Ireland – County Clare

We stay overnight in Ballyvaughan (pop 361 in 2022) in County Clare. Ballyvaughan is a tiny village pinched between The Burren and Galway Bay.

The Burren College of Art (est 1994) is just south of the village. As former art teachers, we are curious to see the place. We understand that they've adopted pedagogical elements from Black Mountain College – the art school associated with Josef and Anni Albers (we saw their retrospective in Brussels in the summer of 2024) as well as Ruth Asawa (we saw her retrospective at the Guggenheim Bilbao in May this year) – an interdisciplinary approach, collaborative work, development of individual expression, strong connections to nature, etc.

Their charming, rustic campus is tucked into a valley between striated rock faces and around the round tower of Caisleán an Bhaile Nua (Newtown Castle, 16th century). A small quad near the Castle houses administrative offices, a lecture and performance space (the former carriage house, 19th century), and a lively cafe.

A newer warehouse-like building lies further from the Castle, with a wide exhibition gallery and studios spaces behind – all with a functionally industrial and flexible feel.

Newtown Castle itself is a fun showpiece for them, too, and the space inside the tower may be used for readings, class meetings, shows, etc. The geometry is unusual: a steep pyramidal base intersects the cylindrical tower. The conical tower cap is a recent reconstruction, beautifully and appropriately rendered in timber and slate. The Castle is part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark; the sign near the parking area reads:

Newtown Castle was built in the 1500's as a defensive home for a branch of the local O'Brien family. It was lived in for over 300 years. It is unusual because it is a circular building with a square base. The original ceilings with local hazel branches are preserved inside. The stone for the building was taken from the local limestone in the ground beside the castle.

The College is impressive and focused on their mission. The staff is uniformly friendly and engaging. And the campus is compact but also unforgettable – that singular and stunning landscape.

We drive a bit further west and south to Doolin, a popular town for 'trad music'. For lunch, we choose a pub on the Aille River. After lunch, we continue to Doolin Pier to watch the ferries arrive and depart to Aillte an Mhothair (Cliffs of Moher) and the Oileáin Árann (Aran Islands).

The road to the Pier (R459) is packed with daytrippers parking and hiking to the Clfffs. The parking lot of the Pier is blustery and exposed. To the south, we can see O'Brien's Tower (1835) clinging at the peak. The furrowed limestone of The Burren seeps from under the tarmac and slips into Galway Bay.

Ireland – Archaeological Tour

We wake this morning after completing the Slea Head Drive (R559) over the last two days (day 1, south; day 2, north). It's raining, and it's going to continue raining today. From the town of Dingle (pop 1,671 in 2022) in County Kerry, we are headed north to County Clare this afternoon.

For this morning, we are joining an archeology tour around the Dingle Peninsula. Unfortunately, after switching our tour itinerary from the Ring of Kerry to the Slea Head Drive, we might be repeating a couple of the sites.

East of Dingle Town, we stop at Droichead na Gairfeanaí (Garfinny Bridge, 15th century). The guide recounts its tragic past, but the rain-on-umbrella sounds muffle his monologue. Luckily, a nearby OPW sign echoes this information:

This stone bridge, built using clay to bond the stones, spans the mountain stream known as the Garfinny river. The top of the arch is a little over 3 metres above the bed of the river. The bridge, like many buildings on the Dingle Peninsula, built entirely without mortar. Its arch consists of radial, stones, but these "spring" from stones which project over the stream in a corbelling technique.

The bridge may have been standing in 1580 when, according to a local tradition, Lord Deputy Grey and 800 troops crossed over it. They were on their way to Smerwick Harbour where they were to execute the 600 men, woman and children who had already surrendered their position. In the middle of the 19th century, a ford a short distance upstream was the favoured crossing point because part of the original arch had collapsed or was too unsafe to use.

