Our trip to Dunquin Cottage
on the Dingle Peninsula,
Ireland, April 11-21, 2007
Page Five – Gallarus / Shopping
Thursday, April 19.
Today is the day KC promised we’d spend some time in Dingle looking for a souvenir but, once again, we slept late and weren’t on the road until after noon. We drove north again today, through Ballyferriter and on to Gallarus to see the oratory and the castle. The oratory was built in the 8th century completely of stone and without mortar. Amazingly, it’s totally waterproof! It’s a wonder it’s still standing but it is, and is intact although it’s sagging a bit at the top.
Ballyferriter and Gallarus on the map:
Gallarus Oratory:
Unfortunately, the castle was closed – not enough visitors at this time of year to justify keeping it open – so we’ll have to save that for our next trip.
We finally made our way back to Dingle with enough time to hit a few of the stores. The first one, of course, was the music store. Caitriona Nolan, Michael’s partner, was amazingly helpful and suggested several CDs once she had determined what our taste was. In addition to the three that Eric had recommended, we came out with about seven more, everything from harp and pipes to fusion and rock. Caitriona offered KC a shot of Jameson’s which made it easier for him to accept the number of CDs we bought!
I contemplated buying a bodhran, one with our crest painted on the front. I really wanted a set of Uilleann pipes but KC put the kibosh on them. Caitriona asked us where we’d been on the peninsula and recommended Anascaul Lake as a ‘hidden treasure’. Most people, she said, went west to the coast, but east of Dingle was just as nice and less populated. We decided to go there the next day.
The music store, Siopa Ceoil an Daingin, on lower Main Street:
LINK: Siopa Ceoil website (a new window will open).
From the music store we went to Herrington’s, a fast food fish place recommended by Caitriona (the cod WAS delicious), stopping in an art store on the way, still looking for the perfect souvenir. From Herrington’s we went to Louis Mulcahy where I bought a sweater and a small journal to keep our trip notes in, and from there to the post office where I stamped and mailed the 4 post cards I’d been carrying around for days. We decided that the bodhran would be the most relevant thing we could bring back, given our love of the music, and made our way back to order it. We stopped in the antique store across the street where KC found a brass surveyor’s compass and then crossed over.
LINK: Irish Knitwear website (a new window will open).
Suddenly, I realized that I no longer had the bag with all our CDs in it! In a panic, KC retraced our steps, while I prayed they hadn’t been stolen. I stumbled into the music store, almost in tears, and explained what had happened. Michael was there and started calling the places we’d been to, while I racked my brain trying to remember the last place I’d had them. The post office! That’s where I’d put the bag down, when I stamped my post cards! Michael ran down there (it was about a block away) and came back with the clerk in tow, assuring me that my CDs were safe. Where were they then? I didn’t see the bag in anyone’s hands! Not to worry, the post office had closed and they were locked inside. The security system wouldn’t allow the doors to open until the next day but the clerk knew they were mine and would bring them to the music store in the morning.
Although I was immensely relieved, I now worried about letting KC know so that he wouldn’t continue to look for them. His phone worked in Dingle but it would be a long distance call for anyone but me and my phone didn’t work at all. We just had to wait. I was so sure he’d be furious when he got back, and I think Michael saw the fear in my face, because he met KC at the door and delivered the good news. KC was so relived he forgot to be mad! I guess he’s getting used to chasing after things I’ve forgotten. That’s not like me, though, I’m usually the one who remembers….
Eric was in the store now, too, and when we told them we wanted to buy a bodhran he offered to test it for us. Although we had no intention of playing it, he gave me a mini-lesson anyway so I’d understand how it should be played in case I wanted to try it. We bought a 16” drum with a tooled leather strap and the Healy crest in the middle. Over the crest will be the name Healy, and under it Dingle, both in Irish (Gaelic). The artwork is custom and the drum will be shipped to us once it is complete.
Eric testing our bodhran (without the custom artwork):
MOVIE: music in O’Flaherty’s (a new window will open).
Our new bodhran hanging in our foyer:
I had contemplated giving tonight’s music a miss, on KC’s account, but when Caitriona told us that it would be a well-known local Uilleann pipe player who had been out of town and had just returned, we decided to check it out. KC refused to arrive at 8:30 this time though so we got there a little after 9:00 and I still got my front row seat!
The Uilleann pipes are an amazing instrument, similar to bagpipes but instead of filling the bag with your lungs, there is a small bellows which is strapped around your waist and to your other arm and with which you fill the bag that powers the pipes and drones. It’s very difficult to learn and the pipes themselves are hard to find as very few people make them anymore. A starter set, one drone and one pipe, costs $2400! The only local artist who makes these pipes has a 12-YEAR backlog!
John Brown was there again, on the guitar, and told us that Chicago was partially responsible for preventing Irish music from dying out because the chief of police, O’Reilly, not only gave any Irish musician a job but also compiled O’Reilly’s Book of 100 Irish Tunes. I meant to look for it but forgot. Tonight was the first time the music started at 9:30 and when they took a break an hour later, we bought both of Eoin’s CD’s. They are phenomenal! (Eoin is pronounced ‘Owen’).
Eoin Duignan on the pipes at An Droichead Beag:
The clip below is interesting because you can see how this unusual instrument is played.
MOVIE: Eoin Duignan (a new window will open).
LINK: Eoin’s website (a new window will open).
KC usually started out drinking Guiness and then switched to Smithick’s, which is lighter, while I drank cider. When the music stopped, just as we were about to leave, two glasses appeared on our table. When we asked the waitress who sent them, she said Michael, but we didn’t see him anywhere! She said he was in the back room so we picked up our drinks and chased him down.
Michael introduced us to three of his friends, Sean Daly, a former master craftsman from Waterford Crystal who now has his own store, Dingle Crystal on Green Street; and two other people whose names we didn’t get. We had a lively and enlightening conversation with them on the latest debacle at Virginia Tech and the competency of our G.W.Bush. Unfortunately, the pub closed and we had to leave. Before we left, Michael invited KC and I out on his boat the following day, an 18-footer, and we accepted, hoping to be back from Anascaul in time.
KC came home with a bad case of heartburn, probably from drinking his dinner, so he took a couple of Imodium and I made him a sandwich. When he finally came to bed, he said he felt better. It was quite late, though, and I was sure he’d sleep in tomorrow.
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Last Revised: May 2, 2007
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