We went on a little walking tour through busy Galway, and one of our first stops along the River Corrib, which flows through the city, was to see the Viking boats, docked in town for a while. Fortunately for us, the annual Claddagh Traditional Boat Festival was taking place from May 24 to 28, and today is the 25th! We got to see the two recreated, sleek Viking longships which were moored in the harbor! The Viking age lasted from... Read more

Galway is a huge tourist destination, and the day we were there it was packed to the gills with tourists. But one place you could pretty much count on getting away from them was in a major church. We visited the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, the religious center of Medieval Galway, founded in 1320 and dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra. He is the patron saint of seafarers and basis for the legends of St. Nick (Santa Claus!). We... Read more

We were eager to vist the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced More), in Co. Clare. The cliffs stretch 5 miles from Hag’s Head (390 feet) in the south to Doolin in the north. The highest point is 700 feet. The cliffs get their name from Fort Moher/Mothar once located at Hag’s Head. The cliffs are composed of layered shale, sandstone and flagstone containing marine fossils. In 2007 the Visitors Centre was opened. For ecological reasons, it was built under ground. We... Read more

FIVE YEARS ON— SHE’S STILL GONE When you lose a first born you loved You yourself feel quite lost You speak peace to your sorrowing soul But silently count the cost. You lose your bearings, your compass You ask where was his compassion You rationalize some answers, And quiet yourself…after a fashion. Life, it seems, is what happens While making other plans, Death the rudest of wake-up calls Can shock like nothing else can. There are no pieces to pick... Read more

Dingle was another seaside village we enjoyed, which had excellent seafood, and some interesting shops. For instance… Foxy John’s Hardware and Pub (yes you heard that right). I told them they needed a sign out front that said— ‘Come here and get hammered’. There were other interesting shops in town as well… like the Temperance Hall right across from Benner’s Hotel where we stayed. There were art shops… And trinket shops… But this shop is named after the star of... Read more

There are sermons, and then there are sermons, and the sermons of C.K. Barrett are some of the best Evangelical sermons of the 20th century— full of good Biblical and Wesleyan content, excellent in the applying and illustrating of God’s Word, model sermons for how it can and should be done. And the results are in— the homileticians and other scholars all agree— this is must reading for those who want to be good preachers, or to be better ones.... Read more

One night we had a dinner date at Castle Knappogue, built in 1467 by the McNamara Clan. Several groups were there for the medieval banquet, and several men were chosen to participate. Jay Edmondson became famous for the second time today by becoming one of the Earl’s four vassal Lords, complete with crown. Russ was chosen to play the nave; on stage, he had to collapse and die from food poisoning. We were seated on long oak tables in Dalcassian... Read more

Just over the border into northern Ireland is Belleek, by which I mean the town famous for its pottery, and we took a tour of the pottery factory and its wares. Belleek Pottery Ltd. is a porcelain company dating to 1884. The factory produces porcelain that is characterized by “its thinness, slightly iridescent surface and that the body is formulated with a significant proportion of frit.” The terms ceramic, porcelain and frit are highly technical! We had an excellent tour through the whole production... Read more

There are many impressive things about Ireland— its generally so clean, you don’t see a bunch of trash lying around on the side of the roads, there are lots of parks and nature reserves, animals are treated well, which makes Ireland a ‘green and pleasant land’. Here’s a bit more about there birds and fauna…. Of course with the temperate climate and the rainfall, and the rich soil, its hard for things not to grow in this environment You feel... Read more

Of all the little villages and seaside towns in Ireland that we visited, in most ways Kinsale was my favorite, for a lot of reasons, the first of which is that our local guide, Barry Maloney (pictured above) was not full of bologna, or as the Irish would say, blarney…. quick word study…. here is where that word seems to have come from… But still you’ll hear some woolly tales… or is it woolly tails…. Kinsale is important for a... Read more