Next, we drive west toward Ventry and visit Tobar Mhíchíl Naomtha (Saint Michael's Holy Well). This is a brightly painted, rectangular basin with a notched opening; according to local lore, its waters cure tooth aches another other ailments. A memorial at the top of the rise is painted a matching baby-blue:

gCuimhne

James Goodman

1828-1896

Rugadh ar an mbaile seo o dheas

uainn. Ollamh le Gaeilge i

gColáiste na Tríonóide, ministir

in Dhá Dhrom, agus canonach sa

Sciobairín ab ea é, ceoltóir

agus píobaire. D'fhác cnuasach

mór ceoil againn ina bhfuil a

lán de cheol Chorca Dhuibhne.

[In Memory of

James Goodman

1828–1896

He was born in this townland,

just to the south of here. He was

Professor of Irish at Trinity

College, a minister at

Dhadhrom, and a canon in

Skibbereen, as well as a

musician and piper. He left us

a vast collection of music

containing much of the music

of Corca Dhuibhne.]

(trans Google)

Our third stop is Burnham House (J. F. Fuller, 1790), overlooking Dingle Bay. This is the former home of Lord Ventry and the current Coláiste Íde (Gaelic boarding school, est 1928), rendered in a stout, Palladian Tuscan order.

The Coláiste Íde Ogham Stones (5th or 6th century) greet us along the driveway, collected by Lord Ventry from the surrounding countryside. Ogham refers to the primitive alphabet used to inscribe the names on the stones – the first letter (b) is one stroke, the second (l) is two, and so on. The stones are often boundary markers with the names of the landholders, but in this case are grave markers; the smaller stone at the back shows a cross, as does the large, prone 'pulvinar' (pillow-like stone).

After thse quick stops, we drive west and north, passing Rahinane Castle (15th-16th century) which our guide refers to as a "FitzGeralds Tower", named for the knights who erected the Castle. The castle is built inside an ancient ringfort, Rath Fhionnáin (Finan's Ringfort, 7th-8th century).

Láthair Mhainistreach an Riaisc (Reask Monastic Site, 6th century) is our destination, which one of the sites we saw yesterday. In a way, since we already have pictures and because of the bad weather, we focus on the guide's stories. Interesting to think that the "Reask Stone" shows Latin-script letters as opposed to Ogham. We do our best to get an improved shot of the stone at the Oratory's entrance. The shadows across the etched cross seem to make it more legible.

We also revisit Séipéilín Ghallarais (Gallarus Oratory, 7th-8th century–?; yesterday), but from the south as opposed to the west, bypassing the OPW's ticket office. To be honest, the views from this approach are way better, but come with the guilt of 'gate-jumping'.

We then begin to drive towards the Kilmalkedar Church but stop along the way at Cathair Deargáin (Caherdorgan Cashel, 8th-9th centuries). This is an amazingly well-preserved ring fort that, unaware, we must have passed yesterday. There are bases for about a half dozen clochán (beehive huts, top image) and stunning vista out to Smerwick Harbour – the site of the massacre described at the bridge.

We return to Dingle,and thank our guide and driver. Despite the rain, these tours are always fun, and the Irish guides are particularly entertaining presenters. We find a harbor-side cafe to dry off, warm up, and have lunch.

In the afternoon, we collect our luggage and depart Dingle for Ballyvaughan (pop 361 in 2022) in County Clare. The route takes us into The Burren, where a curious fox welcomes us.

Continuing with the 'archeology' theme, we stop to explore Poll na Brón (Poulnabrone, c3500BC), a megalithic dolmen set on the dramatically 'quilted' rocks. More OPW signs explain both geology and the archeology along the path to the tomb. The dolmen site is roped off; we surmise this is for the dolmen's protection as well as our won (those megaliths look heavy). But the rope is delicate and unobtrusive, and the landscape flows right through the incredible site – displayed like a personal-sized Stone Henge.

We pull into Ballyvaughan just in time for dinner and a well-earned rest.