Christmas and the New Year in Ireland with chauffeurdrive

The old O'Donoghue castle in Killarney known as Ross Castle. This is situated on the the shore at Lough Leane just on the suburbs of the town itself. Do not confuse this with the Ross Lake Hotel as some people think that they will actually bestaying in this castle when they are viewing accommodation choices. This castle does not provide any such accommodation and is owned by the National Heritage Trust. You can however visit the castle and enjoy daily tours which are well worth considering.

A sad reminder of bygone days as this once proud fishing trawler lies beached in the harbour in Dingle.
Another sad sight.....the shell of a Currach (pronounced Curr-----uck), the traditional small fishing boat used by the fishermen on the West Coast of Ireland. All that remains are the frail timber laths which were the frame of the boat which was then covered with canvas and then coated in tar or pitch to waterproof it. They were an extremely light boat and would normally carry two or three men. When properly handled they were ideal for the wild conditions at sea as these boats rode the waves with ease.

A Winters sky over the hills and lakes of Killarney. Ireland is always beautiful regardless of the weather.

Christmas has passed once again, and i did enjoy my time with family and friends. It can be a difficult time for many people and a time when we cannot help but look back at times gone by and the people who are now no longer with us. This is a time when things like the pictures i have included above bring me back to the old days, to many happy times along with some sad memories. Like the old trawler in Dingle, the decaying currach in Connemara, time takes its toll on all of our lives. We cannot help but look on the year gone by without mixed feelings, but we can look forward with hope to the New Year and pray that we will do our best to make it as good as we can for ourselves and for others in the full knowledge that we have all seen tough times in the past, and yet survived.
God is good.

Happy New Year to all my family and dear friends.

My dear friend Cliff standing beside the bronze figures of Annie Moore and her two little brothers on the quayside at the port of Cobh in Cork. It was from here that they left for the New World in 1892 and became the first three people to register at Ellis Island. Annie was only fifteen years of age and it is hard to imagine just how difficult it must have been for her with the responsibility of minding her two little brothers on such a journey into the unknown. Vast numbers of our Irish ancestors had embarked from Cobh in the years preceding this and many of them were never heard of again, sadly to say. Many however did stay in touch and at this time of the year sent welcome parcels of gifts home, clothing especially, along with some dollars for their parents. Needless to say this was a great help to the poverty stricken people of Ireland.
Now once again we have many people leaving our country to find employment abroad and they will be sadly missed at home this Christmas. To all of them we send our best wishes and ensure them of our prayers at this special time. Let us hope and pray that we can get this country back on track once again so that we can bring them all home in the not too distant future. To those of you in the USA who want to help bring this about, make sure that you support this cause by buying Irish where you can. We do produce the best of many different products and, contributing in this way, you will help to create new jobs here in Ireland.
Horse breeding and horse racing are major businesses in Ireland and our horses are second to none and renowned for their quality the world over. The Christmas race meeting at Leopardstown, where there will be four days of fantastic steeplechase and hurdle(over the jumps) racing over the fences,begins on St Stephens day. We do not use the term "Boxing Day" here as the day after Christmas is the feast of the martyr Saint Stephen. Thousands of people will forget all about the recession as they head for the racecourse hoping to make a fortune. One way or another they will have a great time.
A cold Kinvara (my own town) on a Winters evening.

It may be cold, but that will not affect the Christmas celebrations as we leave all our cares behind and celebrate this special time of the year by giving thanks for all that we have, for the dear friends we have in foreign lands, family members and old and new friends, for the new friends we will make in the coming year, as we look forward with renewed hope, as our ancestors did many years ago when they left our shores with nothing to lose.
I send all my love and best wishes to all my own family members in the USA and to the many wonderful friends i have had the good fortune to meet through my business. To those coming to me in the coming year i send a "Cead Mile Failte" , a hundred thousand welcomes, and just want you to know that i am looking forward to showing you this wonderful country which never needed money growing trees to make it beautiful. I am fortunate to be in the position to do what i do and i honestly believe that,if ytou are in the position where you can afford to come and see Ireland for yourselves, then "get on your bike" and make it soon.
To you i can only say, "what are you waiting for? "
If i can help in any way just contact me.

dovechauffeurdrive@gmail.com

Happy Christmas, and may the New Year be kind to you all.

Your friend in Ireland
Dave

Christmas in Ireland with chauffeurdrive

The doorway into the Portal Tomb at Newgrange. Note the box shaped opening over the door. This is the opening through which the suns rays penetrate all the way through the narrow passageway right to the heart of the tomb during this week's Winter Solstice. It is hard to imagine just how people five thousand years ago had the expertise to calculate all the nescessary angles to allow for this. The actual building of this huge mound with all of its colossal boulders which had to be transported to the top of this hill is also amazing. Some of the huge white rocks guarding the entrance had to be brought all the way from county Wicklow many miles south of here.
The picture of this woman descending from the top of the mound gives you some idea of the size of the tomb.
Now you can get an even better idea of how magnificent this structure is. In this picture you can also see the white stone that was brought from Wicklow.

Christmas week is now upon us and the excitement of it all is now begining to show, especially amongst the children. Recession or no recession, Santa has to appear. Needless to say, i am taking it easy right now and glad of the rest. My work at this point in time is mainly dealing with enquiries so if you are planning an Irish holiday and thinking about chauffeurdrive/car and driver, then just let me know.
I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a New Year full of hope and good health

Chauffeurdrive Vacations in Ireland for 2012

This photo was taken when our weather was far more clement than it is right now. There are no clouds like Irish clouds, and when you have that lovely blue background, they really are at their best.
This photo is blurred, i am afraid, but i had to post it as i took it to show you this little boat all lit up in our Kinvara harbour for the Christmas.
What's your hurry? These guys will not be rushed, and who can blame them, as they are making their way home to be milked in the evening. This is not an uncommon sight on rural Irish roads.
Always have your camera at the ready when you are in Ireland
Nice....but cold right now. December has been really wild and wet, and cold, but time is moving on and it is hard to believe that in another week our days will begin to get longer again. Roll on the Spring.
Jack frost has returned, as you can see from my pony's field. The house in the background is my neighbours. This is an farmhouse more than three hundred years old.

