Ireland’s west coast forms a crescent shaped bay around the Aran Islands, and this was our route from Letterfrack through Galway, and down to Bell Harbour / Bealaclugga, right to the heart of the Burren. What Irish radio lacks, we made up for by singing our favourite songs at the top of our lungs.…
Wealthy British doctor-turned-politician Mitchel Henry built the Kylemore Castle in the heart of Connemara in the late 1800s, and for that time it was mindbogglingly futuristic. Henry had married the love of his life, Margaret, and they had several children. Shortly after the castle was finished, the family went on a vacation to Egypt where Margaret caught…
The highlight of our tour of Northern Ireland was visiting the World Heritage site, Giant’s Causeway. The Causeway earned this honour back in 1986, the same year the Visitor Center opened, and is one of top four greatest natural wonders of the United Kingdom. Take a 15-minute leisurely walk through the hills before…
I really enjoyed Dublin. Honest. The city needs to get it together when it comes to street signs though. First, we learned the signs were made of some type of paper composite, and a heavy rain did away with most of the lettering a long time ago. People have written over the letters with markers,…
Belfast took its name after the Irish phrase Béal Feirste, loosely meaning the mouth of the river at the sandbanks, and has been the capital of Northern Ireland since the late 1800s. A leading city back in the Industrial Revolution and in textile manufacturing, as well as a great contributor to science and technology, Belfast graciously remains less…
Anderson County is home to the small towns of Clinton, Norris, Oak Ridge, Rocky Top, and Oliver Springs. Many communities in this area were originally developed by the government as an experiment in urban planning and to support employees of ongoing confidential and/or industrial projects. Nowadays, the secret is out, but the history remains just…
Just today, I learned that Maryville (mumbled locally as “Murrahvull”) College was founded by abolitionist Isaac L. Anderson and that the city has a rich history in anti-slavery movements. The Society of Friends presence was strong in the area beginning in the 19th century, and one of their core values is opposition to slavery. This…
