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Ireland Thread!


wendigo

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My grandmother's family were Irish. From Wicklow and Roscommon. I spent years and years being continually asked whether I was Irish, because I have red hair, and I always said no. I could never understand where they got the idea from. Last year I was reseaching my grandmother's line and lo and behold I discovered that her mother's father (my great great grandfather) was from Wicklow.

Aside from that, I went to Dublin years ago and loved it :D

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My grandmother's family were Irish. From Wicklow and Roscommon. I spent years and years being continually asked whether I was Irish, because I have red hair, and I always said no. I could never understand where they got the idea from. Last year I was reseaching my grandmother's line and lo and behold I discovered that her mother's father (my great great grandfather) was from Wicklow.

Aside from that, I went to Dublin years ago and loved it :D

My mom's side is mostly Irish with some English; my great-great grandparents were also from Roscommon. I haven't been to Ireland yet, but definitely want to!

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  • 7 months later...

12.721.jpg

The Hill of Tara Going to Ruins

500 Places to See Before They Disappear, by Holly Hughes, published October 20 2008 by Frommers. (p.247)

http://www.tarawatch.org/

Ireland is a nation of story tellers where seemingly every mossy stone and country crossroad has a tale spun about it. But even so, there’s no disputing the legendary significance of the Hill of Tara, traditional seat of the high kings of Ireland. No wonder plans to run a new superhighway past it has generated storms of outrage.

On first glance, Tara today doesn’t look like much – a 90m (300 ft) hill dotted with grassy mounds, some ancient pillar stones, and depressions that show where the Iron Age ringfort, Raith na Riogh, encircled the brow of the hill. But audiovisuals at the visitor center deconstruct just what these mounds represent, as if peeling away the centuries from this time-harrowed ridge. Prominent on the hilltop are the ring-barrow called Teach Cormaic (Cormac’s House) and the Forradh, or Royal Seat, with a granite coronation stone known as the Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny), standing erect at its center. The trenches of three other smaller ringforts are nearby, as well as an excavated passage tomb just to the north, the astronomically aligned Mound of the Hostages, which dates to 2000 BC.

The wood timbers of the old royal halls rotted a long time ago; the last great feis – triennial banquet of princes, poets, priests, and politicians – was held in A.D. 560, after which the rise of Christianity forced ancient Celtic traditions into hiding. But Tara was always more than just one hill – it was the epicentre of Ireland’s foremost kingdom and several other important pre-historic sites are in the same valley. From the Hill of Tara, in the distance you can spot the great burial mound of Newgrange and the Hill of Slane, where Saint Patrick readies himself to take on the Irish pagans – which, of course, he needed to do at Tara, Ireland’s symbolic heart.

The N3 highway, heading northeast out of Dublin towards the town of Kells, already ran close enough to Tara to shake its foundations; now a larger limited-access motorway, the M3, is being built even closer, with a major interchange right near the sacred hill. During construction, a number of megalithic souterrains – underground buildings – some dating from the 7th century, have been bulldozed, probably the homes of important nobles and courtiers living near the kings fort. When a 2000 year old henge named Lismullin, with Megalithic decorations on its stone, was unearthed in March 2007, construction was temporarily halted – but work proceeds on other sections of the road, despite vociferous citizen protests. Alternative routes have been proposed, but to no avail. The ghosts of the high kings must be weeping.

In an effort to stop or at least slow the destruction of the Hill of Tara, conservationists and Government supporters are working to make the Hill of Tara a World Heritage Site. This would help preserve the Gabhra Valley between the Hill of Tara and the Hill of Skryne, and protect the surrounding landscape by preventing commercial development along the path of the new motorway.

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That's distressing news about the Hill of Tara. I was fortunate to visit there in '91, as well as the awesome Newgrange passage tomb.

I'm a proud Irish-American. My Dad's side of the family is from Ballina and Westport, County Mayo with a few stragglers from Sligo town. :) My Mom's people are from Roscommon.

My most recent visit was this past May; my brother and I visited Northern Ireland, which totally rawked. When I show people back home some of the pics, esp. of the northern coast round Ballycastle, they can't believe how gorgeous it is.

034_34.jpg peering thru the gorse to Rathlin Island

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I have been to Ireland twice: in January 2007 and August 2008. It is the most beautiful country and the Irish people are fantastic. I have never been to the Hill of Tara but have been to Newgrange. Newgrange is an ancient prehistoric passage grave located north of Dublin. On the winter solstice on December 21, the rising sun is aligned with the entry to the ancient burial tomb and illluminates the entire interior of the central chamber for 17 minutes. Amazing!

My favorite sites are: the Cliffs of Moher on the Atlantic Ocean, the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, the Lakes of Killarney, the Burren, the Dingle Penninsula and the Donnegal coast. And of course I loved Dublin, Galway, Sligo, Cobh, Derry, Kilarney and Kilkenny.

I will post some beautiful pictures when I learn how to do so on this site.

I would highly recommend a trip to Ireland if you ever get the opportunity. I can't wait to go back!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I love ireland all my heart but i´ve never been there.I learn irish a little but there´s aproblem with pronnouncing.Love that music,that green,redheads,whiskey,language,people,nights,rain...

I hope i´ll visit Ireland one day

:rolleyes:

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I love ireland all my heart but i´ve never been there.I learn irish a little but there´s aproblem with pronnouncing.Love that music,that green,redheads,whiskey,language,people,nights,rain...

I hope i´ll visit Ireland one day

:rolleyes:

i feel the same.... specialy for the Whiskeys... :drunk:

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I have finally learned how to post pictures and here are a few from my tirp to Ireland this summer.

DSC00930.jpg

Cliffs of Moher

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The Burren

DSC01063.jpg

View from Blarney Castle

Thanks for the photos'BUCK'EYE' DOC'... Blarney Castle is beautiful

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  • 2 years later...

Hey, I have a weee bit of Irish in me, along with English, Scottish, Dutch, French, Spanish and Choctaw. My great grandfather was McDonald, but I think that is more Scottish. In the same neighborhood, globally speaking.

And now for a bit of entertainment from my favorite Irish band.

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Im of Irish, Scottish, Italian descent.......just found out about my Italian roots a few weeks ago. My mix (now) explains a lot about me, wear a kilt, have a bad temper, can drink anyone I know under the table, and make a mean lasagna

:blink:

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Ireland is a beautiful counrty, great chillaxed people too, I think the English should give it back to the irish. And compensate them for the horrors they have inflcited on them for the past few hundred years. Up the Rebels.

The only problem is that the Irish dont want it, the Social Security Payments would bankrupt them. :o;):lol:

Regards, Danny

PS, The Irish started it way back in the 4th Century with their Raiding of the English Coast, then the English beat them back, and they didnt like it, just like the Jocks didnt like it when they got theire's at Culloden, Up the English. :D

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