Greetings from County Cork Ireland. I’ve spent the last few days with the Niceville high school chorus on their spring break concert tour. We began last Sunday in Dublin with a sightseeing tour and walk about town. They presented a fantastic concert in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Monday afternoon. The choir, under the direction of Michael Dye, is traveling with about 50 singers between 15 and 18 years old.
Since leaving Dublin, we’ve had beautiful weather and a great time in the outdoors at Glendalough, located in the Wicklow Mountains. From there we arrived in Kilkenny, visited Waterford, and now set up for the night in Cork.
Blarney Castle was a “must see” destination for the group. I believe most of the students and many of the chaperones climbed the castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. Actually it takes a bit of doing, because there are 138 small spiral steps to the top and then you have to lay down on your back, scoot out beyond the wall, and rise up to kiss the stone that countless others have laid their lips on in the past hour. I didn’t hear a single one of them complain and believe you me they were gabbing about it all afternoon.
Cork City is not really a tourist destination, it’s a real-life, lived-in Irish town. Surrounded by the River Lee, its downtown commercial zone is loaded with Irish stores, an indoor food and vegetable market, and lots of local people carrying on business and doing their shopping. This town of 300,000 is Ireland’s second-largest and actually, I think it’s more “Irish” than Dublin.
Watch the video of Michael Dye, Niceville Chorus Director, kissing the Blarney Stone.
Slán,
