Ireland -- Waterford

When most people think of Waterford, they think of crystal--the finest crystal in the world. However, to learn about the story of the evolution of the company, is to learn a lesson about the global marketplace, which isn't always kind to local businesses. 

The biggest market for Waterford Crystal was the USA--about 90 percent of its sales. Eventually, the factory was purchased by Americans. Then a London competitor called Wedgewood challenged Waterford's advantage. After that, the Chinese began making crystal only at a lower price. This move truly killed the economy in Waterford, however, because the company could not compete. 

Then a local man bought the company and re-employed many of the workers who lost their jobs in the economic downturn. However, the company had difficulty recovering and regaining its previous prestige because some pieces were not made in Waterford. This factor reduces its collectibility. 

 

The Waterford Crystal factory also houses a museum, and it provides tours of the ancient art of glass-blowing, cutting, sculpting, etching, and engraving by hand.

The factory produces 750 tons of quality crystal every year.

 Across the street from the factory is the company's showroom and café. As the pieces below show, Crystal is not only about tableware. These pieces are beautiful--and expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vikings

Waterford's history goes further back than its crystal company. The Vikings  founded the city in 914--older than all the North European capitals except Paris and London. And it is the only Irish city to retain its Viking place name--Vedrarfjordr--an Old Norse word meaning "haven from the windy sea" or "winter port". The Irish named the city Port Láirge, the port of the thigh. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The triangular settlement, known as the Viking Triangle, was bounded on two sides by water--the river Suir on the north and a tidal marsh that was used as a harbor. This location was easy to defend since it had access to coast and inland rivers for their raids. It was also an ideal spot for the Vikings to use as a base for settlement and international trade. 

The 13th century stone wall opposite follows the line of the earlier Viking defenses. In the 18th century this area was drained and a formal tree-lined Mall was established.

 
The Vikings were tough and skilled seamen. They traveled around Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean in boats like this one, which were amazingly small considering the places they went. This one is 39 feet long and built by a local shipwright.

Reginald's Tower was built by the Anglo-Normans after their conquest of Waterford. The tower replaced the one the Vikings had built. The present tower is likely to have been built  between 1253 and 1280. It has been used as a mint, a prison, and a military storehouse. It is also famous for being the location of the wedding of Richard de Clare, the second Earl of Pembroke, and Aoife (pronounced eefa), daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster. It occasionally served as a royal castle for King John in 1210 and Richard II in 1394 and 1399. He used the tower to store his munitions. It is now used as a museum with Viking artifacts dating back to 914.

This rendition of the Viking Sword is a beautifully carved piece by John Hayes. It measures 75.5 feet in length and was created from a single tree trunk with the roots still attached. It tells the story of the Vikings conquest and settlement of this area.

 

Christ Church Cathedral

This compact but beautiful protestant cathedral is one of Ireland’s most historic buildings. Its predecessor was here when Strongbow (the second Earl of Pembroke) married Aoife, daughter of Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster in 1170.

In 1773, the old church was demolished and this cathedral was completed in 1779. It has a pillared altar with Hebrew letters on it. It was designed by Georgian architect John Roberts (1714-96).

A church dating from the time of the conversion of the Viking settlers was on this site prior to the foundation of the first cathedral in 1096. In that year the Archbishop of Canterbury consecrated Malchus, an Irish monk who trained with him to be the first Bishop of Waterford. The consecration took place at the request of the O'Brien kings of Munster, overlords of the Viking city of Waterford. 

Malchus, a reformer, later became Archbishop of Cashel and worked to bring the Irish Church into line with practice on the continent. Institutional changes were accompanied by a new style of architecture known as Romanesque. 

 

 

The tomb of James Rice is a cadaver tomb, one of the finest in Ireland. This limestone mensa or table tomb features a partially decomposed cadaver motif on top dating from c. 1482. The niches below the cadaver is decorated with gothic style niches and images of saints and apostles. The idea of this particular tomb was to remind those who gaze upon it that they will some day be in a similar state in time.

 

John Robert's home is simple and apparently well-suited for his family. He lived there for most of his adult life with his wife and their 24 children. Eight of them lived to adulthood.

Roberts was born in Waterford in 1712 or 1714, the son of Thomas Roberts, an architect and builder. At 17, he eloped with Mary Susannah Sautelle, a Huguenot heiress who also lived in Waterford.

He had the distinction of designing both the Catholic and Protestant cathedrals in Waterford: Christ Church (1770s) and Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity (1790s). 

 

Some street scenes that give Waterford some character. Our hotel faced the river, which made it especially intriguing to be in this old town of the Vikings and imagine their lives here.

