Dundalk, Done Blogging

Fiona picked me up from the bus station in Dundalk - the largest town that's not a city in Ireland - and back to her house by the coast in a small part of Dundalk called Blackrock.


Dundalk, in County Louth, is near the quasi-invisible border, with the notable distinctions that travelling between the two will see the change of billboards with euros to pound signs, kilometre markings to miles, and lots of adverts in Northern Ireland for fireworks; being illegal in Ireland. Also, the mobile phone coverage around that area fluctuates, so Fiona has to check her phone in case she gets charged UK coverage instead of Irish coverage.

Otherwise, the town is small and built on top of the coast, which was beautiful. We went out for a few drinks with her friends to one of the few pubs on the high street, where everyone knows your name.

An interesting tidbit: Dublin is the only place in Ireland that uses postcodes.

Her family were welcoming and it was a fun stay. The next day, we drove along the coast, stopping for a seriously delicious scone, and towards the border. In the mountains, I made friends with this donkey, and we drove past the Long Woman's Grave which has an interesting story to it.


Further along the coast to Carlingford and the castle.


We finished the drive with the megalithic (large rock) Proleek Portal Tomb, which has the superstition that if you throw a stone on top and it doesn't fall off, you will have good luck.


The next day, the weather wasn't so good, so we went for a drive but it was too rainy to see much. I was more than happy to relax after Dublin, so it was fun to chill and catch up with Fiona.

On the Monday, Fiona had work, but kindly her dad drove me down to a UNESCO site neart Drogheda, about 30 minutes south where his parents live. He picked me up as well, and I was extremely grateful for his kindness, as I had a fantastic time. Newgrange and Knowth are near the River Boyne (as in Battle of the...) and the structures are aged at older than the pyramids, about 3000BC and about 1000 years earlier than Stonehenge. From the visitor centre, with its own fascinating museum, you are given bus times to visit the passage tombs, as they are a minibus drive away and each is given a guided tour. The place, as I was told it would be, was busy - full of American tour-groups.

Knowth was full of mystery and the tour guide was knowledgeable. Unfortunately, out in the open, it was so windy and freezing that it wasn't much of an enjoyable experience until we went inside one of the tombs. The wind was so strong that it made the guide impossible to hear at points, with the classic moment of "The most important thing to know about Knowth is..."


The kerbstones around the central tomb have carvings that have never been solved, and this is one of the best parts: trying to guess at the meaning. Horseshoes? Language? Decorations?


The smaller passage tombs served as hiding spots for the dwellers, who crawled into the darkness and out of the view of the Vikings. Why they didn't themselves go inside is because they were sent into battle with their swords drawn, and this was an impossibility for the small openings.


The guide was impressed with me when I worked this one out to be a crescent of the moon at different strengths, with the lunar tide through the middle which, although not proven, has been worked out mathematically to be exact. He even asked if I was an archaeologist! Indiana Phil!


The second destination was Newgrange, which is a huge prehistoric building, most famous for the sunlight illumination for 17 minutes on the Winter Solstice. From the third picture you can see a small sun passage over the doorway. Inside, the floor slopes upwards slightly so that the sun passage farther down the tunnel is at floor level. At a certain time, once a year, the sun hits and a beam of light travels along the floor all the way to the wall at the back. A short video here.


Luckily, we were given a simulation and it really was a sight to behold. To imagine how old this place is and how specific the design and architecture was is truly impressive.

There is a raffle every year for 100 people to be invited to watch the natural illumination every year. Last year there were 40,000 entries! No harm applying.

The Newgrange area is well worth seeing, and I was extremely fortunate to have transport there and back. Otherwise, it's probably easiest to join a tour from Dublin.

Incidentally, how much does this woman look like Mama Fratelli from The Goonies!


The next morning, I took an early flight back to Bournemouth, typed up the first day of Ireland, before jetting off to France. Ferrying, actually. Zzzzz