Happy St Patrick's Day

In hono(u)r of St Patrick's Day, we present a few photos from our honeymoon in Ireland.

First, a statue near the Cobh Heritage Centre in Cork:


Next, for my father (he is a lawyer), a window we saw in County Donegal:


And for Nora's mother (her maiden name is Meehan), a storefront down the street:


Finally, for Ben (who is from Columbus), an advertisement we saw at a bar in Cork:

Hey, we've been there (volume 2)

The Giant's Causeway is a natural rock formation on the northern coast of Northern Ireland. It is one of Northern Ireland's most famous tourist destinations, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sadly, it appears that global warming is threatening to flood it.

Nora and I went there on our honeymoon. It's surprisingly large; this photo shows about a fifth of the formation.


The rocks have arranged themselves into hexagonal columns. The formation is a combination of basalt and chalk, and was created by volcanic activity. If that sounds vague, it's because I don't want to offend Dean with my ignorance of geology. I will let him fill in the details.

Nearby, there is an "island" that is disconnected from the mainland by a small gap. Fisherman used to build a rope bridge across the gap every year for fishing season. The British government now maintains a permanent rope bridge, which also gets a steady stream of tourists.


The bridge is about 100 feet long, and the drop looks to my eye to e about 200 feet. The bridge is really rickety, but perfectly secure.


Unfortunately, there isn't a good, canonical article about carrick-a-reed.

This is for Sam

Since I went to Chile, Sam has been quite amused by the fact that the Libertador of Chile was an Irishman. Bernardo himself wasn't born in Ireland, but his father was born in Sligo:


Ambrosio O'Higgins left Ireland just after Cromwell began opressing the island. Because he was a Catholic, the Spanish allowed him to emigrate to Spanish America. Bernardo was the illegitimate son of Ambrosio and a Spanish noblewoman. He was educated in London before he returned to Chile to lead the revolt against Spain.

Bernardo and Ambrosio may or may not be related to the family of Irish politicians. The most famous member of that family is Kevin, who was a member of the newly created Irish government after the revolt from England, and was ultimate assasinated by the IRA for his support for the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

The person most famously associated with Sligo is William Yeats.