Your best tips

Quills Woollen Market · Member

RE: Your best tips

Quills Woollen Market · Member

Here another tip for Tourists about trying to find a good session! Most musicians work weekends a lot and take monday or tuesday off to enjoy a pint in their locals. After several pints you'll definately find them singing.

Regarding nights out in Killarney, Monday night all the people who work in the hotels, hairdressers are off usually and nights out are very lively indeed.

tony2phones · Guru

Another Key tip when having the craic with the locals is to remember they may have Dry or Tong in Cheek humour which you might not quite get the measure of.. don't worry if you are on the receiving end of a "giving out" you will know.

Roy · Guru

tony2phones wrote:
Another Key tip when having the craic with the locals is to remember they may have Dry or Tong in Cheek humour which you might not quite get the measure of.. don't worry if you are on the receiving end of a "giving out" you will know.

I catch it from my wife on a regular basis!

Michele Erdvig · Host

And remember that no matter how skilled you are with your repartee, the Irish are always quicker! Just sit back and enjoy. biggrin

Keep those tips coming.

smshowalter · Member

Haha, Roy I'm on the receiving end from my husband quite often as well... but then I would like to think I give him his fair share. I'm quite certain I won't be able to keep up with the locals, but I'm still looking forward to it. biggrin

I am definitely looking forward to some trad sessions! "Danny Boy" will NOT be a request coming out of my mouth! I really don't care too much for the song anyway.

QWM - there are some very beautiful items on your website. I'm almost tempted to order an item before leaving for Ireland. I'm looking forward to stopping in while in Killarney in October. Thank you for your tips as well. :) Sadly we won't be in Ireland until the first part of October, so we'll miss the Puck Fair. It sounds like a lot of fun though.

-- Edited by smshowalter on Friday 14th of June 2013 11:44:01 AM

smshowalter · Member

Oh! A thought just came to me. As I'm battling monster swarms of mosquitoes here at home, with all the rain that Ireland gets... are mosquitoes or other nasty insects (such as ticks) a problem? Spiders I can handle, my husband not so much, but I'll be Super Woman and move them on outside for him.

Michele Erdvig · Host

There are midges in Ireland. They are tiny gnat-like flying insects that bite and leave itches. I have encountered them but not frequently. They tend to hang around wet areas (rivers, lakes) and vegetation. They are most active early in the morning and late afternoon/evening.

Judy · Guru

Stephanie, you will be very surprised to know that there are no screens on the windows in Ireland. Flying bugs are not a problem. Never been bit by a midge, only once did a bee fly into the house and we asked him to leave which he did.

tony2phones · Guru

Midges can be a problem, they are not as nasty as their Scottish cousins but punch well above their weight in the irritation stakes. As said water (generally still), bogland and woodland are the main habitats, up here in the forestry we have loads of the little blighter's but towns and coastal areas shouldn't be a problem. If you are planing on treks into the wilds get some Antihistamine cream just in case. some folk can react to the bites.

Michele Erdvig · Host

If there is a midge alive anywhere in the world it will make a beeline for my husband and bite him. biggrin He is my DEET.

CowboyCraic · Guru

The Dingle Pub scenes were shot in a small pub down below Dun Aonghasa. As our Ferry was pulling into Kilronan, they were loading all the filming and production gear and the requisite people on to an outbound ferry. It was the talk of the Island for a long while after.

When they did the premiere showing here, they brought me in to critique the film, along with several other writers. The producer's assistant was asking me what I thought of the film and its "accurate portrayal". My reply..."It's a nice little faery tale. Sure would been nice for you to shoot even one scene where ya said it was though"

-- Edited by CowboyCraic on Monday 17th of June 2013 06:44:20 PM

chaika · Veteran Member

About Ireland weather -- from our BB in Sligo the host said Oh, you can see Maeve's cairn, you can get up there today. So we drove over, half hour or so. By then it was raining, so we waited it out. Then climbed up to the top, but couldn't see much because of the clouds. On the way down we got hailed on. So there you go.

I want to suggest bringing, in addition to one or two cameras, an audio recorder. The person not driving can make some audio notes about where you've just been or thoughts along the way, which will be very helpful when you're back. Plus you can record pub sessions!

I've been to Clifden twice, and both times there was plenty of Irish music to be had in the pubs. Did not come across any CW music.

Binoculars! I don't travel without them, and in Eire when you are far away from things they bring the land right up to you. You don't have to be a birder.

Before you go, watch some Irish videos (Michael Collins, Leap Year, etc.), read some history, even if it's only Wikipedia. I recently came across two authors who write mysteries/detective stories about contemporary Ireland -- Erin Hart (has 4 novels so far) about archaeologists investigating things in the bogs, and the late Fr. Andrew Greeley, strange vocation for a Catholic priest from Chicago, who has about a dozen novels in the Nuala Anne McGrail series about a fey woman from Connemara. I'm reading them after three visits and I'll say it helps to have that real experience behind you.

Planning a fall trip into Southern England and Wales, then Ireland. Going to try to spend a week in the Burren, one of my favorite places. If you like rocks, ecology, and history, you might try to find a walking tour with Tony Kirby. I've gone on two walks with him, one of them at times in pouring rain. Just a reminder to bring your rain gear!

tony2phones · Guru

I remember a conversation coming over on the ferry once last year. Nice Australian lass had to go to Belfast straight from Dublin to see family but then she was going straight to Dingle to see all the sights from the Leap year film. I explained that there was not one scene in Leap year that was shot within 100miles of Dingle, Not so nice Australian lass went off in a huff not believing a word I had said.

tony2phones · Guru

I was over in the Silvermines last week and passed a Heritage Sign for the Quiet Man Railway Station...now that's even further from Cong than the Quiet Man Bridge.

Michele Erdvig · Host

Those movies are always a patchwork quilt of Ireland. They film at whim choosing what suits the story. It is "artistic license".

As for that Australian lass that did not want to know (fingers in ears la-la-la-la-la) there are plenty of people like that. We tell them the truth. Whether they care to listen or not is up to them.

smshowalter · Member

Judy, that is very surprising indeed about not having screens on the windows. But nice to know! :) I wish I didn't need screens on my windows! Mosquitoes here *love* me, I'm hoping the midges won't. But maybe bringing a small thing of bug spray wouldn't be a bad idea?

I haven't seen any movies that "take place" in Ireland aside from P.S. I love you and I believe the only spot mentioned there by name is the Wicklow National Park. Maybe that's a good thing. :)

Chaika, I had not thought of binoculars. I'm not sure if we'll bring some on this upcoming trip, but maybe the next one. Good thought about the audio recorder though! I'm pretty sure my phone has an audio recording function.

Michele Erdvig · Host

We have a very tiny pair of binoculars that we always take to Ireland. You can also see things more close up by zooming with your camera.

chaika · Veteran Member

If you take a sound recorder, make sure the time/date is in synch with your camera. Recorder is better than the camera's sound. I have made CDs of music we recorded in pubs.

We have looked up the events pages at Burren Beo Trust www.burrenbeo.ie/ and gone with them on some outings.

-- Edited by chaika on Sunday 14th of July 2013 09:09:46 AM