One Reply to “Saturday, 1 August: Bus to Clifden with Visit to Kylemore Abbey”
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Website of the Irish Studies Group at SUNY Geneseo
Website of the Irish Studies Group at SUNY Geneseo
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Visiting Kylemore Abbey was a beautiful trip. It was easy to tell that this was an attraction for both international tourists and Irish Tourists, which was interesting. I loved looking at the gardens and the stroll from one site to another. It was incredible to see how well preserved the miniature church was considering that it was tucked away in the back of the site. It was well revered and easy to see that religion played an important role to the man who built it, and obviously to the nuns who kept and maintained the gothic building. Seeing Irish tourists is one of my favorite things from this trip. They fit into a really unique spot. They are not locals, and yet they aren’t entirely foreign. They bring their kids places like my parents might have brought me to the Kodak house when I was a child. I love watching interactions with children. This is where culture starts. People try to raise their children to know culture and to learn their society’s values. As I was riding the shuttle from the gardens to the Abbey I saw two parents wrangling two toddlers. The mom pointed to the woods and asked told her little boy “Look there’s the forest, that’s where the monsters live.” It was real to the little boy; he looked out the window to try to see the monsters. It made me wonder about the culture of the local Irish. They are raised to believe the fairy tales of monsters, Banshees, leprechauns and fairies. In Dublin there was an entire Leprechaun museum. This agrees with the beliefs that Yates had about the local Irish being connected to the folklore. It’s truly a part of the culture but it was clear to see from watching the people that this belief is artificial, like American children believing in the tooth fairy. It’s fun for children but once you are no longer a child and discover the truth, these legends are far less relevant to you and you move past believing. Although, I can see how growing up with the same experiences and stories could have bonded the Irish people during the Celtic revival.