Category Archives: Ireland and the Irish

’tis Blackberry season up north

Posted on Tuesday, 8 September 2009 by

My friend Amy over at her beautiful nature blog wrote about wild blackberries today. Reading her post brought back a flood of emotions and memories of our dream trip to Ireland in September last year. I remember how our dear … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland, Ireland and the Irish, Northern Ireland | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Supporting the Irish economy

Posted on Tuesday, 3 February 2009 by

With all those reports of the Irish economy suffering so badly, I felt obligated to purchase a pound of Kerry Gold Butter at the local supermarket, despite the extortionate cost (over R30.00 for 500g!). But that’s because it really is … Continue reading →

Posted in Home and Garden, Ireland and the Irish, Life in South Africa | Leave a comment

Along the Liffey (part 2)

Posted on Tuesday, 18 November 2008 by

As I said in a previous post, Dublin is bisected by the River Liffey. As a result, there are a LOT of bridges. The oldest seems to be the Queen Maeve Bridge (also known as the Mellows Bridge), which was … Continue reading →

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Along the Liffey (part 1)

Posted on Sunday, 16 November 2008 by

Our first exploration of Dublin’s city centre led us north from Trinity College towards the banks of the River Liffey. The Liffey is the river that bisects the city of Dublin, broadly dividing it into the northside and the southside. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland, Ireland and the Irish, Travel | 4 Comments

Ireland lost miserably

Posted on Saturday, 15 November 2008 by

… against New Zealand. 22-3 was the final score of the rugby match between the All Blacks and Ireland at Croke Park tonight, which was broadcast live on MNET (thank you, MNET!). I was particularly pleased that the commentary came … Continue reading →

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Travelling technophiles

Posted on Monday, 3 November 2008 by

Not so long ago, going on a trip meant that we gave the car a quick once-over, topped up petrol, oil and water, pumped up the tyres, stuffed some clothes into a suitcase, filled up a thermos flask with tea, … Continue reading →

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Encounters along the road – human and otherwise

Posted on Monday, 3 November 2008 by

Throughout both north and south, we were amazed at how friendly and polite other drivers were, letting other cars into the flow of traffic etc. Maybe it was just a fluke of nature, or synchronicity in action, or perhaps we … Continue reading →

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Driving around Ireland

Posted on Saturday, 1 November 2008 by

Driving around Ireland is fairly straightforward for South Africans, as I’d speculatively written about in a previous post. As part of the heritage of British Imperialism, we also drive on the left. In addition, most of the hire cars appear … Continue reading →

Posted in Ireland, Ireland and the Irish, Travel | 3 Comments

Ireland Trip 2008: Table of Contents

Posted on Thursday, 30 October 2008 by

This is a kind of Table of Contents on-the-go of our 3-week trip around Ireland, so that you don’t miss out on any posts relating to it. Photo album on Picasa: Photos of Ireland Before we left: Cartwheels of Joy … Continue reading →

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Distances cross-country

Posted on Thursday, 30 October 2008 by

To give you an idea of the size of the island of Ireland (that’s including Northern Ireland AND the Republic of Ireland), I consulted the route planner of the helpful Automobile Association of Ireland: If you were to drive from … Continue reading →

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