Day 7 - Clonmacnoise & return to Dublin

We left Galway in the morning with a new driver, Paddy.  Nigel was required by EU rules to return to Dublin for his mandatory break :(  Instead of our roomy 29-seat bus we are now in a 8-passenger van (what Jeannie & Val call "the Black Moriah").  We are headed back to Dublin via Clonmacnoise, the home of the high crosses.
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Clonmacnoise is set back & is unseen from the road.  Once up the drive and out of the parking lot (car park in Ireland) the entire compound is seen and is most impressive.  There is an interpretive center with a film explaining the history of the site as well as 3 of the original high crosses (up to 1200 years old).  The crosses that are outside are replicas made from casts of the original -- that way, the originals are protected indoors and the replicas get to deal with the wind and rain.

Original high cross

Our tour guide Joy showed us how to read the crosses (a good thing since some of the markings are so weathered they are difficult to make out) while the rooks (a black bird similar to crows) made their disturbingly high-pitched calls to one another.  The compound is lovely, situated on the River Shannon with a view of marshes that flood seasonally.



View of River Shannon from Clonmacnoise

 Once back in Dublin, we visited Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.  Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside the exhibit so I can't show you anything but the wall display outside the hall.  After the Book of Kells, we exited through an amazing library hall with ceilings that must have been 20 feet high, bookcases on 2 levels all the way up, filled with the smell of old leather and paper.  Down the middle were display cases showing significant books and documents of Irish history, including the Declaration that preceded the Easter Rising in 1916.  That one particulary affected me because I realized that every man who had signed his name to it had been executed at Killmainham Gaol afterwards.

We ended our day at dinner with our group -- our last meal together at which we all exchanged email addresses so we can share all the pictures we took of each other.

Tomorrow, back to the USA.