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If you sail twelve kilometres (eight miles) into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Kerry you can see one of the most remarkable heritage sites in the world – the monastery of Skellig Michael. The site is one of only two of Ireland’s World Heritage Sites (the other is Newgrange), and it is possibly the most rewarding, remarkable, beautiful and atmospheric heritage site in Ireland.
 
Skellig Michael or Sceilig Mhichíl meaning The Steep Rock of Michael appears like a craggy pyramid standing proud of the ocean. It is formed of the same 400 million year old Old Devonian Sandstone that runs all the way to the MacGillycuddy's Reeks. Perched on top of this craggy island is an early medieval monastery, that legend says was founded by St Fionán in the sixth century.



Going into exile for the love of God (‘peregrinatio pro Dei amore’), has conceptual roots in the belief that greater understanding of God can be achieved by withdrawing from civilization into harsh and isolated regions. In the wonderful RTE Radio Documentary Skelligs Calling, archaeologist Michael Gibbons speaks very eloquently about the possible motivations behind the monks decision to leave the comparative safety and comforts of the mainland to travel to a place of danger and hardship. In these early days of western Christianity, God and the Devil were very real, so for the monks these islands on the edge of the known world, like Skellig Michael, are the places you are likely to encounter the devil to drive him back through prayer before he reached the mainland to corrupt the people and drive them to sin. These islands acted as the equivalent of radar stations or early warning positions, surrounding and protecting the newly Christian Ireland from the depredations of the Devil. 

Life in a community like Skellig Michael must have been contemplative rather than active. Once the building work had been completed there was relatively little for the monks to do – catching seabirds and gathering eggs, fishing, perhaps even hunting seals, maybe a small amount of gardening, there is no firewood or turf on the island, perhaps they had to gather driftwood – so most of their day must have been given to prayer. Though with all the seabirds, eggs, fish and even seals on hand they must have been comparatively well fed compared to some other monastic hermitages.

The monastery is reached by a series of steep stone steps carrying you up 160m to the site. A large stone wall protected the monastery, within which you can find six circular corbelled drystone cells known as clocháins, these are dark inside with little natural light, but they are surprisingly dry and spacious – the largest being around 5m (16 feet) in diameter and 5m (16 feet) high. There are also two corbelled rectangular oratories (small chapels) similar in style to Gallarus Oratory and a later church dedicated to St. Michael. This church is the only one on the island to have been constructed using mortar, this was sampled and returned a radiocarbon date of AD 690–880. 

A number of small outdoor altars in the complex suggest that prayer may have involved a processional aspect, the largest of these altar type structures is known as ‘the Monk’s Graveyard’, it is unknown how many of the monks are actually buried at this spot, but there are around 20 grave slabs, including one with markings that may indicate it is a sundial.

The 'Monk's Graveyard', notice the marks on the graveslab in the foreground, could it be a rudimentary sundail?

There is another small hermitage just below the south peak at the highest point of the island, however I’m afraid we did not chance visiting it, as it is a dangerous place to reach so please do not attempt it unless you are with a suitably qualified and experienced guide with safety equipment.

Plundered by the Vikings twice in the ninth century, it was recorded that Etgal of Skellig Michael was carried off by the Vikings in 824 and died soon after of hunger and thirst. The monastery on Skellig Michael was abandoned in the tenth or eleventh century for a new monastery on the mainland at Ballinaskelligs.

On the return trip from Skellig Michael the boat brings you to Little Skellig, home to tens of thousands of gannets, who wheel and soar around the craggy island, coating it in thick layers of their guano. At the base of Little Skellig intrepid divers may find cannons from an eighteenth century shipwreck, locally known as The Lady Nelson, there are a number of stories about the ship, such as that the ship had a cargo of wine coming from Portugal, and an argument erupted between the ships captain and first mate who had been having an affair with the captains wife, in the heat of the row neither captain nor mate paid attention to the ships course and it struck the Small Skelligs and sank. 

Little Skellig (foreground) with Skellig Michael (background), note all the gannets swirling round the island

Getting There

We took a boat from Portmagee though there are a number of people that can take you out from Ballinskelligs or Valentia too, the journey will cost around €45 per person. (there is no charge on the island) I recommend you bring waterproofs for the boat journey as you can get a decent drenching! The boat takes around 45mins to reach the island and you generally have about two hours on the island itself. The season begins in May and ends in September see http://www.heritageireland.com/en/skelligmichael/ for details of when the OPW Guides are present. I’ve been told that June is the best time of year to go as all the Puffins and seabirds are there, they all migrate by the end of August so we only saw gulls and gannets (and three very camera shy seals on Little Skellig)

Safety Warning!

 
















The trip is extremely weather dependent, and a visit is only suitable in calm weather. We were very fortunate with calm dry conditions but I wouldn’t be keen on attempting the steps if they were wet and slippy or in strong gusty winds. The steps themselves can be daunting and unfortunately serious injuries and fatalities have happened on the island, in the perfectly calm day we had there were still one or two places that were a little freaky, so take your time and wear comfortable but sturdy boots. Never walk off the stairs or path as you can dislodge the loose stones that may injure someone below you.

I would not recommend this site for children below the age of around 15, and given the steepness of the steps it requires a reasonable level of fitness and a decent head for heights.

There are no toilet facilities on the island and no rubbish bins. It is a very vulnerable site so please be careful not to disturb any of the structures or flora or fauna.

