SOME IRISH TRIVIA

IRISH TRIVIA

            The Irish accent is famed the world over for its romantic and lyrical lilt. However, accents around the country differ just as English accents do in this country. The real key to the Irish lilt is the speed at which it is spoken.  Renowned for loving to tell a story the Irish are proud of their race and their language.

Ireland is a country of young people. The high tech industry has reduced unemployment from 17% to 3-4%. As part of the European Union, Ireland is being forced into the 21^st century. Being required to accept imports has hurt some of the numerous cottage industries, thus impacting  some of the traditional culture. Since my visit, hard times have once again visited Ireland so I cannot speak to the present day economy. I hope it is good.

A cow culture still exists where the sheep and cattle think they own the streets and often are found wandering on country lanes. They get out of the way at their pace and on their terms. We experienced this with sheep several times while riding through the country side.

I found the many dry-set stone walls marking ancient boundaries across the country picturesque. Roads throughout the country are very narrow and have no shoulders. The soil is often soft on the roadsides because of the abundance of peat bog/soil. We traveled in a van so were able to get to many places over roads a tour bus could not. Many times a stone wall was at the edge of the road so there was no chance of pulling off the pavement. It would be wise for a driver to be a good backer upper! People drive on the left side of the road, which for me causes a lot of confusion when one has to cope with the numerous traffic circles. Maybe traffic circles solve the need for traffic lights, as we found lights rather few and far between outside the big cities.

            Most farms are located in the central part of the country where it is very green most of the year. It was amazing to see the vivid bright emerald  rolling hills. Wet winters mean 93% of the grasslands are good for grazing all year.

Irish pipes are quite different from Scottish bag pipes, and I think are much mellower and melodious. They are dry as all the wind comes from two bags. The pipes are heavy and the piper sits with them across his lap. We spent a very interesting couple of hours with a piper who explained the instrument and played some lovely music for us.