Ireland in May

Wicklow Mountains waterfall with gorse in foreground.


Gravestones through window at Glendalough monastery ruins.


Gorse showing its goldenrod colored blossoms.

We boarded our flight in Phoenix on May 4, flew to Philadelphia, then connected to Dublin, arriving at 8:45 am on May 5. About an hour and a half later, Dublin airspace was closed due to the ash blowing in from the volcano in Iceland. We are lucky to be here and aren't concerned that our flight home might be cancelled . . . yet.

It rained the first day and misted the morning of the second. But it is beautiful here! Spring is making itself known, with dogwood and cherry trees in full bloom, and gorse, a bright yellow bush that grows along hedgerows and in fields, showing goldenrod colored blossoms. There are an abundance of roses and wildflowers, tulips and daffodils.

Our first tourist sight was Glendalough, a monastery founded in the 6th century by St. Kevin. The community flourished, but was under siege numerous times by Vikings and Norse, finally succumbing to the English in 1398. The ruins today are rock structures with a still standing, 100' tall round bell tower. Gravestones surrounding the old church buildings date from the 1700's to modern times. The property overlooks a green valley, complete with rock walls, trees, a stream and sheep grazing in the fields.

After leaving the monastery, we drove the Old Military Road which passes through the Wicklow Mountains past waterfalls, peat bogs, and what I suppose was heather or heath. The breathtaking views that the guidebook promised were stifled by a hanging mist. But that only added to the charm of the drive. Along the way we stopepd at Greystones, a harbor town overlooking the Irish Sea.

And there are birds here! Lots of them, too. Song birds, doves, crows and swallows. One of my next stops will be a bookstore to find a guide to Ireland's birds. We've already seen deer while driving the Wicklow Mountains, and a pheasant dashed across the road as we headed to our hotel the first day.