March 15, 2018 - Rained out in Killarney and Historic Irish Women & The Women's Museum of Ireland

Tanya's Daily Scoop
Covering the West Coast & the World
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: KILLARNEY, IRELAND

Rained out in Killarney

GREETINGS once again from Ireland!
The Emerald Isle and rightfully so...it's been raining quite a bit!!
​
And we sure did get SOAKED! 

Since the day was considered by the locals as TORRENTIAL and not a good day for a hike but a good day for a Guinness, we did not go on the hike to and through the Gap of Dunloe as planned.

In fact our boat ride from Ross Castle to Lord Brandon's Cottage was cancelled. Boo.
​
Rather disappointing, but totally understandable.
​

Heading down to breakfast (c)travelincousins.com

After a good ol' Irish brekkie I decided that we should take a wee little trek (1.5 mi) to Muckross House and Gardens.

Across the street from our lovely hotel (c)travelincousins.com

Jaunting Car Horse munching away (c)travelincousins.com

Johnny O'Leary statue (c)travelincousins.com

Killarney Looking Good (c)travelincousins.com

​That also did not go quite as planned...

Let's just say that Cosette had to throw her umbrella in the trash from being so badly damaged from the winds.  

Dominic on the other hand had a bit of a freak out session from being way too uncomfortable and well my trusty cute rain boots (which were just complimented on during breakfast) are leaking and sadly gonna be left behind in Ireland. 

Cosette fighting the wind (c)travelincousins.com

Giving up on using the broken umbrella (c)travelincousins.com

Poor Dominic was MISRABLE (c)travelincousins.com

We got SOAKED!
​...Good thing I didn't straighten my hair. ​

Baaad Hair Day by Thomas Joseph

So baaaack to the hotel we went. 

Then after a drying off break and lunch break, I just couldn't hang out any longer...we were gonna make the most of this rainy day, even if the kibosh was put on our original plans.

​So off we went in attempts to salvage the day once again.   This time by a Jaunting Car tour.

Martin the horse and our driver (c)travelincousins.com

Standing in front of the Jaunting Car (c)travelincousins.com

Haunted Cottage (c)travelincousins.com

St. Mary's in the background (c)travelincousins.com

Hopping back into the covered Jaunting Car (c)travelincousins.com

In front of the Haunted Cottage (c)travelincousins.com

Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

In front of Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

Around Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

At Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

Killarney's Lower Lake (c)travelincousins.com

Around Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

Walking out of Ross Castle (c)travelincousins.com

Once back from our lovely and informative tour, we opted to stroll around town for a bit.

Walking around the Methodist Church (c)travelincousins.com

Storefronts in Kllarney (c)

Standing in front of the storefronts in Killarney (c)travelincousins.com

And one of the most enjoyed parts of the day was listening to the LIVE Irish Music at a place that just about everyone in town had recommended - the historic John M. Reidy. 

Rightfully so, because this place had fabulous toe tapping Irish music from quite talented local musicians.

We absolutely LOVED it!!

​Plus to our surprise they even had vegan items on the menu - one of them being a chocolate cake!!!

Music at John M. Reidy (c)travelincousins.com

Spirits at John M. Reidy (c)travelincousins.com

Dinner was then had once again at Khao and then back to our room to get some rest bend before our big day today!!

Evening lights in Killarney (c)travelincousins.com

Green lights for St. Patrick's Day? (c)travelincousins.com

Our after dinner stroll back to our hotel (c)travelincousins.com

I've spent the day driving around The Ring of Kerry and then to Waterford and now I'm quite pooped. I'll catch up with you about all of today's scoop in tomorrow's Daily. Now I need some zzz's.

​Until tomorrow,
-Travelin' Tanya

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs
​CURRENTLY ON LONG ISLAND 

Historic Irish Women and The Women's Museum of Ireland

I was just giggling at Tanya's recap of her washed out day in Killarney.  Wow, did I love Killarney!  And yes, it did rain a great deal when we were there a few years back.

In fact, our horse & buggy ride through the grounds of Muckross House was a wet one.  Here are a few memories from our visit.

Horse & Buggy Ride touring Muckross House in Ireland (c) travelincousins.com

Me and my loves at Muckross House (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Well, as promised yesterday, I'm here to tell you about Historic Irish Women.  This little diddy will cover both honoring "Irish History Month" AND "Women's History Month" at the same time :-)

Let's begin...

I started my research about Irish women who made a difference in all areas of life, and what I found was that basically, the same women came up over and over.  I thought, there is no point in me featuring women who are the subject of numerous articles which could be accessed easily on the internet  - I wanted to feature something different.

Then, I found a super cool resource! As a traveler, visiting museums is a regular part of the passion.  A museum generally consists of a building, which contains information and artifacts within it...an actual location.

However, in the case of my "find" - the "Women's Museum of Ireland" - this museum is a virtual one!

The museum was founded in 2012 and its mission is to promote the formal recognition of the role of women in Irish history as well as the role of Irish women abroad. 