If you have a suggestion for a site I’d love to hear it, please let us know by dropping us a line at info@abartaaudioguides.com or on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, where you can keep up with daily pictures and information about Ireland's wonderful heritage sites.

If you'd like to support us please consider downloading one of our audioguides from www.abartaaudioguides.com, they are packed with great facts, information, stories and legends from Ireland's iconic sites. They are designed to be fun and informative whether you are visiting the sites or from the comfort of your own home, so if you are looking to escape to the Court of Brian Boru the next time you are doing household chores download one of our guides and let us whisk you off to ancient Ireland!

I usually like to travel to places with interesting and developed cultures. Places like India and Egypt, not to mention France and Italy, have drawn me ever since I was a kid. And my travels have always been in this direction. I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Istanbul, Morocco, Paris, Bangkok... I picked Tierra del Fuego as a destination for a very different reason. I guess I was looking for a complete dearth of culture. I was craving emptiness and desolation. The end of the world. And that's what they call this place... El Fin del Mundo. Next stop: Antarctica. It was settled by Argentina only 100 years ago-- a desolate and barren place, as a penal colony for the worst, die-hard criminals. I just wanted to unwind after the 2006 midterm elections.

It's summer now but it's mostly chilly and rainy. The sun goes down at 11:30 at night and rises around 3 AM. In the winter it's pretty much dark all the time and covered in snow. In the last 10 years, as the Argentine government has encouraged the development of the thriving tourist industry, the population of the town has doubled to 35,000.

Around a third of the tourists who come here-- 50% at the upscale hotels-- are just stopping for a day or two on the way to Antarctica. There are 600 dockings a year (obviously just in the summer season), mostly Chilean and Russian ships. 95% of the tourists are foreigners, mostly Europeans. It's too expensive for Argentines who would rather go to Europe or Miami for the same money. The average guests at Las Hayas stay for 2 nights (which means many stay for one night). I'm, as usual, an anomoly: I'm here for a week. The manager asked me why.

I'm here for the solitude, the stark beauty, the remoteness. It's what I thought it would be, albeit uber-exploitive. The town exists for tourists and everything is very expensive, above and beyond the fact that everything has to be air freighted in. Yesterday I took a ride on the old prisoners' train, the train of the end of the world. The prisoners built it into the forest so they could cut down trees to build the place and to use the wood for fuel. The train ride, into the spectacular Tierra Del Fuego Andes National Park, is one of the many tourist attractions. The train ride is kind of rinky-dink but it's actually worth the time because when the train dumps you out there's an alternative to having a car pick you up and take you home. You can trek. That's what I did. I figured I'd race off the train and beat the masses of tourists walking the pristine forest paths. I won the race-- by default. No one else was walking down any forest paths. The train emptied out and everyone piled into cars and buses and drove back to Ushuaia. I was very, very alone very, very fast. The train ride gets a B; the rest of the afternoon an A. When I get back home I'll insert some photos I took, mostly of the snow-capped Andes and of beautiful fjords.

By the way, there is also a newly developing winter season here-- which is when some Argentines do come to Ushuaia-- and that's all about skiing. In what they call summer, people kyak and canoe and golf and horseback ride and trek and even go camping. There are lots of boat trips. If it isn't raining tomorrow I'm going to go for a boat trip to the one island in the Beagle Channel that has penguins. Might as well, right? If you like outdoor activities and have lots of energy, this place is a paradise. Otherwise... well, you better be happy with solitude and silence.

Most of Ushuaia's streets are paved. The town basically has a main street, San Martin. One down is the street that fronts the harbor, Maipú. The rest of the streets parallel to San Martin are a pretty steep climb up. It's not something you'll want to do every day. It's steeper than San Francisco streets. One night I had dinner at Kaupé, purportedly the best restaurant in town. I had to climb 4 blocks from San Martin. It was... exhilerating. And the food was excellent, if over-priced and simple. The Chilean sea bass (they hate Chile so they call it something else) was the best I ever tasted. Vegetables are relatively rare here. The culinary features of Ushuaia are king crab, made every way imaginable, and black hake. The portions are huge and the fish is incredibly fresh. It's far from inexpensive, probably another reason Argentines don't come here. And the restaurants are far from sophisticated in their preparartions, the way they are in Buenos Aires. I remember when I first went to Las Vegas the restaurants were abysmal beyond belief. Now Las Vegas actually has a first rate restaurant scene. Maybe Ushuaia will some day too, though I wouldn't hold my breath.



A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CHOW

It's hard to find a bad meal in Italy. But if you really want to, just go to Venice. The food scene is wretched. Venitian cuisine, of course, is completely fantastic. But Venice has sacrificed itself on the alter of lowest common denominator mass tourism. The restaurants are positively ghastly-- feeding stations for hordes of tourists, not any different from mass tourism traps anywhere in the world. Most tourists in Ushuaia eat in pretty dismal all-you-can-eat buffets. They're cheap and I suppose for some people the quantity is a good tradeoff for the quality. Afterall, we are in Argentina and the quality of the food is never really that bad anyway.

But with the exception of Kaupé and the Las Hayas dining room there was nothing I found worthy of writing home about (although modest La Casa de Mariscos is decent enough too, especially for all their wonderful crab meat dishes). Eventually I discovered a truly incredible place to eat in Venice-- the Cipriani Hotel's restaurants are absolutely sublime, as good as anything anywhere in Italy (even the snack bar serves only amazing meals). Well, good news if you're heading to Ushuaia: they have one of those too!