Christmas is almost upon us and this weekend will see the real begining of the mad rush to get all the presents and Christmas shopping done. It is really the last chance for many people who will be working during the coming week as leaving it to the last minute would not be very wise.
It will not be an easy time for those who are in dire financial straights, and there are many of those this year unfortunately. This is a time to consider making donations, even small ones, to all those organizations who do their best to help those in need at this time of the year. Every little helps.

Chauffeurdrive Vacation in the West of Ireland

A West of Ireland rainbow
The lovely harbour at Roundstone in Connemara
The majestic Cliffs of Moher
Slea Head on Dingle, County Kerry
My favourite ruined house at Slea Head
Kate and Kerry, and myself ,at Ladies View on the Ring of Kerry
The Old fort guarding the entrance to Kinsale harbour
A High Cross at Clommacnoise with the old cathedral in the background
One of the old ruined churches at Clonmacnoise
The beautiful Cobh Cathedral at the entrance to Cork harbour.


I was born and reared in the West of Ireland and i suppose that you could say that i am therefore bound to say that this is the most beautiful part of the country, but i honestly feel, that even if i had been born anywhere else, i would have fallen in love with our western seaboard one way or another
If you want scenery, mountains,lakes, boglands, rivers, magnificent rough and rugged coastlines, then this is the place to come to . I was never a city person, i love the countryside, the sea, the mountains and valleys, the peace and quiet of our never over populated west, the small towns, the country pubs and restaurants, the music, and the friendly country people. This is where i am at home and at peace. This where i like to bring my clients, and where many of my clients want me to bring them. From County Cork to Kerry, from Clare to Galway, from Mayo to Sligo and Donegal, this is where the air is fresh and clear, the land of showers and rainbows, of castles and ancient churches and ring forts, of islands and cliffs. Come and see it for yourself and let me show you around the land i love.
If you are planning on coming in 2012, now is the time to make your enquiries. Write to me at

dovechauffeurdrive@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Touring West of Ireland with private driver

They say that, when the trees are loaded with berries, we are in for a very hard and cold Winter as nature provides all this extra food for the birds to store away for the cold days ahead. This lovely holly bush is heavily laden with gorgeous berries, and it adds to the Christmas feel that is already in the air.That theory may very well be true as right now we appear to be gradually entering a long cold spell and it looks set to get worse. November was a very mild and kind month this year but December has seen a change as first of all we experienced wild and wet weather, and right now, eventhough the wind and rain are still with us, it has begun to turn bitterly cold. Today we saw the first of the sleet and the forecast for the next few days is more of the same with a continuing gradual decline in temperatures with snow on high ground. We could be looking at a white Christmas this year.

This scene is a reminder of warmer days. I took this photograph during the Summer in Dingle harbour as i enjoyed a boat chase around the bay after Fungi the dolphin. He spends all of his time here in the bay and is probably the most popular resident in Dingle, and has been for almost thirty years now. The little lady sitting on her Mom's lap was fascinated by this guy and, if she had her way, she would have brought him home with her. If you do get to Dingle i would highly recommend taking a trip on one of the boats that take you on this most entertaining chase, and Fungi always appears. He is so reliable that the operators will return your money if he does not show. I have never had to ask for it back, and i have taken this trip on more than one occassion. It is great fun.

So much to see, and all of it beautiful.....toss a coin? This sign post, one of many such signposts at a crossroads in Ireland, is located at Maam in the Maam valley in Connemara. Some of the signs are in Irish (Gaelic) and you can make out Cong, Maam Cross, Leenane, before needing a local to translate the rest for you.

These bushes are Whitethorn and are very common in the area i live in. The traditional Blackthorn walking stick was made from the branches of the Whitethorn tree. It was much more than a walking stick as it had a lot of spikey protrusions all the way along the shaft which would help the owner to deliver a very damaging blow to anybody who was looking for trouble. They did make lovely and decorative walking sticks when they were crafted and varnished to a glossy shining finish. I know....i have one myself and i enjoy my walks with my trusty Blackthorn stick.

The Christmas spirit has appeared as people begin to get out and about hunting for their Christmas shopping. The recession will not kill Christmas in Ireland as we have always let ourselves go at this special time with the attitude that tomorrow will look after itself. Christmas in Ireland is like Christmas nowhere else as it begins in early December and lasts right through to the New Year. We do know how to celebrate in this country, and long may it last. I always find it strange when i hear people talking about having Christmas day off and then going back to work the following day, or maybe two days afterwards. In Ireland most people have at the very least a few days off with many having at least a week. You would not want to be looking for a plumber or an electrician as all the trades are on holidays. It is only in recent years that shops are open shortly after Christmas and it is not that long ago when people stocked up their provisions as there was nowhere open to buy the basic everyday items for a few days. Eventhough it has changed, we still celebrate with abandon for a generous few days so, if you are free, then Ireland at Christmas is a great place to be.
January will see a surge in enquiries as usual so my advice to anyone who may be thinking about an Irish holiday is to get a move on and and try to beat the rush. After all, it is always Christmas in Ireland.