Shankill Road Belfast Northern Ireland

I just finished a five day tour of Northern Ireland and the Atlantic coast. This was one of our stops. I think at the core of A World Without Armies is the belief that conflict resolution can be done in other ways besides force and violence. But what do you do when the oppressors do … Read more

The Doors of Dublin

Staying in the Georgian section of Dublin reveals rows and rows of housing with mainly brick facades. The doorway is one way to show individuality. The glass above the doorway often has been replaced without the ornate skeletons. The colors are as vibrant as the Irish personality… and of course would not be Irish without … Read more

Workshop at the United Arts Club in Dublin

We are back again in Dublin at the United Arts Club with an enthusiast group of people doing calligraphy. Almost half of the group was at the workshop last year.  We were so busy right up to the end of our time that I forgot to take a group picture. As you can see the sun … Read more

Last days in Venice & Paris bombing

The workshop ended and I had two days before my return to Dublin and then home. As many times that I have been in Venice, I’d never gone to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. She amassed a collection of modern and surrealist art that is considered one of the best in the world. What an exciting … Read more

Venice workshop 2015

The Venice workshop is over and between artwork, cleaning brushes, going to concerts, eating fabulous food and enjoying the people I’ve not blogged one word. To those who were at the workshop last year, I’m sorry to say that there was not one drop of rain and none of the excitement of aqua alta. This … Read more

Catching up with myself

My last day in Dublin and I went to see a play at the Gate Theatre. The accents were so good, I felt like I was in Brooklyn.   After having dinner with friends, I took the DART back to Dublin City. This was my view from the bridge. It was alive with people dressed … Read more

Book of Kells and Irish music

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Long room at Trinity College

My final days in Dublin and I’m getting to the interests that are inside. The weather continues to be exceptional for Dublin this time of year. This is an amazing library and it even smells like a book. The Book of Kells, of course can not be photographed, is in a room downstairs and I could even read parts of it thanks to my Latin courses in college. At the end of each stack is a bust of famous writers. Below a few  of my favorites.

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Friday night in Dublin and Conxita and I went out to some pubs for traditional Irish music. I was looking for uilleann pipe music and I found it in spades at Hughes. Three musicians were there and each had a different type of instrument. The music at Cobblestone was good with several people spontaneously breaking into song, but many of the patrons were more interested in drinking and talking then in listening.

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Musicians at Hughes
Musicians at Cobblestone

 

Ireland a foreign country & Newgrange

The signs in Dublin are written in Gaelic and English, but you wouldn’t know that Gaelic is the mother tongue unless you attend an event like this. Grainne, her friend Deirdre and I went to the start of this Gaelic gathering. Grainne was my translator for this.             A Neolithic … Read more

Botanical Garden and Irish Kazism

Conchita (a ceramacist from Spain working at the museum and staying at Grainne’s) and I walked up to the botanical garden yesterday. The glass greenhouses were filled with exotic plants. I was amazed that the outside garden still had plants in bloom. Several days before I saw a black tube in Grainne’s outside area and … Read more