No, not a branch of the Cipriani; a restaurant that is remarkable for its impeccable standards: Chez Manu. About 7 or 8 years ago Las Hayas brought chef Emanuelle Hebert over from France to head their kitchen. The relationship didn't last long and Emanuelle opened his own restaurant about a kilometer up the hill. Forget that it commands the absolute best views in all of Ushuaia (no mean feat). The food is superb. Hebert is a chef who isn't just feeding some tourist horde he will never see again. He's competing for a position as one of the great chefs. Every dish is an artistic achievement. The other restaurants in town may have a decent cook here and there. Hebert is a chef, the real deal. It's not substantially more expensive than all the other places in town; they're all expensive. At least at Chez Manu the value is unquestionable.

 Moore Hall is located in a beautiful spot on the shore of Lough Carra in Co. Mayo. The house was constructed between 1792 and 1796 by George Moore. He was a very successful wine merchant and entrepreneur, his main business was based in Alicante in Spain where he traded in wine and brandy. He was also involved in the export of seaweed from Galway as it was used to make iodine. Unusually at that time for such a wealthy and powerful man, George Moore was a Roman Catholic. His family originally came from Ashbrook near Straide in Co. Mayo, but George wanted a house to reflect his vast fortune so he commissioned the architect John Roberts, to construct a house suitable for a man of his means. 

Legend has it that George was warned by the locals not to construct his new house at the site on the shore of Lough Carra. Way back in the 5th century AD, the King of Connacht was said to have been murdered by his enemies, the kings’ druid fled after the murder, fearing for his own life, but was hunted down and he himself was murdered close to where Moore Hall stands today. The ill luck of the druid and King were said to linger in the area and infect the lives of those who chose to live there.

George Moore lived at the Moore Hall from the time of its construction until his death in 1799. Bad luck did befall him and his family when his son John took part in the ill fated 1798 Rebellion. John was even declared the ‘President of the Connaught Republic’ before he was arrested and sentenced to transportation. John died in Waterford, en-route and a month later his father died. John’s body was exhumed in 1961 and transferred from Waterford to The Mall, Castlebar where he was reburied with full military honours.  

George Henry Moore (who was landlord of the large estate) was renowned for his kindness during the Great Famine. He was a keen horse racing enthusiast, and during the height of the Famine in 1846 he entered his horse Coranna in the Chester Gold Cup and won the huge sum at the time of £17,000. He used that money to give every one of his tenants a cow. He also imported thousands of tonnes of grain to feed the locality. Not one person was evicted or starved on George Moore's estates during the Famine. George was also a politician and an MP for County Mayo. He, along with some other family members, are buried at Kiltoom, which is a small family graveyard about 30 metres from the modern day carpark at Moore Hall.

George Henry’s son was the famous writer George Augustus Moore. He played a pivotal role in the Irish literary revival and was one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre and the Gaelic League.
 
The last of the Moores to live at this great house was Maurice Moore. He fought with the Connaught Rangers in the Boer War and became deeply involved with human rights issues. One of the key issues he petitioned for was the return of Irish prisoners serving sentences in English jails following the War of Independence. Moore was elected envoy to South Africa by the first Dàil and served as a Senator under Cosgrave and de Valera. Despite his tireless work for Irish independence, Moore Hall was burned down by anti-treaty forces during the Irish Civil War in January 1923.
 
Today Moore Hall is owned by the forestry company Coillte and is a wonderful and atmospheric spot to enjoy a walk and a picnic. Moore Hall is located around 11km north of Ballinrobe. Leaving Ballinrobe, take the L1067, this will take you to Ballygarris cross.  Turn left at this point and you will be on the road for Carnacon. Follow the road to the right, and after crossing Annie’s bridge, take the next left turn at Lough Carra lake.  This will take you to the car park at Moorehall. There is a marked trail through the woods which is approximately 3kms long.

I hope you enjoy this blog, we're trying to cover as many sites as we can across Ireland. If anyone has any suggestions about sites you'd like us to cover please do leave us a comment. If you enjoy information and images of Irish heritage sites then do follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ If you'd like to support us then please consider downloading an audioguide to one of Ireland's wonderful heritage sites. They are packed with original music and sound effects and are a great way of experiencing the story of Ireland. They only cost €1.99 and are fun whether you are at the site, or listening from the comfort of your own home. If you enjoy stories of the turbulent medieval period in Ireland try our guide to Viking and Medieval Dublin, visit us at www.abartaaudioguides.com for free previews and to download your free audioguide to the Rock of Dunamase  or the free audioguide to the wonderful heritage town of Kells in County Meath

Ok, let me preface what I'm about to say with a huge disclaimer that this is just a big fat rumor that I've had a little birdy whisper in my ear. I have no idea if it's true or false, it's just a rumor. However, I've had someone mention to me that the big Primal Quest announcement that is said to be coming "soon" will be that the race will return in 2008 (Duh! Kind of late for 2007!) and that the location of the race may be Argentina. Furthermore, there are rumors of a shake-up of the leadership of the race, which will probably have an impact on how and where it's run.

Interesting stuff if true. I'd love to see a big race run in Patagonia, one of the most amazing, and remote, places on Earth. Up until now, all PQ's have been held in the United States, so that would certainly make for a departure from that tradition. As I said earlier, this is just a rumor however, so we'll see what happens when an actual announcement is made.

