|
Ireland
of Romance
Listing
the great romantic cities of the world, the usual suspects would
no doubt be Paris, Venice, New York, London, Las Vegas perhaps.
But how many people would have Dublin on their lists?
It's
easy to see the allure of ‘gay Paris', what with its
flair and reputation for romance and seduction and of course the
Eiffel Tower, standing proud across the French capital for all to
see. Venice - of course, a gondola ride for two around the
old city's waterways, where even the inflated prices and the
less than romantic sewage smells wouldn't lessen the ‘amore'.
New York, ‘the city that doesn't sleep', and has
had that many romantic comedies, not to mention Sex in the City,
set there, that New York couldn't fail to appeal to even the
most sceptical of romantics. London, well with all that Royalty
and pomp would be enough to woo most people. Even Las Vegas would
get on the list, well if it was good enough for Britney Spears...
Now
before you laugh it off, the Fair City is in with a good shout!
Dublin's
got character, its got charm and its has famously romantic landmarks
from the Ha'penny Bridge to the statue of Molly Molone. And,
though not many people know this, Dublin has St Valentine -
his bones to be precise. St Valentine, whose feast day is celebrated
on 14th February, is buried in the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church
in Dublin. The relics of St Valentine, were donated to the Carmelite
Church by the Pope Gregory XVI and were brought to Dublin in 1836.
Visitors to the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street, just a few
minutes walk from St Stephen's Green, can see the Shrine to
St Valentine, making Dublin, not Paris or Venice the place to be
for romantics this St Valentine's Day.
Outside
of Dublin, Ireland's stunning scenery is once seen and never
forgotten and for many it is love at first sight. Places like Glendalough,
deep within the Wicklow Mountains, have captured hearts ever since
St Kevin came there in the 6th Century, fell in love, set up a monastery
and lived as a hermit. Though his hermetic existence would have
been greatly disturbed by the numbers of other visitors since, that
have fell in love with this deep Lakeland valley surrounded by thickly
wooded slopes. Another famous Irish beauty spot is Killarney,
whose National Park covers some 25,000 acres of lakes and mountains,
gardens and parkland. Within the national park is an abundance of
wildlife, with Ireland's only remaining herd of wild native
Red Deer roaming the wilderness. Killarney is dotted with a number
of wistful ruins from 7th Century Inishfallen Abbey, on an island
out in Lough Leane and Ross Castle on the shores of the Lough. While
the true romantics will no doubt enjoy a ride in a horse and trap
around the grounds of Muckross House or through the glacial mountain
vale of Molls Gap. And then of course there is Connemara,
a part of Ireland entwined with the rugged romance of the ‘auld
country'. Whether it's the indented coastline or the
wild mountain peaks of the twelve bens, the scenery is spellbinding
and timeless and it practically stole the show in the film ‘The
Quiet Man', which was set in Connemara.
The
beauty of the Irish landscape has an almost spiritual quality and
a mythic resonance, that speaks of age-old legends and folklore.
Each location in Ireland has a story to tell that has been handed
down through the generations. Perhaps the most well known example
is the Giant's
Causeway in County Antrim. The story goes that legendary giant
Fionn MacCool created this jagged promontory of neatly packed columns
of hexagonal rocks. Fionn built the causeway to get to Scotland
and battle with a rival giant called Benandonner. When he got there
he found that the Scottish giant was asleep but also far bigger
than himself, so Fionn returned back across the causeway. When Benandonner
woke up he came across the causeway intent on fighting Fionn. The
Irish Giant's wife dressed up Fionn as a baby and when Benandonner
arrived she said Finn wasn't home and to be quiet, so as not
to wake up the baby. When Benandonner saw the ‘baby'
he decided that if the baby was that big, Fionn must be massive.
So he turned tail and fled back across the causeway ripping it up
as he went. All that remains are the ends, here at the Giant's
Causeway.
But
one of the great Romantic legends of Ireland is that of Diarmuid
& Grainne, similar to the Legends of King Arthur and the romance
between his wife Guinevere and right hand man Sir Lancelot.
Grainne,
was the most beautiful woman in Ireland, she was also the daughter
of Cormac MacAirt, the High King of Ireland. An up town girl indeed,
Grainne was courted by Ireland's most eligible, Princes and
Chieftains, including the now ageing chief Fionn MacCool, who wanted
the young maid as his second wife. He asked her to marry him, she
agreed and a great feast was set up to celebrate the newly engaged
couple. But on that night Grainne met Diarmuid, one of Fionn's
best warriors and it was love at first sight! Grainne was prepared
to go to any lengths to get her man and drugged the entire party,
apart from Diarmuid. With Diarmuid all to herself, Grainne confessed
her love for him, but Diarmuid backed off, as he was loyal to his
leader Fionn. But Grainne wasn't taking no for an answer,
so she put a spell on him and he fell in love with her.
The
two ran off together, hotly pursued by a very angry Fionn and his
men. All across Ireland the eloping couple ran and all across Ireland
there are caves, trees and all kinds of nooks and crannies, under
or inside of which local legend will have it that Diarmuid and Grainne,
lay together and hid. After long years on the run, Grainne fell
pregnant with Diarmuid's child, but fate was about to catch
up with them. One day out in the wilderness, with Fionn and his
men closing in, Diarmuid and Grainne came across the heath of Benbulben
in Co. Sligo, where a giant boar confronted them. This was bad news
for Diarmuid, whom legend had told that the only living creature
that could harm him, was a wild boar. As the boar charged, Diarmuid,
protecting his heavily pregnant lover, wrestled it to the gound
in a fight to the death. The warrior killed the boar with his sword,
but not before the boar had gored Diarmuid, fatally wounding him.
As
Fionn and his men came upon their long sought quarry, he found Diarmuid
dying in a heavily pregnant Grainne's arms. A despairing Grainne
knew she had just one chance to save her lover. She implored Fionn
to show mercy and save his former friend by curing Diarmuid with
a drink of water cupped by his magical hands. But Fionn refused,
still hurt that his best friend had eloped with his betrothed. With
Diarmuid dying, Fionn's men begged him to help this once great
warrior to live. But still Fionn refused. It was only when Fionn's
son Oisin challenged his father and threatened to kill him that
Fionn agreed to help Diarmuid. But it was to late, before Fionn
had got the water, Diarmuid had died.
Well
the course of true love never did run smooth and in ancient times
the Irish acknowledged this. Under the ancient Brehon Laws of Gaelic
Ireland, a couple could have a years cooling off period, where either
party could call for a divorce, if things weren't going smoothly,
or as the laws stipulated, the husband was impotent! Of course,
with the introduction of Christianity, things changed drastically
over the years and it took until the 1990s for divorce to became
legal in Ireland!
Before
the churches, marriages where often held in places of mystical significance.
For instance on the island of Cape
Clear, off the west coast of Co. Cork, couples would marry at
the Cloch na Gealluna or ‘trysting stone'. This tall
pillar has a hole through the centre of it and in the presence of
the local king and the rest of the islanders, couples would tie
their hands together through the hole in the stone hence tying the
knot. These days churches or registry offices are the only places
to be legally wed, though something that is becoming increasingly
popular is blessings and the exchanging of vows, which can be done
outdoors. If you're thinking of tying the knot in Ireland,
there are residency laws for getting married in a registry office
but not a church and weddings here in Ireland are legal in the US,
Canada, the UK and within the European Union.
If
you're thinking of taking your honeymoon here in Ireland 1
2 Travel have a number of
honeymoon
packages that can be tailored especially for you.
Seamus O'Murchú
Until this time next month...
Best Wishes,
Conor B & Seamus.
|