Although The Women’s Museum of Ireland currently has no physical location and exists online as a virtual museum, it does "host" temporary pop-up exhibitions and events, details of which can be found on their blog.

 Historic Irish Women and the Women's Museum of Ireland

Virtual Museum

The Museum features some extraordinary Irish women, and I found myself completely absorbed in the compelling 'exhibits,' reading into the wee hours of the night.  I was filled with both pride and sadness while meticulously "going through" each exhibit.

Feeing a sense of pride in these women who shared my gender and had the strength and courage to persevere in following their vision and life purpose to achieve and accomplish the goals they set forth for themselves. 

However, at the same time, I was saddened to learn of the hurdles they had to face because they were women in a male dominated and controlled world.

And my respect was multiplied knowing that they refused to blindly accept the external expectations and  limitations of society and forge forward!

There are far too many accomplished women featured in the Women's Museum of Ireland, so I chose to feature five considering this is a daily blog and not a full article.  

​I highly recommend visiting the museum by Clicking Here or the above link or the Museum's logo image above.

(photo credit: Women's Museum of Ireland - courtesy Rosemary Raughter)

1. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Le Blond
(1860 - 1934)
Alpinist, Photographer and Author

Inheriting her family's estate at age eleven, Lizzie began an exciting life of travel and climbing by her late teens.  Writing about her climbs in Switzerland and the Norwegian Arctic, she helped bring the formerly male pastime of climbing into focus as a sport for women by her own demonstration.

Lizzie was innovative in choosing to specialize in winter climbing, claiming several first ascents and popularizing the activity in the process.  Here photographs were included in her own and others’ publications, and she was the world’s first mountain filmmaker as well as one of the first female filmmakers.

In her later life, she continued traveling, having toured China, Korea and Japan, and published her memoirs.
​

2. Brigid Lyons Thornton

Rebel, Soldier and Doctor

Brigid became the only female to ever be commissioned as an officer in the new Irish Army. She later went on to become a leading figure in the fight against tuberculosis amongst the poor in Ireland, carrying out research in Nice and Switzerland, and pioneering the ‘BCG’ vaccination scheme in the 1950s, practically ridding Ireland of tuberculosis. Brigid’s role in these diverse, traditionally male-dominated fields certainly was extraordinary, even daring, for a time when women were to be seen and not heard.

​

(photo credit: Women's Museum of Ireland - courtesy of J.M. Bruce/G.S. Leslie Collection)

3. Lilian Bland
(1878-1971)
Pioneering Aviatrix

Years before America's Amelia Earhart, Lilian Bland flew Ireland’s first powered biplane, and was the first woman in the world to design, build and fly an airplane.  

​Having established herself as a sports journalist and press photographer for London newspapers by the year 1908, Lilian spent a great deal of time watching and photographing the seagulls maneuvering in the skies above, which was an influential factor in her passion for aviation.

​

(photo credit: Women's Museum of Ireland)

4. Kate O'Brien
(1897- 1974)
Writer, Wanderer, Revolutionary

O'Brien's distinguished writing career spans a number of genres including plays, novels, short fiction, travel writing and journalism. During her life, she traveled widely, living in Limerick, London, and other European cities as well as in the USA. These experiences – in particular, her time in Spain and her response to the Spanish Civil War – influenced O’Brien’s work in important ways. 

O’Brien’s work is also a form of activist fiction in that it promotes progressive politics and sexual liberation. For example, she wrote about lesbianism, which was very progressive during her time. Her visions of sexual and political freedom that filled her writings continue to hold the potential to enact more inclusive concepts of gender and national identity in Irish society.

​

(photo credit: Women's Museum of Ireland)

5. Patricia Horne
Irish Doctor in Africa

Patricia Horne is an Irish medical doctor and surgeon who worked in Nigeria during in the 1950s, at one of several medical missionary hospitals managed by Irish Catholic religious orders.

The daughter of a doctor, she became the sole doctor in the missionary hospital, working seven days a week under harsh conditions. The major diseases that Horne treated in Africa were tuberculosis and yaws. 

Later in life, after living back in Ireland for many years, Horne still felt the call of Africa and headed off to work in Zambia for six years after retiring age in Ireland. Here she found that the battlefront of disease had changed from yaws and tuberculosis to AIDS.

I do wish there was an actual location for this museum!  Funny little anecdote -- Yesterday I was so excited when I found the Women's Museum of Ireland, that before I realized it was a virtual museum, I sent off a quick email to Tanya and told her she had to get to Trinity College during her stay in Dublin - where the museum was originally and temporarily houses - to see the museum.

As I read further, I realized she could not "visit" it in the 3-D, but only after Tanya wrote me back "I'll try to squeeze it in," to which I replied - "Sorry, it's a virtual museum LOL!".


​Well, my dear peeps, hope you enjoyed reading about these remarkable women!!

-E
xoxo