Update: Yak at Check Point Zero has updated his blog entry on this subject and it's not positive. His sources, which I'm sure are far better placed than mine, say that the Primal Quest announcement that was to come next week has fallen through, and we're back in the "holding pattern". Hopefully something will break soon on this subject. All fans of adventure racing would love to see this issue resolved. Updates as they come.

The Gear Junkie took a little break to do some climbing on Mt. Shasta last week and he's written up a nice trip report for the rest of us stuck in our offices.

It wasn't all fun and games on Mt. Shasta however, as the weather dominated the weekend climb. Stephen reports that high winds made it rough going, with gusts knocking climbers off their feet and sustained winds of 100mph on the summit. There was even an avalanche not far from camp that damaged or destroyed tents and managed to put a scare into some people I'm sure.

It sounds like it was a challenging climb, and the weather was bad enough that no one managed to top out. GJ was reminded that weather is the dominant force on the mountain, and when ever we venture up there, we're at it's whim.

The Boyne Valley is one of the most important archaeological landscapes in the world and this region sheltered in a bend of the River Boyne, known as Brú na Bóinne (meaning Palace of the Boyne) is home to three massive Neolithic passage tombs, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth. A number of smaller tombs and features of huge importance are also contained within this area, but for this blogpost I’ll be focusing on Dowth – perhaps the least understood of the three major tombs. 

The silver ribbon of the Boyne visible from Dowth

Dowth is located around 2km north-east of Newgrange. Unlike Newgrange and Knowth, Dowth has never been properly excavated by archaeologists so there is far less known about the site. However in the middle of the nineteenth century, an extremely large hole was dug into the top of the mound.

Dowth is thought to date to around 5000 years old. It measures approximately 85m (280ft) in diameter and is ringed by 115 kerbstones, some of which display megalithic art. Two tombs are known at the western side of the large mound at Dowth and the setting sun in winter seems to illuminate the southernmost of these. Unfortunately on the day we visited we couldn’t access the passageways of the tombs as they were behind locked gates. The more northerly tomb has an 8m (26ft) long passageway that leads into a cruciform shaped chamber with an annexe leading off it. It also has an early medieval souterrain, probably dating to around the 10th century leading off the passageway. This shows that the tomb was still an important place in the early medieval period and possibly indicates a connection to an ancient monument with folkloric supernatural qualities. The southern passage has a circular chamber with a diameter of 4m (13ft). 

Unlike Knowth there are no satellite tombs immediately outside the great tomb at Dowth, but there are outlying tombs around 0.5km away, and a massive earth embanked henge is located to the east though there is no public access to that site.

A view down the northern passageway through the locked gate

A view down the southern passageway through the locked gate

The entrance to the southern passageway with a large kerbstone bearing cupmarks directly in front of the entrance

Dowth was known in early literature as Dubad and Sid mBresail (the otherworld mound of Bresal). The medieval manuscripts known as Dindseanchas explains how Dowth (Dubad) got its name. They tell the story of how all the men of Ireland were commanded by the King to come together for just one day to build a tower that would reach the heavens. The King's sister secretly used magic and stopped the sun in the sky so that there would be an endless day. As time wore on the men of Ireland became exhausted and realised that they had been tricked. However the magic spell was broken when the King and his sister committed incest. Darkness swiftly covered the land and work on the great mound was abandoned, it was said that Dubad (darkness) would be the name of this place from that day. In his brilliant new publication Archaeology and Celtic Myth, Professor John Waddell of NUI Galway notes the co-incidence that this legend reflects control over time and that archaeological excavation has revealed solar ritual and astronomical reflection in the tombs construction. Giving credit to Professor MJ O’Kelly and J. Carey’s hypothesis that these tales and legends recorded in medieval times might echo the beliefs of Neolithic tomb-builders millennia before.

If you look very carefully you can make out megalithic art on this kerbstone

The construction of the massive passage tombs of the Boyne Valley like Dowth, Knowth and Newgrange possibly indicate a larger-scale social identity. The physical size of these monuments and their complexity in construction suggests that there was an ability to mobilise hundreds of people to work on the tombs. This gives an indication of a concerted effort by a large group. Perhaps suggesting that these early farmers were forming large community groups for mutual support and ritual practices.

Dowth is free to access and there are no on-site guides, though the nearby Brú na Bóinne visitor centre gives a really good overview of the archaeology and history of these fascinating sites. A day out to the visitor centre to see Newgrange and Knowth and then a short drive to see Dowth is one of the most atmospheric and rewarding days you can have. I highly recommend it! For more information on the Visitor Centre please see here.

I hope you enjoy our blog, and if you have any suggestions for historical sites you’d like me to cover please do get in touch at info@abartaaudioguides.com. If you'd like to support us please check out our acclaimed series of audioguides to Ireland’s heritage sites, they are packed with original music and sound effects and a really fun and immersive way of exploring Ireland’s past. They are available from www.abartaheritage.ie.
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Some Sources and Further Reading

Cooney, G. 2000. Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland (Routledge, London)
Cooney, G. and Grogan, E. 1999. Irish Prehistory; A Social Perspective (Wordwell, Wicklow).
Herity, M. and Eogan. G. 1996. Ireland in Prehistory (Routledge, London)
Waddell, J. 2014. Archaeology and Celtic Myth (Four Courts Press, Dublin).

Aspiring adventure photographers listen up! The folks over at Xpedition.tv, who brought us an excellent adventure film competition earlier this year, are back with another challenge, and this time they're letting those of us who shoot photography get in on the fun. The site has just announced its Photo + Story Challenge, giving entrants the opportunity to share one of their favorite photos, and the story behind it, in just 50 words.

