It’s Poetry Friday and crazy to think that our Ireland trip was almost a month ago already. If you want to know what Poetry Friday is check out this explanation by children’s author and poet Rene La Tullippe.
I’ve started to write some poems about our experience there – one focused on The Burren landscape, one on Killarney, and one on the Gaol in Dublin. None are ready to share yet. The one on Gaol (jail) is the best of the lot and might even be publishable if I brush it up a bit.
I would say that the poems are from what made an impression on me during our trip. I am always inspired by nature and can share a haiku I wrote. The Burren is an unusual landscape, otherworldly, in fact, and worth some description in a poem.
Isn’t that what poetry is? Inspiration turned into words? I think it’s part of it, at least.
What impressed me about the Kilmainham Gaol were the stories behind it. Our guide was a mere 21-year-old Irish lass but her interpretive skills were impressive. She could weave a story with known facts about many people and the historical events surrounding them.
I’m always fascinated by the skills of interpretation because it was something I was trained to do as an environmental educator. I never felt I’d be good at it – but never had much of a chance to do it, either. When I did have the opportunity, I was okay – at best. So, when I see someone really good at it, I’m impressed.
We also had a great interpretive visit to Trinity College. Again, our guide was young – a college student at Trinity and with impressive people skills. It was clear that she had a great respect and admiration for her school and its storied history. There, we had a campus tour and then went into the Long Room of the Library. From there, we saw the Book of Kells, a hand-written copy of the Gospels from the Bible with beautifully illustrated pages.
The book is encased in glass to prevent visitors from touching it. A set of side-by-side pages is all one gets to see when visiting (the pages are changed regularly). It is in Latin, so hard to discern what the verses are.
The Book of Kells was written in 800 A.D.
We purchased the Book of Kells immersive experience so it takes you through the history of the book and winds you around walls that are facsimiles of the pages and artwork. Then, we went to a large, free-standing building on campus to see some interactive exhibits.
Both of these tours were purchased on Trip Advisor when we were in Dublin and were very reasonable in price. They were recommended to us by friends and by the tour guide on our hiking portion of the trip. We were lucky to get the tickets to both as they can sell out quickly. I would highly recommend both tours – especially if you want something to do other than the distillery tours or Guinness Factory tours.
We spent 13 days in Ireland in September. Three days in Galway, seven days on a Coast to Coast Hike with Wilderness Ireland, and three days in Dublin – again on our own like we did in Galway. I’ve been writing regularly about our trip on my Medium.com page and am linking most of the articles at the end with free Friend links for you to enjoy. (I do not make anything monetarily from having you read a friend link. I just share them so you can enjoy reading about my experiences.)
Ireland Inspired Haiku
rocky Ireland
wildflower fields of quartzite
impossible growth
Ā© Carol Labuzzetta, 2024
Poetry Friday is being hosted this week by Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference. Thanks for hosting Tabatha!
The Apples in My Orchard 
Thanks for taking me back to Ireland, Carol. Looks like you had a wonderful trip.
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Beautiful field of wildflowers and stones. I can hear the sounds of Celtic music through out your post. I dream of a trip to Ireland. Thanks for sharing.
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Wow! Look at that beautiful world! Those impossibly growing flowers…so like my favorite stories. I love things that persist.
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Enjoyed hearing about your trip. Visited Dublin years ago; loved Trinity College. Your haiku and photo are wonderful!
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Sounds like a fascinating trip, full of poetry fodder. The Book of Kells must be amazing to see in person. I like “impossible growth” and the photo that goes with it.
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Leaving for Ireland on Monday, Carol, and I can’t wait. We explored the Burren a bit when we were there before. I loved it–and all the rugged coastlines we visited and small towns. This trip, we’re spending more time in Dublin–we’ll visit the Book of Kells/Trinity and maybe the Gaol too. So many cool things to do there. I hope to write some poems from my trip also. Feels so fun to read lovely words by a PF sister about an Ireland trip :>)
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Laura, I hope you had a good trip to Ireland. I look forward to reading about it in your blog soon. We loved Connamara and The Burren, Killarney (touristy but lovely), the three national parks we visited, beautiful beaches, and the history in Dublin. The Book of Kells was interesting but Trinity College was more impressive and we were glad to see the Gaol – so much to see – and even two weeks wasn’t long enough. We’ll definitely go back. I was glad we hiked because we saw the back country in all its glory.
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Carol, I’m swooning over all you got to see and do in Ireland. Your haiku is lovely, as are your photos.
And I would argue that “inspiration turned into words” is just another way of saying we are interpreters, so embrace your role as an interpreter! š
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Thank you, Karen. I think that’s a great way to look at it.
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