"Wargamer's Ireland" Topic

I and a wargamer buddy spent a couple of weeks exploring Ireland in November. The weather was not all awful, with a bit of sunshine in parts of it. Here are some photos that gamers might be interested in.
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These are castles, monasteries and and other things game-related. My previous trip was all in the West, so I missed many of the large castles. The bad thing about travel in the off-season was dealing with funky opening hours. Trim Castle was on the must-see list, but was not open when we where near.

Here are photos of things in more of an ancient theme:
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Our trip to Newgrange was cut short when someone in our party collapsed just as we got into the heart of the tomb. I just managed to catch his head before he knocked against the chamber wall. The staff asked everyone to leave, and they had to call EMS. We would have had to re-enter the queue again, as only small groups are allowed in at a time, so we went to the visitor's center instead. We were able to make up for it a bit at Carrowkeel. It is all open for exploring, but a challenge to get there. It sits on a mountain top at the end of a long narrow twisting and deeply rutted goat path. Worth it!

Naturally, we made the obligatory side trip to Prince August. They are amazed when gamers show up, as the factory is located way out in the countryside. They give a nice demo, and have a great display of all their products. They also have some fun discount bins to look through! They have moulding kits for nativity scenes, as well as the finished pieces for sale.

In the coming winter hobby season, I plan to build a new monks tower and a few tombs. The Carrowkeel ones are an ideal size for gaming pieces. The smaller monks tower at Clonmacnoise is just about perfect.

You didnt waste any time, looks like you saw some awesome sites, and your photos were great. I understand about the closing hours around the holidays, I went last year at Xmas and missed alot of stuff cuz it was closed. It looks like you saw more stuff in a few weeks than some people who have lived there all their lives. I was cool with the closed stuff cuz I was visiting friends, but want to go back to see other sites in the spring next year. Wasnt the passage way into Newgrange freaky? Not a place for the chubby or faint of heart! Did you get on the 10 year waiting list with all the other Neo-Pagans? (Joke) Thanks for sharing!

The opening times for major sites were not that restrictive. Really only bumped up against Trim Castle.(only open Sat. and Sun. in Winter) I think the OPW does a fantastic job, and the entry prices were very modest. We should have invested in the discount card, but we didn't know at the front end how many sites we would get to.

The entry into Newgrange is like entering a primordial birth canal. There is even a restricting place (quite intentional, I'm sure) about 2/3rds of the way in. A cool fact I did not know before hand is that there are only about five individuals in the remains of the chamber. A very special place, indeed! I bet it was terrible getting the poor chap out of there. We never found out if he was OK. He was responding/groggy when I was with him.

I saw the waiting list forms for viewing the Solstice, and was very tempted. You could get a good thrill in a bit lesser tomb at Carrowkeel, as the alinements are the same. It would be more of a challenge to get there, though. It was hard enough in the daylight!

I didn't post any of the purely scenic stuff, which to my mind is what makes Ireland so special. Slieve League makes the Cliffs of Mohr look like an after-thought. The whole north coast was getting battered by gale-force winds. It made the trip to the Giant's Causeway almost impossible, but experiencing the power of sea was fantastic!

We never spent more than 3 hours transit time. To a Midwesterner, the distances are not that big of a deal. We mostly decided on the day, depending on weather conditions. If it was cold, rainy AND foggy, we would head to somewhere that was maybe just rainy. We got a bit of sunshine on most of the days, if even only long enough to get some photographs. Near the end, in the Southern half of the trip, it was quite a bit warmer, as one would expect. Most annoying was the lack of sunlight at this time of year. We would get to somewhere in the afternoon and find a B&B, and bang, it was stone-dark!

We got lucky last year, it only rained twice in 2 weeks, and it was warm enough for a sweater or light coat. At Newgrange Being 6 feet tall and 285 plus pounds, what fun to find out I DO have some issues with close places! We went in last, and I'm glad we did. That was one place you wouldn't wanna pass out in, I could just hear the news story in my head, "Fat Yank stop-gapped at Newgrange, film at 10:00."

The country is like the size of Ohio, so it was easy to get around. I'm going to look into Carrowkeel, and the Ring of Kerry just to name a few. I bought a book on stone circles before I left, but the pull of the pubs and a couple of Bewleys Irish breakfasts kept me in Dublin for a few days. Saw the National museum with the bog bodies which was free and easy to get through.

Don't know how close to the Giant Cause Way you got with the stormy weather, but it is a neat place and worth a second visit just to see all the old graffiti from 100-200 years ago carved in the stones beside the hexagonal steps.

Did ya see Glenahlocke (sp?) where Saint Kevin lived, just out side of Dublin in the Wicklow Mountains? If you go off season like we did you might catch Daniel Day Lewis jogging at the side of the road, plus the area was used in the film Excalibur. Man I could go on forever, I love Ireland so much.

"Glenahlocke" – Glendalough – Gleann Da Locha (Valley of the Two Lakes).

Glad to hear the weather wasn't too bad on your trip, and you do indeed seem to have seen a lot.

Newgrange is a very cool place, whether you're a Neo-Pagan or not.