The competition is open to all photographers, although entries are to be focused around outdoor sports, adventure and exploration. There are three categories to enter your photo in. Those categories include: "This is where I learned..." (Hashtag: #whereweexplore); "The work pays off when..." (Hashtag: #xpeditionworthy) and "You know you're brothers/sisters when.." (Hashtag: #foolishandthebrave)

To enter photographers must select a single image depicting their experience in the outdoors. They must also submit 50 words that includes the phrase that describes the category (ie: "This is where I learned..."). Then follow @XpeditionTV on Instagram and hashtag your photos so that they can find it. Photographers can enter multiple images but they must create a separate entry for each photo.

When the contest is over and winners are selected, they'll receive a 30x40 custom print of their image worth up to $250. These images are said to be beautiful in quality and stunning to look at, especially for those who are use to digital photography and don't see prints much any more.

For more information, visit the Xpedition.tv website. Then, go sift through your photos and find something you'd love to share. Good luck!

This past summer, adventurers Seth Warren and Kirk Hollis embarked on a 500-mile, unsupported journey up the east coast of Africa. The duo traveled by stand-up paddleboards and kite surfed from Pemba, Mozambique to Zanzibar in Tanzania, hopping between more than 50 island along the way. Their six week journey is now the subject of an online film series brought to us by EpicTV.  You'll find the latest episode of that series below, which gives us a glimpse at an adventure that is long way from the big mountains or the polar regions that I often write about on this blog. What an amazing way to explore the wild coast of Africa.

Can't wait to follow Charlie and Ewan's next big adventure? The book is probably months away and the TV series won't air at least until this Fall, so what are we to do in the mean time? How about follow their adventures online! The BBC has set up a nice page with video, trip dispatches, and more information on the Boys' latest motorcycle cruise.

I first posted on this last week, but for those that don't know, actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor have set off to ride their motorcycles from Scotland to South Africa. The project is entitled Long Way Down and will spawn a book of their adventures, as well as a BBC television show, which hopefully will be brought across the pond for fans in the United States to enjoy as well. The trip is a follow up to their hugely successful Long Way Round which was also made into a book and is available on DVD.

While I won't want everything to be given away by following them on the Internet, it will still be fun to keep up on their adventures while they are in the midst of the journey. Good luck guys!

That was so gross that I'm not even going to say where I got this thing. I literally left most of the bowl uneaten after having tasted the lifeless broth. And what's up with the lettuce in there anyway? All I ate was the basil and a couple of pieces of beef, which, to my surprise, were actually decently tender. I still might go back to this lady to see how her bánh xèo fares though.

Cioppino was once again on the business class menu out of SFO today, and I guess it wasn't that different from the one in First Class aside from how the flight attendant plated it this time. I liked the grilled aroma from that giant prawn, but otherwise the rest was filler to go into my belly.

Bective Abbey is another fantastic heritage site located in the valley of the River Boyne. It was founded in 1147 by the King of Meath, Murchad Ua Máel Sechnaill and given to the Cistercian Order. Bective was the 'daughter house' of Mellifont, the first Cistercian foundation in Ireland. Unlike many other Cistercian foundations which typically sought out wilderness and isolation, Bective was positioned on superb agricultural land, and quickly rose to prominence as an important ecclesiastical centre. Indeed Bective was high status enough, that the powerful Norman Lord of Meath, Hugh de Lacy had his remains interred at Bective for a while before he was eventually finally reburied with his wife at (the now demolished) St. Thomas's Abbey in Dublin. 

By the sixteenth century, the Cistercians of Bective Abey had become wealthy from rents, tithes and donations. At the time that Bective was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the middle of the sixteenth century, it was recorded that the estate of Bective contained 1580 acres valued at £83 18s 8p. The Abbey and its possessions were purchased in 1552 by Andrew Wyse, but he seems to have come into financial difficulties soon after and Bective changed hands a number of times, before becoming transformed into a manor in the early seventeenth century. It came into the hands of the Bolton family, and was eventually donated to the State in 1894.

The extensive ruins that you can explore today at Bective tell the story of both the Cistercian monastic site and the private home. The cloisters are superbly well preserved, and you may recognise them featuring in the Mel Gibson film Braveheart.
The site is a great place to visit and is part of a densely packed medieval landscape – close to Trim Castle, The Priory Hospital of St. John the Baptist and The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

It is free to enter all year round and is very easy to find, as it is well signposted from the R161 between Trim and Navan in County Meath. The Office of Public Works have installed a small carpark and path at the site so it is very accessible. The have been a series of excavations conducted at Bective Abbey by Geraldine and Matthew Stout, and you can read all about their fantastic discoveries on their blog http://bective.wordpress.com/ which also gives you a nice insight into the on-site life of an archaeologist in Ireland.

I hope you enjoy this blog, we're trying to cover as many sites as we can across Ireland. If anyone has any suggestions about sites you'd like us to cover please do leave us a comment. If you enjoy information and images of Irish heritage sites then do follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+If you'd like to support us then please consider downloading an audioguide to one of Ireland's wonderful heritage sites. They are packed with original music and sound effects and are a great way of experiencing the story of Ireland. They only cost €1.99 and are fun whether you are at the site, or listening from the comfort of your own home. Our latest guide is to Viking and Medieval Dublin, visit us at www.abartaaudioguides.com for free previews and to download your free audioguide to the Rock of Dunamase. 

