March 2008 Feature

Finding Yourself in Ireland

By Ron Butler

I didn’t come to Ireland to find my roots. They found me. Upon arriving in this picturesque town of 8,000 inhabitants 75 miles southwest of Dublin, strange, wonderful things began to happen. People were opening doors for me. Pretty ladies smiled. Little kids followed me down the street. It’s a fine summer’s day. I was wearing a white suit and thought perhaps that’s why I was getting so much attention. (White suits conjure up thoughts of grand, faraway places and interesting people: Hong Kong, Bombay, Panama City, Tennessee Williams, Jay Gatsby.) But that wasn’t it at all.
All the attention, I soon discovered, was because word had traveled that my last name was Butler. Kilkenny has been the principal seat of the far-reaching Butler family for more than 600 years, and although the town’s main landmark, Kilkenny Castle (above), overlooking the fabled River Nore, was built by William the Elder in 1172, it became Butler property in 1391 when James Butler, third Earl of Ormonde, purchased it from a financially ailing nobleman. The castle has been the key stronghold of the Butler family, Earls and Dukes of Ormonde, the most powerful family in Ireland. So if your name happens to be Butler and you’re in Kilkenny, it’s almost automatically Guinness on the house. Talk about Irish luck.
Along with the Butlers, Kilkenny is famous for its pubs, so many in fact that the Irish refer to Kilkenny as the oasis of the southeast. I visited a few, I’ll admit to that. I stopped in Maggie Holland’s, Caislean Ui Cuain, Fennelly’s, Grogan’s on the Bridge and the Court Arms. After that, I lost track of their names. My white suit was a shambles and somewhere during a rousing rendition of Danny Boy I lost my notebook.
Pubs (from publics or public houses) are a national institution in Ireland. In Kilkenny, as in most Irish towns, they form the nucleus of social life. They are the common man’s clubhouse, a place to meet his friends or find new ones, match wits with his enemies, and forget the cares and problems of the day by washing them all away with a creamy pint of Guinness stout.
Stout (also called porter and plain) is the national drink of Ireland; the national weakness is having just one more. There’s a saying here that goes: A bird never flew on one wing. Walking, on the other hand, can be challenging after two or three.
There’s another saying: An Irishman is the only man in the world who will climb over the bodies of a dozen naked women in order to get to a bottle of stout.
My father was of Irish stock, of course. His family came from nearby Waterford, where the famous crystal is made. Born in New York City, he often dreamed of visiting Ireland, but never made the journey. Instead, he spent a good portion of his life visiting all the bars and taverns in eastern Connecticut where he lived in search of his mystical past.
Kilkennny Castle, restored in recent years to reflect much of its historical grandeur, is the jewel of the city’s crown. A wing of the former servants’ quarters is now the Butler Art Gallery where, along with changing shows of contemporary art, family portraits abound. The old Castle Kitchen operates as a restaurant during the summer.Around the castle is a 50-acre park with a children’s play area and lush green lawns. Nowhere in the world are lawns greener and better kept than in Ireland. The castle’s former stables house the Design Workshop, where woolens, sweaters, linens, porcelain, glass kitchenware and Irish handicrafts are sold. The Tourist Information Office is here as well.
Another major point of interest is St. Canice’s Cathedral, dating to the 13th century. One of Ireland’s most beautiful, it has a superb round tower, part of which — 100 feet or so — is open to visitors. During the 17th century, Cromwell plundered the city, desecrating the church and smashing the stained-glass window and baptismal font. Horses were stabled inside. Kilkenny is also the site of the St. Francis Abbey Brewery, built around the shell of a 13th-century Greyfriar’s Abbey, one of Ireland’s oldest.
Too bad my father, who never had a white suit, couldn’t have joined me in misty, wistful Ireland, with its tall stories and strong drink and fair maidens. Perhaps we could have crossed the edge then, one to the other, to finally view life through the very same eyes.
Getting There: Aer Lingus (800-223-6537) serves Ireland daily from New York. Delta (800-221-1212) operates flights to Shannon and Dublin from Atlanta. Kilkenny can be reached by train from Dublin, via the Dublin-Waterford Line. For more information, contact the Irish Tourist Board, 800-223-6470; visit www.goireland.com or www.goireland.com/geneaology

November 2007 Issue

Dublin’s Bragging Rights

By Lisa Davis

Top-notch hotels, world-class museums and galleries, and pubs and restaurants that take you back in time, the Emerald Isle’s capital, Dublin, has a rich history deep with literary roots, medieval legends, and, of course, Irish charm.

