Ireland's Ancient East - A day in Carlingford
Carlingford is known all over Ireland for two things: oysters and especially extravagant bachelor parties. Not a big fan of both, the small town of County Luth, right on the border with Northern Ireland, still became one of my favorite places on our trip through Ireland's Ancient East. Between green hills, old castle walls and oyster restaurants, there are colorful streets, charming pubs and nice shops with unique characters. And there are also fabulous beings. Allegedly.
Carlingford and the last Leprechauns
Some people believe in fairies, some in the fact that a huge monster in a Scottish lake is bustling, and some are firmly convinced that at the end of the rainbow a small man with a green suit and a box of gold sits. The Leprechauns are firmly anchored in mythology in Ireland and Carlingford seems to be somehow the epicenter of the sightings. Finally, a green jacket full of gold with a tiny skeleton was found in the late 1980s, and weeks later a resident of the city met a leprechaun in the forest. Why would there be so few of them, he asked. "Because people stopped believing in us" was the answer of the little red-haired person.
Leprechaun Hunts are still held annually in April and the remains of the found jacket and bones can be admired in the local pub. But where the pieces of gold are, no one really wants to know.
Carlingford Design House by Garrett Mallon
On my walk through the small town I discovered a small pretty shop with all sorts of beautiful crafts, designer items and jewelery. From the owner of the Carlingford Design House I learned that about 50 local designers offer their products here. These include modern pottery, accessories from costume designers of the Game of Thrones series, as well as art prints and photographs with motifs from the region. Garrett Mallon himself is goldsmith and is always inspired by the history and mythology of his home country. It shows me minimalistic rings, which are modeled by the lighthouses typical for this coastal section, amulets with modern versions of Celtic symbols and standing stone earrings. He is especially proud of a competition, A kind of modern version of the druid ring from which an antler is placed. "This is some bling for the modern day rapper, who needs to make himself bigger than life," he explains laughing. I would have been able to listen to Garrett's stories for hours, because of whom the native of Northern Ireland has some. Definitely one of the special encounters of my trip.
Water sports with the Carlingford Adventure Center
"Okay, now its your turn," Tom said, standing up from the driver's seat of his speedboat. My heart slid down 3 floors and I looked at him irritated. As? I should drive? Well, I could have guessed what was going on when he told us about two minutes earlier when he felt 80 things like driving the part. And now I was sitting there and had no choice but to sit down and gas. "Faster! Faster! "He shouted at me from the side toward the driver. My knees were trembling and yet it was all just animal fun. "Left! Right! Faster! ". I did as I commanded and we thundered over the waves in the Affenzahn.
Actually, it should be for me in the afternoon at the Carlingford Adventrue Center to go kayaking. But the idea of squeezing me on this rather fresh day into a neoprene suit and paddling through ice-cold water, stinking against the offer with the speedboat over the waves to snap. But not all of us had as much fun on our spurt tour as I can see on the picture.
Irish coffee and live music at PJ O'Hares
What is the best way to help with excess adrenaline after a speedboat trip? Right, a decent Guinness. The best thing to do is to visit the PJ O'Hares, the pub of the famous Leprechaunjacker. The burgers and fish and chips are fantastic, there is mostly live music and who asks nicely, the bartender John also explains exactly how to make an Irish coffee. If, just as I do, you drink this, you will surely find "Irish Rover" in the middle of the evening, singing, clapping and humming in the middle of pure Irish from all generations. We had to dance at the end of the evening out of the shop, otherwise we would have never reached the exit and on the way to the hotel ran us but no Leprechaun, but a wild fox on the way.