The Road to Dingle, Ireland - July 1979

After spending some time in County Clare, the next place I headed for was Dingle. Folks I'd met in Limerick suggested that it would be a good place to visit. It was. I spent a couple of nights in a small B&B, walked around, and sampled the nightlife. I saw the famous Irish folk group The Wolfe Tones perform one pleasant evening. Up the rebels.

I took this shot and the one below at the train station at (I think) Limerick Junction. The nun seems particularly concerned about the man's somewhat gaudy socks.

I had smuggled some medicinal herb into Ireland. I was worried about getting through customs - this was my first trip abroad - but two sleepy customs officers yawned me through customs and out of the airport. At the time, I was a fairly heavy user, and I remember being quite stoned in Dingle, but enjoying the whole atmosphere tremendously.

I wrote this in my journal, July 8, after sitting out on the quay along Dingle Bay:

"great clouds engulfing, big night uproaring,
Dingle Bay ding a ling, ring ding a ling"

I rented a bike one day and rode out to the end of the peninsula. From there one can see the now abandoned island of Great Blasket. It maintains a forlorn beauty, as does the entire peninsula.

Evening on a Dingle side street.

Walking down the road. My memory of hedge-lined roads like this one is strong. I don't know who the fellow traveler was, but I wish him well.

I had a rail/bus pass which allowed me unlimited travel, but I also hitchhiked when necessary. On July 2, a sports car picked me and I was pleased to be in the company of one Vinnie Reddin, who introduced himself as "the number 2 race car driver in Ireland." He even gave me a picture of himself driving in a race. Good man, Vinnie. Thanks for the lift. Wonder who was number 1?

One night I wrote in my journal:

walking dead drunk down the Irish countryside
walking dead drunk down the Irish countryside
if the people I meet have red hair and blue eyes
I'm too drunk to care
too drunk to try
to see their red hair
and blue eyes

I left Dingle on July 9, heading south for County Cork, O'Donovan country.

County Clare, Ireland, July 1979

In 1979, I packed my bags and took a four-week journey through Ireland on my own. I traveled throughout the country by rail, bus and foot. It was a marvelous trip - I met many interesting and helpful people and saw magical things.

I shot many rolls of color slides that trip, using an old 1951 Leica camera that I treasured. Sadly, it was stolen the next year during a burglary, or I would still have it.

During the first part of my trip, I happened to spend several days at Spanish Point, just outside the County Clare town of Miltown Malby. As it so happened, the Willie Clancy Summer Festival of traditional Irish music was taking place at the time. So I would walk the rural paths from Spanish Point to Miltown Malby, enjoy the hospitality, liquid refreshment, and music in the pubs, them wander back home happily but a bit unsteadily.

I'm going through old slides and converting some to digital, and will post interesting ones from time to time. This batch was shot in July, 1979 in and around the town of Miltown Malby and Spanish Point, which is right on the western edge of Ireland. Spanish Point is so named because legend has it that survivors of the ill-fated Spanish Armada washed ashore here as the remaining ships plodded their way around the British Isles on their way back to Spain in utter defeat.