celticsojourn: Great Mysteries of Ireland

There are three great, unsolved mysteries in Ireland: the meaning of the Glebe Stone Circle, the existence of Irish meteorologists, and the Galway bus system. Perhaps the easiest would be the Glebe stones, the Irish equivalent of Britain's Stonehenge with the addition of a circle of trees (see photo to the right or above) to which wedded and pregnant women tie bows for good luck. But no one knows who or when the stones were set in place or why the trees were planted.

Which brings us to the mystery of Irish meteorologists. There is more reason to doubt their existence than let's say, lepricons. Today,

for example, there were no less than three forecasts ranging from partly cloudy/partly sunny, foggy, and snow turning into rain. I say it is most likely that these were generated by a monkey jumping on a keyboard. Anyway, as the photo to the right demonstrates, a spider discovered the truth when she found that her spider web had been iced. But beautiful, yes?

As far as

the bus system in Galway goes, residents have given up trying to explain it. When you say to one of them, "I am trying to find out how the Galway bus system works," they simply shake their heads and say, "Don't. It's Ireland." So there you go.

To the right is the Kylemore Abbey, one of the most beautiful sights in Ireland. It was built by a man for the wife he adored. Unfortunately, she died prematurely leaving him with the children she had borne him. He had her interred in a

masoleum, also on the grounds. But the death of one of his children exceeded his ability to cope with the memories associated with the property. He sold it to a wandering group of Benedictine nuns from Austria, who turned it into an exclusive boarding school. With no one to replenish their ranks, all the nuns are now elderly, and the school is on the verge of closing.

If you look carefully on this photo, you will see a white dot half way up the mountainside. It is a statue of Jesus. I decided I should take that hike. Now in the process I came across no fewer than three signs saying, DANGER! DO NOT ENTER! I don't normally ignore such signs. But this time, I did. And I discovered there was no actual danger...just people trying to make you afraid. And here is what I saw.