A Laddie and A Lassie In Scotland and Ireland: Cross Country Ireland

Day 9- Cross Country Ireland

This morning we woke up with a game plan. Monika wanted to see the Leprechaun Museum across the city that opened at 10am. Our check out time at our hostel was 11am and we were to pick up our rental car at noon.

Outside, it was a beautiful day. VERY WINDY! On the way to the museum we were walking against the wind and it felt like we were getting a workout battling the wind. I didn’t know what to expect at the Leprechaun Museum, but was very interested to find out what was inside. We were greeted by a woman that looked, sounded, and acted like Jane Lynch from Glee. Seriously, her Irish twin. Normally there are big groups that she guides through the museum, however it was only Monika and I that were there bright and early for the first session. So off we went. It was clear from the outset that this woman actually believed in the existence of Leprechauns. We saw ancient text dating back to the 1500’s which mention that existence of these small, gold bearing creatures. They are said to be very tricky, and nearly impossible to catch. Since we don’t know her actual name, I will refer to the museum employee as Jane. Jane told us some of the stories of Leprechauns. They are shoemakers of the ferries. They live in holes in the ground. They live with their mothers all their lives.

As the tour continued we learned of many ancient myths associated with the Gaelic people. This is the part I found most interesting. Although this was a leprechaun museum, we heard stories of Cahullen and Fin McCool as well as other legends and myths deeply rooted history of the Gaelic people. Storytelling plays an important role in Gaelic lifestyle.

Our tour continued into the “giant’s room”. In this room, the furniture is huge, which is supposed to make you feel the size of a leprechaun. They have figured out the ratio to be exactly 1:3 the size of humans…hahaha! But don’t laugh in front of Jane, she takes this all very seriously. In the Giant’s room, Monika and I took some funny pictures.

The next room consisted of multicoloured string hanging from the ceiling. We were to “walk through the rainbow.” On the other side of the rainbow, was a tiny pot of gold rocks. We sat around the pot as Jane told us more stories of a time that a man tried to catch a leprechaun.

Our next stop on the tour would be the most uncomfortable and awkward part of the tour. In the next room, Jane took out an Irish whistle and told us that she was going to play some traditional Gaelic music in case the ferries feel like dancing. The room was dark and she sat down on a wishing well…we were the only three people in the room. Monika and I watched her play…. and play…... and play. We expected there to be some ferries on the wall that would appear or something, but no. Instead we just uncomfortably peered at her as she played. The entire time I was thinking about how this would end: do I clap, what if she asks if we want to hear another, should I say something like that was excellent, beautiful…what was the best word to describe it in order to break the awkward silence which I can only anticipate once she stops blowing on that whistle! Well, after that we finished the tour by drawing our best leprechaun picture using crayons haha. I guess this tour was more for kids that adults, oh well it was fun!

We rushed back to our hostel, checked out and made it to the rental car company in time to get our car. Our quote was originally for $250. “This quote is without insurance, so if you say you have insurance through your credit card, we will need to take a $16,000 deposit from your card.” Well who has that kind of space on a credit card, surely not us. So we ended up paying $550 for the car with the insurance. What a rip off! Our car was a Hyundai. A small car with not much power, I really missed our green Leon from Scotland!

We left Dublin and headed west across Ireland towards the western city of Galway. On the way, we stopped in Tullamore, a little town smack dab in the middle of Ireland. We had lunch at “The Brewery Tap”. I had a “Bap”. Basically, it is chicken, peppers and melted cheese on top of a toasted bun. It was pretty good. We couldn’t leave Tullamore without trying some of the local malt: Tullamore Dew…it was awfully tasty stuff.

We arrived in Galway just in time for the rain to start. We checked in to our hotel, The Travelodge. It was right off the highway and only a short walk to town. We went into town and explored. On the water we saw a game being played which I had never seen before. People in kayaks were playing a game that could be best described as basketball. Teams of 5 or 6 kayakers tried to move a ball downstream to the opponents goal and tried to throw a ball into a goal which was elevated off the water maybe 10 feet. Looked like a lot of fun, but kinda cold!

We wanted to hear some music, and saw a bar called “The King’s Head” which had live music. We got a great seat in the front row. Although it wasn’t traditional Irish music (like we had originally wanted), Fred and James played the best of the best in terms of acoustic bar music: Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, and the Beatles. It was great! Monika enjoyed a pitcher of a drink called A woo woo (vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, lime juice). The band was really more like a show, taking comical breaks between each song. Really funny guys that were drinking heavily and not afraid to let out some pretty edgy humour. The music stopped at around midnight, and we headed back to our hotel.

Giant's Room at the Leprechaun Museum