Resources

Reginald's Tower -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald%27s_Tower

Jack Burtchaell's Walking Tour of Waterford -- https://visitwaterford.com/vw_listing/jack-burtchaells-walking-tour/

 The Viking Triangle -- https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/viking-triangle-waterford/

Ireland -- Kilkenny

 

 I first heard of Kilkenny around 1986. The Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR), of which I was a member, announced that it would hold its next annual conference in this quaint Irish town. I didn't go to that conference, but I was excited that our bus tour of the UK and Ireland would allow us to see what I had missed. Conference members probably stayed at a hotel, but they may have held their meetings at the Kilkenny Castle--or at least they held a dinner there.

Kilkenny became a place in the early 6th century as a church. After the Norman invasion of Ireland, a castle was built in 1195 to control a fording-point of the River Nore and the junction of several route ways. It was a symbol of Norman occupation and the castle and surrounding walls protected this Norman merchant town. In 1609, King James I of England granted Kilkenny a Royal Charter that gave it the status of a city. Following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the Irish Catholic Confederation was based in Kilkenny and lasted until the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. Kilkenny became a brewing center in the late 17th century; it still houses a number of breweries.

Today, Kilkenny Castle is open to visitors all year round and is largely a Victorian remodeling of the castle. Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to see it and walk through its 50 acres of rolling parkland with mature trees, wildlife, a formal terraced rose garden, woodlands, and a man-made lake. (Kilkenny Castle website)

Below is the castle's entrance, courtyard, an adjoining park with a walking trail, and a riverfront view of the castle.

 

Down the main road from the castle is the outdoor market. On this brisk day it was rather subdued and not very crowded, but it offered local products, arts & crafts, and a variety of sweet treats.

A bit of Irish music always warms one's heart. This man made it look and feel real. In fact, people in the Kilkenny enjoy and appreciate folk songs and live music. It recalls their Gaelic roots that gives them much pride and identity.

 

 Post Office vehicles are green, of course!

 

Street life is vibrant in Kilkenny. Just a couple hours here walking around proved that. We also saw how this medieval town has adapted to today's modern needs, interests, and desires.

 

 

 

 

 

The Marble City Bar recalls a bit of the city's history as a marble producing town. There is a quarry nearby.

Ireland seemed to me to present an overall  element of the mysterious and macabre. This restaurant in the older part of the city on Butter Slip Lane related a short story on the life of Petronella and provided a snippet of 14th century Kilkenny culture.

Petronella de Meath was the handmaid to Dame Alice Kyteler, a 14th century Hiberno Norman noblewoman. Following the mysterious deaths of Alice's four husbands, Alice was accused of practicing witchcraft and subsequently sentenced to death to be burned at the stake. 

Petronella was charged with being one of her accomplices. Alice escaped and to satisfy the large crowd that had gathered outside Kilkenny city's Tholsel, Petronella was made to take the place of her mistress and was flogged and burned alive.

Petronella de Meath was the first woman in Ireland to be burned at the stake for the crime of heresy on November 3, 1324.

The Petronella Restaurant offers Irish, European, vegetarian, and gluten-free cuisine. The building dates back to 1602. It seats 50 guests on two floors "so whether you are dining alone or with a group, you are assured of company, atmosphere and a warm welcome."

Kilkenny is a tourist destination, and it has many historic buildings. It is also known for its craft and design workshops, the Watergate Theatre, public gardens and museums. Annual events include Kilkenny Arts Festival, the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival, and music at the Kilkenny Roots Festival.

There was so much more of the city to explore, but alas, we needed to move on to Waterford for the afternoon and a one-night stay at a family-owned boutique hotel.

Resources

Andrew Speed, guide of CostSaver Travel Company

Kilkenny Castle -- https://kilkennycastle.ie/

Kilkenny -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny

 

Ireland -- Dublin

 

Dublin was founded in 841 by the Vikings. They called their new settlement Duvlin, which means Black Pool named after the color of the rivers that looked black. A settlement had been established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century. In 1170, the Normans arrived. They built churches on the tops of hills. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixth largest in Western Europe.  

Following independence in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, renamed Ireland in 1937. Dublin is a center for education, arts and culture, administration and industry. As of 2018, the city was listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) as a global city, with a ranking of "Alpha minus", which places it as one of the top thirty cities in the world. 

 Here are several tidbits about Dublin that explain its history and culture.

 

Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigit of Kildare and Columba. He is credited with bring Christianity to Ireland.

 

 

 

Saint Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral. It is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guiness Brewery is located on a half-square mile complex in Old Dublin on James Street (above). It was founded in 1759. Today, it produces 3 million pints for the local population.

Guiness is very generous and socially-conscience. One third of Dublin's social housing is run by Guiness or at least financed by the company.