All photographs © Neil Jackman / abartaaudioguides.com

That might look a bit odd in the photo above, but I assure you that it was delicious with all of the richness of cheese, bacon, and butter on top. Admittedly it wasn't easy to detect the delicateness of the sea urchin as a result, but the noodles were cooked and seasoned just right. Yum.

And yes, this time I asked them how the heck one pronounces the name of the place, and they confirmed, perhaps not surprisingly, that it is "And Sons." It doesn't exactly roll of the tongue very well, but I'll definitely be back here. Indeed, I should have suggested coming here for team drinks last week!

There's something perverse about a non meat-eater writing a guide to Argentine restaurants. Meat is the biggest deal down there. Everyone I ran into was so proud that Argentine beef is the best in the world-- and with the least cholesterol, no less! But non-meat eaters travel to Buenos Aires too. And, believe me, you can eat as well there as anywhere else. I'm not a vegetarian. I eat fish as well as vegetables. On the other hand, I don't eat sugar or anything made with flour (pasta, bread, cakes). And I love to eat. I'll do a specific paragraph below about the Buenos Aires veggie restaurant scene. But first let me say a few words about top restaurants in town.

As a prelude, I'll just mention that Argentina is a large and rich agricultural country with great quality food and a wide array of products. In the north there was tropical jungles and in the south, freezing near desolation. In between it's temperate and everything grows. Eating is good in Argentina. It might not be as cheap as it is to eat in Bolivia or Peru but for a tourist who could afford to get there, it's damn cheap. And the portions are generally really big. High quality, big portions, good prices. How you going to go wrong?

Generally recognized as THE best restaurant, Tomo 1 is in a hotel of faded glory, the PanAmericano (Crowne Plaza). Fortunately Tomo 1 isn't faded at all and it isn't of the hotel, just shares an address, Carlos Peligrini 521, right near the Obelisque, in what you might call the center of town (an absurd concept in Buenos Aires). Anyway, they serve lunch (weekdays) and dinner Monday through Saturday. It's been something of an Argentine institution since 1971 when the Concaro sisters, Ada and Ebe, opened it in a house in Belgrano. It moved to the Panamerico about 12 years ago. For an Argentine, 90 pesos for a meal is steep, like 90 dollars would be for an American in L.A. or NYC. But 90 pesos for us is around $30. And that's $30 for the best restaurant in town where every dish is mouthwatering and designed to be absolutely perfect. One sister does lunch and the other does dinner and their philosophy places flavors above all other concerns. Everything I ate there was delicious and nothing came to the table that you could get anywhere else.

If another restaurant gives it a run for its money it would be the newer (2004)-- and way hipper and more glitzy-- Casa Cruz in Palermo. The place blew me away to the point of doing something I had never done before in my life. I photographed the menu; take a look. This place is all about unique combinations of ingredients. Frommer or Fodor or something like that claims this is the best restaurant in town. I'm not going to argue with them either. It's not easy to get into though. I was unable to get reservations twice. They serve 'til 3AM or until you're finished eating.

Most concierges who you ask for the best restaurants in town will say there are 3 and add in Sucre. Sucre is excellent, but in my opinion not on the same level as Tomo 1 and Casa Cruz. It's bigger and not quite as smooth as the other two. The food's very good but not as unique or memorable. It's kind of out of the way too.

In fact, I think I'd put Oviedo, a posh Old World seafood restaurant in Barrio Norte, in as my third favorite restaurant, over Sucre. It's clubby and feels fancy but it was actually pretty relaxed and the food was superb, almost like you're eating in a grand restaurant in Spain rather than in Argentina. (And even though it's "officially" a seafood restaurant, people say they have incredible beef and lamb dishes as well.) Everything is done with a lot of flare.

Most of the tourists I talked to missed these incredible world class restaurants and were delighted to have their meals at Buenos Aires' traditional grilled meat restaurants, parrillas. People I met raved about El Obrero in La Boca and La Brigada in San Telmo as the best parrillas in town. After that everyone's second favorite choice are the omnipresent pizzerias and Italian restaurants. They literally are everywhere. Buenos Aires is almost as Italian in culture and character as it is Spanish. Buenos Aires also has Chinese restaurants, Thai restaurants, German restaurants, French restaurants, etc. And plenty of MacDonald's and crap like that too.

It wasn't hard finding good vegetarian food either. Although my favorite veggie (and organic) restaurant was Bio in Palermo, the "veggie scene" is centered around a store/restaurant called La Esquina de las Flores. Since I rented an apartment for my first week in Buenos Aires this was a place I could buy some basic groceries, although not fresh produce. And they have great take-away. The women who run it were mostly humorless, forbidding, harried and unfriendly. Right next door is another veggie place, Lotos, which is kind of Chinese veggie. Florida is the huge pedestrian street in the center where everyone walks and shops. There's a huge veggie cafeteria called Granix (open for lunch only) where you get as much as you can eat for $7. It isn't high consciousness food but it's good and tasty and a great place to go if you're hungry. I heard of 2 or 3 other veggie places that I never got to check out (including a Hare Krishna place I didn't want to check out, sugar being the main staple of the Krishna diet... which explains a lot).

If you're looking for a shot of adrenaline to get you going this morning than check out this video. It features a wingsuit pilot by the name of Scotty Bob who threads the needle of a Utah canyon without missing a beat. The video is only 40 seconds in length but it captures some of the best wing suit footage I've seen in awhile.

