"Camán" & Amanda.

"Camán" means "hurling stick" in Gaelic. Gavin down at The Local Bar in Ardfinnan got me this used hurling stick and Amanda (below), who barkeeps at The Local Bar, just so happens to be a hurler...so she signed the stick for me. Hurling's the national sport of Ireland. After watching the boys play Gaelic football (and seeing the bruises on Amanda), I'm not sure I'd be interested in partaking in a sport where they use this stick. Ouch.

There's Amanda...serving me up a Guinness!

Perfect poster girl for Guinness. To Arthur! And Amanda!

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"Ceol".

"Ceol" means "music". When my friend Justyna and I were in Ireland in 2006, we didn't get to see any traditional Irish music performed in pubs as it was April (off-season) AND we weren't on the west coast, where the traditional music is more prevalent. This first video is of Alec Finn, one of Celtic music's most influential musicians and a founding member of DeDanaan. Finn's debut solo album, Blue Shamrock received critical lauds, described by Hot Press as "a beautifully crafted, highly satisfying, collection of Irish airs". You might wanna pause the Celtic jukebox at the top of the blog before listening to this.

I had the pleasure of meeting Alec and his wife, Leonie, at their home, Oranmore Castle in Oranmore, Co. Galway, on a recent trip to Ireland. Oranmore Castle is Lord Michael's (my friend) ancestral castle and the purpose of our visit was to spread Michael's father's ashes over the sides of the castle turret. They graciously invited Michael and I into their home/castle and we had a wonderful time. Really...a high point of the trip. More on that later.

The Irish bouzouki is a derivative of the Greek bouzouki, adopted into and adapted for Irish music from the late 1960s onward. Not sure which bouzouki Alec is playing, but I assume it's the Greek version, as he is known for playing that instrument.



This second video is of a group at Tig Coili (pronounced, "Chee Coli") in Galway. Tig Coili is known as the home of traditional Irish music in Galway.

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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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