Seeing the Sights
A true Georgian city, Dublin’s distinctive three-story brick residences, which date back to the 18th century, line the city’s winding and narrow cobblestone streets and also showcase the famous “Georgian Doors of Dublin” painted in bright colors—a visual attraction all their own. You will also find pubs on almost every corner, from storied haunts where famous Irish writers William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett, among others, had a pint or two, to trendier bars with rock music attracting a younger crowd.
One of the best ways to experience Dublin is by walking. The city offers several guided walking tours including a 1916 Rebellion Tour that chronicles the Easter Rising and the foundation of the Irish State, as well as tours that explore Ireland’s oldest university founded in 1592, Trinity College, which is where you will find the Book of Kells—an ornately illustrated manuscript produced by Celtic monks around AD 800; Dublin Castle; the Old Parliament House; and the Temple Bar area with its medieval cobbled streets filled with lively pubs and restaurants. For literary buffs, there is a two-hour Dublin Literary Pub Crawl where actors portray some of the city’s famous writers (Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift to name a few) acting out skits and taking you to some of Dublin’s literary legends’ favorite hangouts, including Davy Brynes on Grafton Street, Duke Bar on Duke Street and O’Neills Bar on Suffolk Street.
You can also do self-guided tours by downloading free iWalk podcasts from www.Visitdublin.com. Be sure to walk along the widest street in Europe, O’Connell Street, which runs north of the River Liffey and is where you will find the Garden of Remembrance, the General Post Office and the James Joyce Center. Other Dublin must-sees include St. Patrick’s Cathedral; Christ Church Cathedral; St. Stephen’s Green—a 27-acre public park adjacent to the pedestrian-only Grafton Street; Guinness Brewery that offers panoramic views of the city from its rooftop bar; Irish Museum of Irish Art; James Joyce Museum; National Gallery of Ireland; and the Dublin Zoo. For theatregoers, acting plays a major role in Dublin’s entertainment and cultural life with The Gate and The Abbey Theater presenting traditional and contemporary productions.
Because the dollar is weak against the euro, fees to attractions can add up. One way to save costs is to buy a Dublin Pass online (www.dublinpass.ie) or at the Dublin International Airport, or at the Dublin Tourist Office on Suffolk Street. This pass will give you free access to more than two-dozen attractions and provides discounts to local restaurants and stores.

Getting Around Town
If walking isn’t your choice, experiencing Dublin by bus is a great option. Try the city’s Hop On - Hop Off bus tour that runs every six to 10 minutes, stopping at about 20 of the city’s main attractions and includes live, entertaining commentary from the driver. Your 24-hour ticket allows you to “hop on and off” as often as you want. You can upgrade to a 3-Day Freedom Ticket that includes the Hop On – Hop Off tour, as well access to the city’s commuter buses and Airlink, which is a direct bus service to and from Dublin International Airport.

Spending the Night
Dublin is filled with outstanding accommodations. Choices include: The Clarence, a boutique hotel on the River Liffey owned by U2’s Bono and where President Clinton stays. (The hotel will shut down in early 2009 for about two years to undergo major renovations). The modern Fitzwilliam Hotel located across from St. Stephen’s Green. The sleek and stylish Dylan Dublin, which is about 15 minutes from Grafton Street and has a gourmet restaurant that serves a delicious, creamy asparagus risotto. The classy and sophisticated Shelbourne hotel found on St. Stephen’s Green and has a genealogy concierge for guests. And, The Merrion—a five-star luxury hotel a few steps from St. Stephen’s Green near the National Gallery of Ireland and the National History Museum. While most hotels offer travel agents special deals, The Merrion is one of the only ones to offer dollar/euro packages.

