRE

Jenny (the Second Lady Willis) and Peter made reservations for Sunday lunch at a fancy restaurant in Saint Georges-des-Sept-Voies, a little village out past Gennes. The restaurant is part of an auberge, a small boutique hotel in the countryside.

We started with aperitifs on the terrace - kirs all round. We were served a selection of three amuse-buches: guacamole stuffed cherry tomatoes, salmon hachette, and devilled quail eggs.

We had a choice of three menus. The most expensive featured sweetbreads with lobster and seabass, the mid price featured monkfish and pork, the cheapy featured rabbit. There was a salad and a dessert with every menu. We also had a selection of cheeses and a "pre-dessert" which was a mint panna-cotta with a strawberry mousse topping.




Maria and Ari