IRELAND PART VI: MONAGHAN and DUBLIN

Day 8: Thursday April 29, 2010

Monaghan is a quiet little town and when it's not tourist season not too much happens. It was a nice day though with a few clouds in the morning and temperatures were in the mid sixties. I decided to the tourist office just a little on the edge of town. However when I got there I discovered that the tourist office was closed until May; just a few days away. I went to the Market House which was built in 1792. A market house basically provided a place for people to exchange produce and goods. Occasionally a second floor was added with meeting rooms.

 Today the Market House of Monaghan houses art exhibitions, musical performances, readings, and other such advents. They technically weren't open I got there but they were happy to answer my questions. I wanted to find a bike. So the woman called up someone and within the hour I had myself a bike. It amazes me still how nice and outgoing the Irish are. They don't generally think twice about helping you if have a question or a need of some kind. It was big and welcome change from Paris.

I got on my bike and rode out into the country surrounding Monaghan. They country here is a little different than out in western Ireland. There are rolling hills. In fact it is very hilly. The hills aren't too steep or too high either. There is fresh green grass and trees also. In western Ireland it is rather barren since the salt filled wind of the sea prevents most tall vegetation from growing. Like I said before it is farming country however around town the farms are all milk, cattle, or sheep farms. I didn't see any crops growing in fields. Then again I ventured only a couple kilometers away from town. I continued to ride for about an hour around one side of town. When I inadvertently found my way back to town I decided to grab some lunch. There's a grocery store near the center of town so I got some fresh baked food from the hot food section; kind of like what Myers Food Rite used to be.

With food in my backpack I headed back out into the country. Not too long, maybe five minutes later, I found little country stone bridge that sat across a little stream. The sun was out and I thought that the bridge was a perfect place to have lunch. It was very nice out and I really enjoyed my lunch there. I had been taking pictures all day. Picture taking has really become a hobby of mine in Europe. At first it was just a way of remembering everything. Now it's something that I've really come to enjoy. Just about every day I have pictures from somewhere. So Ireland of course was no different and I take pictures just about all the time.

After eating I decided to make my way towards the cathedral which I could see in the distance. The road there, however, is more of a farm road because at a certain point it goes from paving to stones and then it went to mud. Luckily for me I had a mountain bike and when I hit the mud it wasn't as disastrous as it could have been. I got a little muddy though. When I got to the main road I came out right near where my first B&B was so I knew where I was at. I decided to go check out the cathedral next. The cathedral sits on top of what must be the highest hill around. It dominates the countryside for miles around yet it is very majestic in appearance.

The work for building the cathedral began in 1861 and was finally completed in 1892. It was designed in the late 14th century gothic style by architect JJ McCarthy. However, McCarthy died before it was completed and work went to the direction of William Hague. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Macartan who is the patron saint of the Diocese of Clogher. There isn't very much known about St. Macartan. What is known is that was converted from paganism to Catholicism and traveled with St. Patrick. He was made bishop of Clogher by St. Patrick 454. St. Macartan is also known as the strong man of Patrick for when St. Patrick was old and worn out with his labors Macartan is said to have carried Patrick on his shoulders. There is even a St. Macartan's Day which is March 24th. So of course for a man like St. Macartan he has many cathedrals named after him and one of them is at Monaghan.

The cathedral itself is very elegant yet simple. Although it does have pews instead of chairs and is the first cathedral I have found which has pews instead of chairs. The interior is all white wash or of white stone with a wood ceiling. It appears to have been modernized a little for their bishop's chair, the pulpit, and the table is made of stone and appears to be in some modern art form which doesn't fit at all with the church. In the back of the sanctuary there is a large pipe organ right beneath a rose window. There wasn't anyone else there besides me so I had free range to explore and take pictures. It kind of reminded me of the Great Hall of Gondor or something like that from Lord of the Rings. I think a lot of the architecture from the movies was taken from the gothic period. Therefore there is quite a resemblance between European castles and cathedrals and Lord of the Rings.

I went back into town and then out the other side in an attempt to see some more of the surrounding country because that's all there is to do there. Not that I'm complaining because seeing the countryside was one of the reasons I wanted to go to Ireland. I only went out a couple of kilometers for I had to catch the bus. It was very pretty except I was soon driven back into town by some rain. I checked out of my B&B and proceeded to the bus station where I had made arrangements to leave my bike. Before too long the bus came and I was on my way to Dublin. The ride was very nice and the sun actually came out make a very dramatic contrast with the dark rain clouds and bright green grass.

Arriving in Dublin a couple hours later I checked into my hotel and discovered they had stuck me in the Georgian wing which is much nicer than the rest of the hotel, didn't have to pay extra or anything. Needless to say it was very nice. For my last night in Ireland I went in search of a good Irish restaurant which proved to be more difficult than anticipated. The streets aren't exactly marked very well. It also didn't help that it was night and I didn't know the area. I decided to go to the Temple Bar area which I had heard was nice. Finally I found a place called the Shack Restaurant which is located right beside The Temple Bar Pub. The restaurant is nice and decently priced. So I had myself one last traditional Irish meal in Ireland.

Day 9: Friday April 30, 2010.

I had breakfast in the hotel on Friday morning. The hotel restaurant is incredibly nice with the wood carved out to look like a vineyard. It pays to book online before staying instead of just walking in. One definitely saves money. After breakfast I walked around some and took pictures of Dublin. I didn't wander too far for I was on a schedule. Soon I checked out, caught the bus, and arrived at the airport. This time it was a lot easier and less stressful to get to my plane; one, because I had a plane and two, because there wasn't a giant ash cloud messing up air travel anymore. My time at the airport in Dublin was hassle free and enjoyable. However the flight wasn't so good.

I arrived in Paris in the afternoon to a beautiful sunny day of seventy degrees wishing very much I hadn't worn my coat. My trip officially ended when I stepped back into the apartment at about 5:00PM. The rest of the evening I spent doing laundry and checking out my pictures.



All in all, my trip to Ireland was easily my best vacation to date. I've always wanted to go to Ireland. I managed to see a lot of things and I got learn some new things about a country and culture very similar to the United States, yet very different. I was able to meet some very nice people along the way. Despite having a somewhat bad start, I couldn't have asked for a better trip! I hope all of you who have been reading have enjoyed my blog posts of Ireland as much as I enjoyed being there. Take care!