I and Pangur Bán my cat,
’Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.
— from “Pangur Bán” (Anonymous)

 

New Friends

One of the greatest things about group travel (and especially for Rick Steves tours) is making new friends. I’m thrilled that I’m still in touch with many of my “tour buddies”; several of us continue to meet up for local visits and even to travel together. Here’s a group photo of our Ireland tour merry band, taken between rain showers on the lovely Dingle Peninsula.

Books

As usual, I did a lot of reading before my trip: history, culture, travelogues, fiction (including brushing up on the works of Ireland’s great writers). These were particularly helpful:

Vivid Faces book coverThe Tain, translated by Thomas Kinsella
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
A Secret Map of Ireland by Rosita Boland
Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890–1923 by R.F. Foster
Ireland Unhinged: Encounters with a Wildly Changing Country by  David Monagan
A History of Ireland in 100 Objects by Fintan O’Toole

 

… and these were particularly enjoyable reading before and after my trip:

The Dirty Dust: Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain, translated by Alan Titley (life observations and complaints by residents of a village cemetery)
Miss Subways by David Duchovny (Irish myth transported to New York City)

 

These sites have some lists with intriguing selections:

 

Film

The Secret of Roan InishThere are a lot of great films made in and/or about Ireland, and everybody has their favorites. Mine include:

The Secret of Roan Inish (1994, John Sayles)
The Secret of Kells (2009, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey)
Ondine (2009, Neil Jordan)

 

This hilarious review of Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959, Robert Stevenson) will make you want to pop the tape into your VHS player (you do still have one of those, don’t you?). And, of course, Star Wars fans are aware of the gorgeous County Kerry locations featured in The Last Jedi.

 

Some good “Best Irish Films” lists:

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/best-irish-movies
https://www.thoughtco.com/top-ten-irish-films-3550620
https://www.irishpost.com/entertainment/21-best-irish-films-rotten-tomatoes-153932
http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-20-best-irish-movies-of-all-time/

 

Web Sites

Useful information for planning travel to Ireland:

Header image: The Long Room, Trinity College, Dublin