Getting to Dublin
American Airlines offers direct flights to Dublin from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. So does Aer Lingus, which also has direct service from New York, Boston and Los Angeles. Continental offers direct flights from Newark Liberty International Airport.
For more information on Tourism Ireland www.discoverireland.com Dublin Tourism Office www.visitdublin.com/DublinPass or www.dublinpass.ie

October 2007 Feature

Flying Boats and Seaplanes

By Clif Cooke

On July 6, 2007 the aviation world celebrated the 70th anniversary of the first transatlantic proving flight of a commercial seaplane from Botwood, Newfoundland to Foynes, Ireland. A Pan Am Sikorsky S-42 piloted by Captain Harold Gray inaugurated a two year series of flights carrying mail and express. Flights originated at the LaGuardia marine terminal in New York.
Passenger service began in May 1939 and continued until the end of World War II in 1945 using Boeing 314 flying boats. Seaplane service was then replaced with Douglas DC-4’s and Lockheed Constellations using the newly built Shannon Airport on the opposite bank of the River Shannon.
During this brief six year period, the Foynes seaplane base compiled an historic record as the origin and termination of all transatlantic passenger flights. Over 2,000 flights were operated carrying some 50,000 passengers between North America and Europe.
During the initial months of operations Pan Am clippers continued from Foynes to Southampton, England, but this route was suspended when World War II began in September, 1939. Ireland was a neutral country which allowed Pan Am to continue service during the war, thus providing critical transatlantic passenger service during the war years. During the winter months the B-314 flying boats operated via the Azores and Lisbon enroute to/from New York and Foynes.
I flew to Shannon this year for the Foynes International Flying Boat Festival held July 6, 7, and 8th at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum. Established by civic-minded Irish sponsors in 1989, the museum occupies the building which served as the operations center of the Foynes seaplane base.
Foynes is about an hour from Shannon Airport (via Limerick) making the museum easily accessible for American travelers to Ireland who have an interest in this brief but significant chaper in transatlantic aviation history.
The Foynes Seaplane Museum has benefitted from the organizational and people skills of Margaret O’Shaughnnessy (above right) who has served as the full time Director from its inception. To visit the museum is to literally step back 70 years in aviation history as you view the hundreds of artifacts including uniforms and large models of the seaplanes that transitted Foynes, early radio and navigation equipment of the era, and photos of celebrities who were the seaplane passengers.
The Foynes Seaplane Museum is also the site of the world’s only full scale replica of the Boeing-314 flying boat. Visitors can walk through the cabins and cockpit of what was the largest aircraft of its day — including a dining room which seated 14 passengers for five-course meals and a honeymoon suite! Thirty-five passengers flew in relative comfort, but the planes of the pre-WW II period did not offer pressurization which required the B-314 clippers to fly in whatever weather was below 10,000 feet. The one way fare was $375.
Irish coffee was first served at Foynes to clipper passengers in need of fortified refreshment after a long transatlantic flight.
Before beginning a tour of the museum, visitors view an engaging 15-minute film of the Foynes seaplane era including sequences featuring Charles Lindberg who was instrumental in selecting Foynes as the European seaplane base for Pan Am. Imperial Airways (now British Airways) also operated from Foynes.
At the 70th anniversary of the first flight to Foynes some 250 people participated in a luncheon marking the arrival of the Pan Am flying boat in 1937. An honored guest at the ceremony was Maureen O’Hara Blair, the Irish movie actress and wife of Pan Am Captain Charles Blair who flew scores of flights to/from Foynes and was in command of the last B-314 clipper from Foynes to New York, returning two days later as captain of a Pan Am DC-4 land plane which arrived at Shannon Airport, marking the end of the seaplane service through Foynes.
A number of Irish motorcoach tour operators include the Foynes Seaplane Museum in their regular programs and American visitors who chose to travel by rental car will find it most rewarding to include the museum in their itinerary. There is a cafe at the museum and a shop with significant souvenirs. The museum is open year round. For information, visit www.flyingboatmuseum.com