Sadly, Wicklow Mts. and Glendalaugh didn't fit in. We might have done that the last full day, but we felt we needed to be on the north side of Dublin for the flight out. We were right, as traffic was awful! We did manage to see the Giant's Causeway. Even with rain gear it was wet and cold and the waves kept us from really exploring much. Beware of sideways rain!

There were compromises because of time. We chose Dingle rather than the larger Ring of Kerry. It was the right one, as Kerry was shrouded with fog, and the tip of Dingle stuck out into the sunshine. We stayed one night in Killarney, but it did not improve. It is surrounded by lovely scenery that could not be seen for fog. (vis. 10 feet, maybe)

Much to see on a return visit! The largest hassle for visitors is the M road construction. We were warned by the car rental company that any travel on them required a toll, even if there is no toll booth! (cctv) We found ourselves directed onto them, even when we were trying to avoid them, as there was no other way. I finally found someone to explain the situation, and she told me the cctv toll is only on the portion of the ring road around Dublin, and that most of the Irish are protesting and not paying. If there was a booth, we paid. Otherwise, we used the side roads. I hope this gets worked out, as it is an unnecessary hassle.

Also, be forewarned about car rental insurance. Credit card companies are not extending coverage to rentals in Ireland. My friend called his company, and they told him they did cover, but then refused it when he went to get the car. He had to put a large cash deposit on the rental. I can see why, as the traffic on those tiny roads was crazy-busy! Ireland has out-grown it's ancient road net. It is sad, really, as they will have to dig up the beautiful countryside to accommodate all the vehicles.

The best of Ireland: The scenery, The food (they are getting quite inventive with local produce and variants, especially sea food), fantastic local cheeses, high standards of B&Bs, but expensive, and great whiskey! Ireland needs to catch up on beer. Even wonderful stout gets a bit old. I changed it up with cider, and got totally hooked on Rekorderlig! (not available in the States)

"Ireland has out-grown it's ancient road net. It is sad, really, as they will have to dig up the beautiful countryside to accommodate all the vehicles."

The sooner a modern road network is in place, the better. This has been resisted ferociously by a small number of people over the last 10-15 years, and it's really showing with the increase in population.

The more infrastructural spending and progress, the better. I lived 5 miles from work, but the journey averaged 45 minuts to 90 minutes (if traffic was bad).

Scenery bedamned. You can't eat it.

You have some set of stones to drive over there. I would worry the whole time about the side of the road I was on. Great to have Irish friends do the driving, and let me catch up on my drink. Stout, cider, whiskey, pub sammiches, all good, plus people were eating fresh green salads while dining out. I was surprised!

Did ya eat the black pudding for Breakfast? Snarf any rashers? I found an Irish imported food store in my area to get rashers. Hob-nobs, steaming mugs of black tea with brown soda bread, okay I will stop! I also liked the smoking ban in the pubs now that I don't smoke.

GallowGlass-That's what my buddy was saying, a 10 min car trip to work is always over an hour because of traffic, so when the weather is good he bikes it. It was over 20 years ago I lived in Dublin and my has it grown. I couldn't get over all the building and 4 times more cars, and big cars/suv's on the road at that.

You have my complete sympathy on the road situation, Gallowglass. Us visitors can't expect the Irish to have to deal with the crazy roads just so we can experience "quaint scenery". I just hope for balance. Like, why no Dart to the airport? I used public transport when I could, but this just seems nuts! The buses are quite good, but they get stuck in traffic, as well. When I would ask the locals, they would just roll their eyes. I expect that it might be like here in the States. Too much money to be made with car rentals and parking. There are only a few airports here in the States with decent connections.

Pudding is a very mean name for something so un-yummy! I don't mind the black when it is fried crispy, and the white pudding is ok. I rushed out and bought cut oats for breakfast. So much better than the rolled stuff. The smoking ban was a delight, as a non-smoker. I notice that many places have an outdoor spot for smokers to go with heaters to make it comfortable. Fine by me. We got to watch the matches with the All-Blacks, and actually enjoy being at the pub.

My last visit was nearly 20 years ago. Big changes! I thought that many modern expansions have been done in a way that preserves much of the character of the cites. In Sligo, the big parking lot is behind the storefronts, and the modern stores are available, but entered from the streets via doorways blended into the buildings. I saw this done elsewhere, as well.

A lot of what you've posted was a significant influence on the final decision to leave. Quality of life is not what it used to be.

By and large, the preservation has been good. There are a lot of committed and sincere people involved in keeping things looking well. But the attitude to infrastructure is and has been poor, and the place is suffering as a result.

Sounds just like home. There was much to talk about with everyone there, as it seems to be much the same in the States, especially where I live. In Michigan we are in a depression, not a recession. Is it better somewhere else? Probably. The grass is greener, except if you know it is dyed green. I think the Irish people will get it sorted. I think my home state might, as well.

As this topic will soon fall into the dead zone when it leaves the front page, I'll end with a recommendation for travel to Ireland. Expect rain but realize that it makes the sunshine that much more dear. Kind of like life.