The harp is part of the company logo.

 

 

Trinity College dates back to Queen Elizabeth I who founded it in 1592. The institution plays host to the Book of Kells, handwritten copies of the Bible that were written by medieval monks. The university started out as a monastic site before it became an institution of higher learning. It sits on 42 acres. 

I walked on the campus, a familiar place for me after nearly 50 years on college campuses as a student, a publicist, and a professor. 

While I was sitting on a bench in the main square, I ran into a Chinese couple who were taking photos of each other. The man is studying English so that he can work on a master's degree in information systems management. His young wife was with him although she was not very fluent in English as he was.

He asked me what I did during my career and I told him. He seemed to think that I was an accomplished professor. I had reached a goal as he is aspiring to reach his. I'm sure he will. University campuses are places of hope and ambition--always.

 

 

 

 

General Post Office

It was here that the 1916 rebellion and the war for independence began. The building was badly damaged. Bullet holes from that time can still be seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Parnell Square

Parnell Square, a Georgian design, was formerly called Rutland Square until it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–1891). Parnell was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (1875-91), Leader of the Home Rule League (1880-82), and Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (1882-91). His party held the balance of power in the House of Commons during the Home Rule debates of 1885–1886. Parnell was one of the best political organizers of an Irish political party, and one of the most formidable figures in parliamentary history. Despite his talent for politics, a personal scandal detracted from his image. Ultimately, he was unable to secure his lifelong goal of obtaining Irish Home Rule.

Many notable buildings are here in this distinguished square including Chapter One, one of Dublin's most acclaimed restaurants, and the Writers Museum. Conway's Bar (now closed) is the place outside of which Patrick Pearse surrendered to the British Army after the 1916 Easter Rising. The political party Sinn Féin has its Dublin head office here near the offices of a number of trades unions and other organizations. Many famous people also live and have lived in this area.

In 2011, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visited here. The outcome of this gesture was a melting of the ice between the Irish and English after hundreds of years of animosity.

The Georgian Mile is an unofficial term used to describe a continuous, mile-long street  largely lined with Georgian townhouses. According to The Irish Times, the stretch was once dubbed "the longest and arguably the finest Georgian streetscape in the world." It was built by the Anglo-Irish wealthy families between the 1780s and the 1830s. Many famous people lived here. Today, the buildings house offices with apartments on the top floors. In the old days coal was imported and used for heating. The coal was stored in caves in the subterranean parts of the buildings.

 

Economy

Dublin has 1.5 million people living here out of a 5 million population in the country. Many major corporations including the pharmaceuticals, digitals, financial services have located here. There is no heavy industry.

Rentals are high averaging 2,000 Euros per month. The average household salary is 38,000 Euros. Ireland must import fossil fuels and much of the cost for this energy has been due to the Ukrainian War. The government has tried to ease the burden on households by providing families with 200 Euros per month.

Dublin Traffic Jams are the worst. They are always there without much relief. There is no underground and the lack of urban planning for the huge influx of people coming to the city has made it what it is. Every day the traffic is bad. Rents are sky high.

 

 

Irish Fun Night

 

 

On our second night in Dublin we went to an Irish dinner fête and were greeted by the proprietor as we walked into the pub.

The Irish are well-known throughout the world for their music, singing, and dancing. It is their great gift to humanity. This singing group didn't fail to disappoint. Our group had an Irish dinner--with whiskey and Irish coffee--and a little entertainment. It was great fun and a memorable evening!!! It is evenings like these that make the country come alive and share its spirit with visitors. Here are snippets of the performances.

 

"Too-La-Roo-La-Ral"

 Traditional Irish Dancers

 "Danny Boy"

 

Upon reflection

I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip even though it is a bit grueling to ride the bus for long distances. However, what we see and do inspires me to return here for a longer and more leisurely trip. I'm not sure when or how, but Ireland and Scotland have truly captured my soul!

These countries have struggled with war, pestilence, famine, and attempts to tamp down their culture, language, and identity. But they have survived and endured. What spirit! Perhaps this spirit is best reflected in their music and architecture. The big, black sturdy stones of Edinburgh reflect the strength and drive of the Scots--as well as their kilts and bagpipes. Such a display of manliness with an underlying kindness was beautiful. The mystical lands of the Emerald Isle uplift and dazzle the soul; the inspire spiritual connection with the Divine. Finally, one very common experience of my time with the Scots and the Irish was their extraordinary friendliness and welcoming hospitality to us strangers from other lands. They treated us as friends, not just tourists. They allowed us to see their souls.
 

 

Resources

Andrew Speed, guide for CostSaver Travel Company

Wikipedia