Ireland and I
17/09/07 03:32 AM Filed in: Travel | Thoroughbred
racing
Arrival day was Tuesday the 11th, although most of
that day was spent sitting at the Gatwick airport in
London waiting for my departure time to Dublin. My
friends in Dublin met me at the airport and we went
out for supper (fish and chips and a Guinness for
me). Before the evening was out a trio of musicians
had joined the crowd (this was a pub as much as a
restaurant) and began to play some traditional Irish
music. All in all a very good start to the trip. I
also realized just how much difficulty I might have
with some of the place names; Dun Laoghaire is
pronounced "Dun Leary", for example. I may get lost
just trying to ask for directions if nobody can
understand what it is I'm trying to say!
The week was very nicely spent, having people who
live here makes the visit so much more interesting,
as they tend to show some of their favourite places.
If they like it, then you can be sure there is a good
reason and the visit there will be well worth the
time. The other aspect is related to just doing
things different than the usual tourist trek,
although some sights are going to be tourist oriented
for sure; Christchurch Cathedral and
St. Patrick's Cathedral for
example. Because I had someone who knew what was
going on, I was able to visit some sights for
free on "Culture Night" - something I had missed
noting and would not have benefited from had she
not been there. That got me to take a look at
the Book of Kells, something I had
passed up earlier in the week at Trinity College, as I felt 8
Euros to look at just one artifact was a bit
much. Free admission on the other hand........
The Curragh lived up to expectation. It's an old grandstand and is showing it's age a bit, nevertheless, it is a very pleasant place to attend races. I had expected a larger crowd, so the small line ups were a bonus. The visit to the track was a profitable one (OK, a very small profit), so that was nice. The races were quite good; lots of close finishes. For me Ireland and horses go hand in hand, some of the world's best thoroughbreds come from here so a visit to the track was an absolute necessity.
My visit also included some golf, a lovely course (Foxrock), not too difficult, but not easy either. I wish I could say I played well, but I did have a good time, and that is the point really. I also had a nice outing to Powerscourt - a pleasant afternoon and fun seeing the countryside just outside Dublin. On top of all that, I had the opportunity to visit the Great Mound at Knowth; one of the many Neolithic mounds found in Ireland, several of which are located in the Boyne River valley (the famous Battle of the Boyne was fought about three miles or so from here). Quite an interesting outing I would have missed had it not been for knowing someone who made sure I got out to see this. It's a visit well worth taking the time for.
Here is the Irish St. Leger, the feature race of the day I was at the Curragh. (the commentary happens to be in French on this version). The favourites are Scorpion and Yeats. Scorpion is in pale pink silks and takes an early lead. You can pick out Yeats in dark blue silks running about fourth or so much of the race.
And now.........on to Scotland.
The Curragh lived up to expectation. It's an old grandstand and is showing it's age a bit, nevertheless, it is a very pleasant place to attend races. I had expected a larger crowd, so the small line ups were a bonus. The visit to the track was a profitable one (OK, a very small profit), so that was nice. The races were quite good; lots of close finishes. For me Ireland and horses go hand in hand, some of the world's best thoroughbreds come from here so a visit to the track was an absolute necessity.
My visit also included some golf, a lovely course (Foxrock), not too difficult, but not easy either. I wish I could say I played well, but I did have a good time, and that is the point really. I also had a nice outing to Powerscourt - a pleasant afternoon and fun seeing the countryside just outside Dublin. On top of all that, I had the opportunity to visit the Great Mound at Knowth; one of the many Neolithic mounds found in Ireland, several of which are located in the Boyne River valley (the famous Battle of the Boyne was fought about three miles or so from here). Quite an interesting outing I would have missed had it not been for knowing someone who made sure I got out to see this. It's a visit well worth taking the time for.
Here is the Irish St. Leger, the feature race of the day I was at the Curragh. (the commentary happens to be in French on this version). The favourites are Scorpion and Yeats. Scorpion is in pale pink silks and takes an early lead. You can pick out Yeats in dark blue silks running about fourth or so much of the race.
And now.........on to Scotland.