Oh man, Lucha Loco changed its menu, and not necessarily for the better. Apparently they didn't change owners nor chefs, but the menu nonetheless was refreshed a couple of months ago, and the huitlacoche is now gone. Arghh!!

I suppose that it shouldn't be that much of a surprise though. Seriously, was there that big of a market here where it made financial sense for them to be hauling huitlacoche all the way across the Pacific?

Fortunately, the new food was still edible, but was also too dressed up and lacking in excitement for me. Sigh. There goes the only Mexican restaurant that I was willing to go to in Singapore. Well, I guess I can still get some post-drinking fish tacos at Señor Taco.

I was just in the mood for someplace new to eat, someplace I hadn't tried before. And I didn't mind driving. My 2007 Zagat for Los Angeles is so worn already that I knew I was unlikely to get any new inspiration there. And then it struck me-- I had seen a story a few months ago in the New York Times about L.A. area Chinese restaurants. I hadn't had Chinese food in 4 years-- ever since my doctor told me they tend to cook the food in extraordinarily cheap and cancer-causing oil and to steer clear. But I was in the mood.

It was easy enough to pull up Mark Bittman's Times story, The East Is West: The Best Chinese Restaurants in Southern California, online. It was all about going out of town, away from the traditional Chinatown and east on the I-10 towards Jacksonville, Florida (just not that far). And not even as far as San Bernardino, although Bittman's point is that the whole 50 mile stretch of the I-10 between L.A. and San Berdoo is "a string of multiethnic communities that all have a large, dynamic Chinese population. There is strong evidence of this in the chains of Chinese supermarkets, the likes of which exist nowhere else in the country. (In these stores, announcements are made first in Mandarin, then in Korean, then Vietnamese; then Spanish, and last English. Really.)"

And one of those towns is Alhambra. Bittman was unequivocal "Follow my advice, drop everything, and rush to eat at Triumphal Palace."

The restaurant follows in the tradition of popular places such as NBC Seafood, Mission 261-- about which, more in a moment-- and the ill-named New Concept. Their menus are large and long-- several pages, at least — and often feature esoteric and very expensive ingredients such as abalone, shark’s fin and bird’s nest.

For my money-- and though it’s upscale by comparison, it doesn’t take much-- Triumphal Palace is the best of the lot, with food that is full-flavored, intricate and subtle, sometimes almost tame. The roast duck, which looks like every other Chinese roast duck you’ve ever had, is so good I suspect it’s not “roast” at all, but fried in clarified butter; it’s that crisp, tender and flavorful. It needs nothing, and certainly not the accompanying marmalade-like substance, which you should not allow to touch the duck. Other dishes are similarly simple, and just about as good: stir-fried Dungeness crab with scallion and ginger; pea greens with mushrooms and the distinctively flavored dried scallops; a pretty dish of chicken slices, huge shiitakes, ham and gai lan (Chinese broccoli), served in layers.

For all of this, Triumphal Palace is perhaps better known for its dim sum (served every day at lunchtime) than for its dinner dishes. Like many of the grand West Coast Chinese restaurants, from Vancouver on south, the dim sum is ordered from a menu-- you’re invariably given a short pencil and a printed sheet, to tick off what you want-- cooked fresh and served hot, rather than being hawked from steam carts. (Still, the problem of everything coming at once can only be solved by staggering your order.)

Six of us-- one of whom now claims she will be married here-- shared 24 dishes (about 18 of which came within 10 minutes), and while all except the predictably sad desserts were good, some were incredible. These were barbecue pork belly, firm cubes of slow-cooked, crunchy-skinned fresh bacon that, I swear, were a dead-on replica of a dish Alain Ducasse used to serve at about five times the price; Chiu Chow-style dumplings, with thick, chewy, slightly crisp rice-flour exteriors filled with (could it be?) jasmine-scented meat; deep-fried carrot cake, in fact a savory-sweet custard-filled dumpling; boiled baby bok choy in fish stock, which, like the duck I’d had at dinner, contained some secret ingredient that was the Bomb; and a wonderful layered creation of pan-fried sticky rice with egg.

On a recent Sunday morning, the place was packed, as usual. The design is faux Deco-slash-modern, not horrible, but with the inevitable stark lighting. Still, the walls are of wood, there are tablecloths, and the chairs are padded and comfortable. At dinner the napkins are cloth, and the plates are changed frequently.

Bittman is clearly insane. But I didn't know that until after I ate in this dive. Although I did know it before I came down with severe MSG poisoning. Before I left for Alhambra I decided to look and see what Zagat reviewers thought. The food rated a very undistinguished "20" (out of 30) and the review touted a "lit-from-behind Lucite bar" and "a spacious aquarium." Well, this New York Times food critic probably is a lot savvier than the John and Jane Does who did the rating for Zagat. Oh, was I wrong.

Let me take Bittman's review apart paragraph by paragraph. The menu was not "large and long;" it was medium-sized. The food was far from "full-flavored, intricate and subtle, sometimes almost tame." It was crap, MSG-flavored garbage and not "sometimes almost tame; always very tame. I took his advice and ordered the closest thing on the menu to what he called "pea greens with mushrooms and the distinctively flavored dried scallops," a soup that claimed those ingredients but which had no trace of scallops-- or flavor. I had asked the waiter if there was MSG in the food before we sat down and he shook his head enthusiastically. I figured he didn't understand. I was wrong.

