Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Malasada Day, or Pączki Day — whatever you call it, today is the last day before Lent begins. In Ireland, it is Pancake Tuesday!
24 February 2009
Pancake Tuesday!
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20 February 2009
Wexford coast: first the Bakkers, now peril from the seas
Last weekend, Anita and I drove through one of the few regions of Ireland we had not yet visited: the Sunny Southeast. In February, County Wexford is not so sunny, but it was a worthwhile trip nonetheless. Naturally, we posted a photoset of our trip for you.
I rushed this set of photos to the blog because some of the places we visited are under threat from a large oil slick in the Irish Sea. (more…)
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16 February 2009
First Signs of Spring in Dublin
Sunday was gorgeous: warm and partly sunny. Today was almost as nice. It feels like spring!
In some places, robins are a sign of spring. In others, the heavens are the guide.
Here in Dublin, we know it’s spring when the flocks of tour buses take to the streets. (more…)
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13 February 2009
This Week in the Tumblr
Alert readers have noticed the regular updates to this blog’s sidebar: daily photos, news stories from Ireland and all over the world, and other items of general interest. If you’d like to see Tumblr entries in full (or subscribe to their RSS feed), go to the website, bugle.tumblr.com.
This week’s tumblr included these items, and more:
(more…)
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6 February 2009
Yes we have winter in Dublin
If you follow the Tumblr photos in the sidebar of this blog, then you’ve seen a few shots of the snow in Dublin this week. If you’ve visited the Bugle B&B, then you know that there’s a desolate mountain range just south of Dublin. It’s one of my favourite places in Ireland.
It’s still fascinating to this child of the Corn Belt that such an inhospitable area is so close to Dublin, just a few kilometres beyond the suburbs. You can take the urban bus system into the Wicklow Mountains. If you research hillwalking in County Wicklow on the internet, you’ll see plenty of warnings about weather conditions. Those warnings resonated with my wariness of mountainous terrain. And I was not long in Ireland before I saw how quickly a sunny walk along a little trail can turn into a beating administered by a cold, wet wind followed by rain and flooding creeks.
This week, those warnings were completely vindicated, (more…)
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3 February 2009
Ninetieth Anniversary of The First Dáil Éireann
The Bugle is a bit tardy in reporting the 90th anniversary of the first independent parliament of Ireland. The celebrations in Dublin were understated and mostly for the political elite, but the pivotal moment, ninety years ago, is too important to let pass.
The idea of forming a government apart from the British Parliament was promoted for 15 years by Arthur Griffith, the founder of Sinn Féin. According to Michael Laffan of the Irish Times, many Irish voters at the time saw their representatives at British Parliament as lobbyists who could occasionally bring home pork projects (to put it in American terms). Why give up those lobbyists for the sake of an improbable ideal?
The equation changed when the three years after the Easter Rising added new factors. (more…)
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2 February 2009
Joyce’s Birthday today!
James Joyce was born in Dublin on this day in 1882. In honour of one of Ireland’s greatest writers, I set out to find his birthplace. (more…)
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30 January 2009
Donegal: first us, now the Rally
Last weekend,
we toured the Donegal region of Ireland, the northwest corner of Ireland. (Highlighted in blue here; thanks to the creators on the Wikimedia Commons.)
It was quiet in Donegal; some B&Bs and a few tourist sites were closed until late spring. That befits the weather of Donegal, which is hardly welcoming for snowbirds. We had an outstanding weekend, in part due to the quiet season.
This weekend will not be quiet for that region, as the World Rally Championship kicks off today on some of the very same roads that Anita drove one week ago. (more…)
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21 January 2009
20 January 2009
Irish Independence: “One Big Union”
Today marks 100 years since the organisation of a labour union that played a crucial role in Irish independence. On 20 January 1909, union cards were issued to the first members of the Irish Transport Worker’s Union. Those members’ commitment would help bring Ireland to the Easter Rising of 1916. In a real way, they made possible tomorrow’s celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the First Dáil Éireann. (more…)
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