The River Liffey on its way to the Irish Sea as it runs through the center of Dublin.
Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.
Dublin's Government Post Office still bears the scars of the 1916 Easter Rebellion. This was the last stronghold of the Irish rebels before they surrendered to the British army. A number of the Irish leaders who surrendered here were executed. A Netflix series, Rebellion, tells the story of some of the men and women who were involved.
Emily and Erin Hurt in front of Christ Church.
The Library of Trinity College in Dublin. It serves both Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is the "copyright library" for Ireland, which means any book published in Ireland can be found here. You can also see pages from the ancient Book of Kells.
The double decked library requires a researcher who isn't afraid of heights.
The Brazen Head pub is supposed to be the oldest tavern in Ireland dating back a thousand years. At least, that's what the Irish say.
The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The old Celtic artifacts show the beautiful work of ancient artists.
The Celts would either leave or bury bodies in the peat bogs. The bogs preserved the bodies. Archeologists believe most of the victims may have been sacrifices.
Fiddlers in an Irish pub.
A busker plays at the Spanish Gate in Galway. This is where Spanish ships use to dock when visiting the city.
A short drive from Galway you can take a ferry to one of the Aran Islands. This is Inishmaan, home to about 260 Irish. Although we spent the night, most visitors only stay the day.
The ruins of the Church of St. Thomas on Inishmaan. It once served the small Church of Ireland congregation on the island. Only several small Catholic churches remain active on Inishmaan today.
A few remaining beehive huts can be found on Slea Head, which is part of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. These early medieval stone-built round houses, also known as clochain, date to the eleventh or twelfth century.
Another view of some beehive huts. Unfortunately the cone-shaped tops are missing.
The northern end of the Dingle Peninsula.
This is another scene when driving around the Dingle Peninsula. This homestead would be nice place to spend the summer.
The iconic Gallarus oratory located in the heart of Kerry, on the very western tip of the Dingle Peninsula, resembles an upturned boat. Built with local stone, the church is corbel vaulted. An ancient technique, this method of roof construction was used at the great Neolithic tomb at Newgrange.
Driving near the Connemara National Park on The Atlantic side of Ireland.
A brightly painted house in Eyeries. All the homes in town were freshly painted with different colors. It has recently won an award for one of the most picturesque towns.
More houses in Eyerie. Looks like an Easter basket.
Driving in Ireland requires many stops to photograph scenes like this.
A drive around the Beara peninsula on the west coast will eventually bring you to Healy Pass. It's one of Ireland's great drives on a road that twists and turns through the mountains with great views in every direction.
While in Belfast, we took a ride with a cab driver to look at a the neighborhood where "The Troubles" began in 1968. We saw both Catholic and Protestant monuments erected to honor the dead of that time. Our cab driver was Catholic so we heard the story from his point of view. This is a Catholic memorial.
Another memorial to a dangerous time.
Gleninchaguin Park. A two-lane blacktop that eventually turned into a one-lane dirt road eventually lead us to this beautiful scene. We almost gave up before we got here but fortunately there was no place to turn around.
