"Mé".

"Mé" means "me". Click on READ MORE! for a few more shots of me traipsing around Ireland.

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"Pobal na hÉirean".

Guitar and fiddle player in Tig Coili's (Chee Coli) in Galway. "Pobal na hÉirean" means "people of Ireland". It's the people of Ireland that make it a wonderful place to visit. Always kind. Always helpful. Out-of-their-way helpful, as a matter of fact. I wish I had some shots of Gavin and Thomas at The Local Bar in Ardfinnan (the night we were going to take shots they weren't working - our last night). I think Michael has some shots of Amanda, one of the bartenders.

Anyway, "thank you" - the people of Ireland, for welcoming us into your country. Click on READ MORE! and see some of the folks that made our visit a pleasant one.

School girls in Kinsale.

Lord Michael in a pub. Actually it was a smoker's lounge in the back of a pub. And the best smoker's lounge we - smoked in. Somewhere on the way to Ardfinnan in Co. Tipperary.

Me - same smoker's lounge.

A boy with a hurling stick in Cahir.

Lord Michael, Jackie Murphy and myself at the Ardfinnan Under 18 men's semi-final Gaelic football game. Ardfinnan won. Jackie and his wife, Monica, own the cottage we stayed at in Ardfinnan.

Me being a guinness. New usage for the word. Need to contact Urban Dictionary.

One of the prettiest Irish lasses we ran into. She works at a pub - somewhere. They all run together. The pubs, that is.

Lord Michael and I atop Ferns Castle in Ferns, Co. Wexford.

Me at The Old Boro Public House in Swords, Co. Dublin. Nice bar.

Johnnie Fox's, the highest pub in Ireland, in Glencullen, Co. Dublin. More on this pub later. By far the best pub/bar I've ever been in - EVER. The banjo player was my favorite.

Tig Coili's (Chee Coli), Galway's home of traditional Irish music.

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"Teach ceann tuí ".

"Teach ceann tuí " means "thatched cottage" . The picture above isn't the main house - but it was the only artsy shot I took on the property. The Monroe Cottage (farmhouse) in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, where Lord Michael and I stayed for 7 days, dates back to the 1700's and used to be a thatched cottage up until about 10 years ago. Thatched roofs are labor intensive and expensive to upkeep so the owners, Jackie and Monica Murphy, opted to go sans thatched.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the inside so use your imagination. Click on READ MORE! to see the cottage and additional pictures of this gorgeous property.

The main house stretches all the way to the right where that gap is. The far left is the formal sitting room, to the right of the doorway is the kitchen/dining room with a tiny sitting area in front of a fireplace, followed by two bedrooms and the bathroom. Pretty simple layout. Just watch those low ceilings.

Not sure what this building was used for.

Storage.

From the main road looking down the driveway.

From the house looking down the long driveway to the road.

From the driveway looking over at the owner's property.

Down the driveway to the road.

Evening. At the Monroe Cottage. In Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary.

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"Teach tábhairne".

"Teach tábhairne" means "pub" in Gaelic. I think half the trip was spent in pubs. Click on READ MORE! to see me standing in more Irish pub doorways. And no we didn't have a drink in every pub whose doorway I stood. But no doubt there were plenty o'pubs we drank in that we didn't snap a shot either. Slan!

West Clare, Co. Clare

Swords, Co. Dublin. And no, it wasn't a gay bar. That was back in Galway.

Kinsale.

Kinsale.

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare

Cashel, Co. Tipperary

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

Cahir, Co. Tipperary

These last two are blurry but I included them as they were, I felt, important pubs on our travels. Tig Coili in Galway, Co. Galway is the home of traditional Irish music in Galway. We spend a few hours there.

The other pub is The Local Bar in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, where our cottage was. It's run by Thomas and Gavin and their father and we spent many evenings here with the boys. More on Ardfinnan later.

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"Fear Faiche".

"Fear Faiche" loosely means, "green man". The figure above is on an archway at Lady's Abbey in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary. Lady's Abbey was a Carmelite Friary and the church is a 14th/15th Century building. Though it's not technically a "green man", the carving reminded me of what the "green man" legend is all about. "A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found on carvings in churches and other buildings." (Wikipedia)

Click on READ MORE! to read a poem by William Anderson that was sent to me by my friend, Tamra. It is accompanied by pictures I took in Ireland - most of them in Co. Tipperary where we stayed for a week. Enjoy.

William Anderson's "The Green Man"

Like antlers, like veins of the brain the birches

Mark patterns of mind on the red winter sky;

'I am thought of all plants,' says the Green Man,

'I am thought of all plants,' says he.

Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary

The hungry birds harry the last berries of rowan

But white is her bark in the darkness of rain;

'I rise with the sap,' says the Green Man,

'I rise with the sap,' says he.

The ashes are clashing their boughs like sword-dancers,

Their black buds are tracing wild faces in the clouds;

'I come with the wind,' says the Green Man,

'I come with the wind,' says he.

Luggala in Roundwood, Co. Wicklow

The alders are rattling as though ready for battle

Guarding the grove where she waits for her lover;

'I burn with desire,' says the Green Man,

'I burn with desire,' says he.

In and out of the yellowing wands of the willow

The pollen bright bees are plundering the catkins;

'I am honey of love,' says the Green Man,

'I am honey of love,' says he.

The Vee, Co. Tipperary

The hedges of quick are thick with May blossom

As the dancers advance on the leaf-covered King;

'It's off with my head,' says the Green Man,

'It's off with my head,' says he.

Green Man becomes grown man in flames of the oak

As its crown forms his mask and its leafage his features;

'I speak through the oak,' says the Green Man,

'I speak through the oak,' says he.

Suir River, Co. Tipperary

The holly is flowering as hayfields are rolling

Their gleaming long grasses like waves of the sea;

'I shine with the sun,' says the Green Man,

'I shine with the sun,' says he.

The hazels are rocking the cups of their nuts

As the harvesters shout when the last sheaf is cut;

'I swim with the salmon,' says the Green Man,

'I swim with the salmon,' says he.

Helen Keller Goat Path, Co. Tipperary

The globes of the grapes are robing with bloom

Like the hazes of autumn, like the Milky Way's star
'I am crushed for your drink,' says the Green Man,

'I am crushed for your drink,' says he.

The aspen drops silver of leaves on earth's salver

And the poplars shed gold on the young ivy flowerheads;

'I have paid for your pleasure,' says the Green Man,

'I have paid for your pleasure,' says he.

Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary

The reedbeds are flanking in silence the islands

Where meditates Wisdom as she waits and waits;

'I have kept her secret,' says the Green Man,

'I have kept her secret,' says he.

The bark of the elder makes whistles for children

To call to the deer as they rove over the snow;
'I am born in the dark,' says the Green Man,

'I am born in the dark,' says he.

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