It’s been a while since I added a new post to my blog so I figured I’d pull out another shot from Ireland. This scene isn’t exactly authentic though; it was taken in Folk Park which is an attraction at Bunratty Castle that is set up to show the different styles of Irish dwellings from the 19th century. We were given the tour by Antoin (Tony) MacGabhann (originally of Cavan, now living near Dublin) whom I had had the pleasure of meeting in the States a few years prior when he was passing through to do a fiddle concert. One of the kindest and most generous men I’ve met. He insisted on paying our fee to visit the park and proceeded to give us a tour that was, I’m sure, better than the park staff could’ve given, imparting more historical knowledge than I could even remember. I was amazed at how deep Tony’s knowledge of his country’s history ran. He even described to me where my name comes from (and mine is not a terribly common one, I didn’t even expect him to recognize it as Irish). The time we spent with Tony was special. After the tour we went back to the hotel to play some tunes with Tony and Flo’s dad, Martin Fahy.
Though the park is staged, its buildings were constructed based on historical documentation and does feature some authentic original structures which were moved from other parts of the country to be a part of the exhibit. I thought this shot was interesting enough to post. Oh, and Mr. MacGabhann tells me the bicycles staged around the park were authentic.