I also asked him if the soup was enough for me and my friend. He said it was enough for 6 people. He wasn't exaggerating. All the dishes were oversized, which doesn't make up for quality in the slightest. My main course was a shrimp dish that was really bad and my friend had beef chow fun which he said tasted the same as beef chow fun does in any Hollywood dive.

Alain Ducasse should sue Bittman for comparing his creations to this swill. When I was around 16 I hitchhiked across the U.S. and a merchant seaman picked me up in a Cadillac and drove from Ohio to California. He claimed he had eaten in the best Chinese restaurants in Peking, Canton and Shanghai and that he would tale me to one that was better than any of them right down the road in Amarillo. I hadn't been to China yet but I had eaten enough Chinese food in Brooklyn to know that good Chinese food was not going to be served in a restaurant with baskets of rolls and rye bread on the tables. The restaurant was in a roadside mini-mall off Route 66, but it wasn't that much worse than the one off Route 10 in Alhambra. As for Bittman's other suggestions, if the Triumphal Palace is his "New Favorite Restaurant," I'll steer clear of #2, thru 5.

By the way, the next day I had the first headache I've had in many years and I was dizzy for two days. I didn't dare drive my car; something I never experienced in my entire life. I felt like I was going to fall over several times. My neighbor told me L.A. Chinese restaurants stopped using MSG years ago. I don't doubt it. Alhambra is like 30 minutes away though.

When I read about this place in the Sunday Times, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I was sad that One on the Bund had departed; it was probably one of my favorite places in Singapore. On the other hand, the restaurant that went up in its place served kambing soup, one of my favorite local dishes next to bak kut teh and bak chor mee. I was so excited to see how they would do it here that I knew I had to come here for lunch this week (80 Collyer Quay, 6597-5266).

The interesting - and perhaps disappointing - thing was that the menu was a mix of things like burgers and local food like laksa and chicken rice, seemingly being nothing more than a typical ground floor restaurant of a local hotel by trying to appeal to the widest audience possible. But this was definitely much more upscale than most other hotels, as evidenced by the new airy decor and furniture, which surely didn't come cheap.

And yes, this decor was built into the price, with that kambing soup above coming in at S$15 (US$12), or at least three or four times more than what one would pay at a hawker center. Sure, the food was of high quality, but Brothpot Mutton is good enough for me in that department. I think the only time I'll come back here is for a business meal, particularly if someone has come in from out of town. And at that point, I might try one of their lobster rolls.

The Grianán of Ailech is one of the most iconic sites of North-West Ireland. It is located in County Donegal, roughly about 8 km north-west of the city of Derry. The entire site itself is enormous, with large outer earthworks circling Greenan Mountain. This huge enclosed space is probably the remains of a Late Bronze Age or Iron Age hillfort. It was regarded as a ‘Class 2 Hillfort’ by Barry Raftery in his excellent book Pagan Celtic Ireland.  He described it as having

‘four concentric enclosures, the innermost...being a small, ringfort-like structure...likely to be a late addition which probably had nothing to do with the prehistoric hillfort’. 

It is this inner stone ringfort or cashel that is most commonly thought of today as being the Grianán of Ailech. The site was said to have been the residence of the powerful Kings of Ailech, the Uí Néill dynasty. In the first few centuries AD the Uí Néill controlled vast swathes of territory in the northern half of the island of Ireland. However as their power began to wane they became locked in a bitter dynastic war with the Kings of Munster. The Grianán was recorded in the Annals as being destroyed in AD 676, and then more thoroughly in 1101. The destruction was recorded in detail in the pages of the Annals of the Four Masters. It recounts that the King of Munster, Muircheartach Ua Briain (grandson of the famous Brian Boru), led his army deep into the territory of the Uí Néill’s in Inishowen and burned many churches and forts. He demolished the famous Grianán of Ailech in retaliation for the burning of the Munster capital Ceann-coradh (Kincora in County Clare) which had been burned by the allies of the Uí Néill some time before. The Munster King Muircheartach had each man in his army carry away a stone from the destroyed fort, forever denying it to the Uí Néills.

The interior of the fort

A short video to show the interior of the stone fort

The site was heavily reconstructed in the nineteenth century, so we will never know its original form. Despite this, it is still one of the most rewarding sites to visit in Ireland. 

 
The name Grianán roughly translates to Palace of the Sun, unfortunately the day we visited was heavily overcast with showers, though even the low cloud couldn’t obscure the quite magnificent views over the Inishowen Peninsula, Lough Swilly, and Lough Foyle. The site absolutely dominates the skyline from a great distance. Entering the central cashel you pass through the massively thick drystone walls that tower above you. Stone steps lead to the top of the walls allowing you to look upon the stunning landscape that surrounds you (I have included some landscape pictures at the end of this article). It is a fantastic experience and one that I highly recommend if you are travelling to the North-West of Ireland. Just outside of the fort you can also find a cairn of uncertain date and a small holy well.

The Holy Well just below Grianan Ailech

The site is under the auspices of the Office of Public Works, however apart from a good road and a large carpark there are no other facilities at the site. The Grianán of Ailech is well signposted from the N13 between Derry and Letterkenny, it is located roughly around 8km north-west of Derry.

You’ll find it at Latitude: 55.02379103 Longitude: -7.42761612


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 Some images of the landscape surrounding the Grianán Ailech

The Grianan Ailech dominates the landscape for miles around