"Peil ghaelach".

"Peil ghaelach" means "Gaelic football". It's played with a ball that looks like a soccer ball...but don't EVER call it a "soccer ball". They will kill you.

Ardifinnan, the town we stayed in, is a member of the GAA - Gaelic Athletic Association. These pictures and video are from the semifinals match - Ardfinnan versus Arravale (minors) - which they won. Found out via the Internet that Ardfinnan minor team beat Loughmore-Castleiney in the finals two weeks later and were crowned South A Champions - first time since 1998.

Just watch the video through the two-minute mark. What's really a hoot is listening to the crowd behind me and to my right. You think American fans go a little berserk? And click on READ MORE! for more shots of the game.

"ARDFHIONAIN ABU!" That means, "Hurray, Ardfinnan!".

Ardfinnan Minors - South A Champions - 2009.

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"An bia uile".

"An bia uile" means "all the food". Ireland's cuisine, as in 2006, was excellent. My chicken kiev (above) was probably the best I've ever eaten. Click on READ MORE! for a few more pics of Ireland's sumptuous menu.

Michael made dinner a couple nights at the cottage. Tonite...baked chicken, potatoes, carrots and - not sure what that is toward the front of the plate. Delicious!

Even Ireland's taters are pretty tasty.

Something Michael ordered. Forgot what is was but he said it was delicious. He knows food.

Ireland's version of cheese mozzarella sticks. And a Guinness to wash it all down with.

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"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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"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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