Water of LIFE

This painting is an 11x14 mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas. It's currently hanging in the "Abundant Joy" art exhibit in the VineArts Gallery. I created it by using acrylics, images & words printed on paper, molding paste, and memories of my time frolicking through the rugged celtic landscape of Ireland. The waterfall image was from a photo I had taken in the Connemarra in the west. The peat colored water flowed over & around the rocks as if out of nowhere giving life to land and it's people.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

SLAINTE!

slideshow of my trip

you can scroll over any of the photos in this slideshow to read the captions to them.

snapshots

i made a wee muvee slideshow of some of my photos from the trip. it's set to the song "Fisherman's Blues" by the Young Dubliners (originally recorded by the Dubliners). hope you enjoy. Slainte!

back Stateside

well, i'm back stateside now.

after being up 30 hours straight (due to the travel time & my body being on Ireland time, therefore having me wide awake when everyone else in the US was sleeping) i only got 4 hours of sleep last night (well, more like earlier this morning). it will take me a few days to fully acclamate back to my own time zone and get back into my routine (or figure out what that even looks like now).

i haven't had vertigo yet...i usually do after a trip like this. flying west (the opposite way of the rotation of the earth) from the isles to the States over several time zones creates chaos with my equilibrium. but i am feeling a bit numb and foggy at the moment.

i'm currently sitting in my comfy chair in my living room at home in Idaho and have been looking through the photos i took over the past 4 weeks while traveling throughout Ireland. it's kind of crazy but i look at the photos and it feels surreal...wasn't it just yesterday that i woke up in Dublin? yes, that's me in that picture standing on those rocks by the Celtic Sea. is the trip really over?

it's going to take awhile for me to process all that i experienced over the last month. going through photos, re-reading my journal, beginning to re-paint some of the wee paintings i started, telling stories to friends and family, and reminescing with my traveling companions. i may continue to blog here off and on as i remember moments and want to tell stories of experiences on the emerald isle and share more photos with you. so stay tuned.

this trip may be over but the longing in my heart for those wee green isles across the sea will never end.

be still

light a candle: say a prayer

during the last 4 days of my trip i was in the fair city of Dublin. i had the wonderful privledge of visiting the beautiful medieval cathedrals of St. Patrick's and Christ Church.

both churches were breathtaking in their vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, gothic arches, colorful tiles, and peaceful alcoves. being Anglican myself, i felt very much at home in both of these churches and found myself drawn to the prayer chapels to light a candle and say some prayers.

i stayed longer at Christ Church for the Evensong service. angelic melodious song was lifted high and wafted throughout the church from the choir and the pipe organ. ahhhhhhhh it was so fantastic! to think that i was in a service in a church that was centuries old singing hymns to glorify God...the only thing that could've made it a perfect experience was if it had been a Eucharist service and if they would've had incense burning (i love the smell of frankinscense billowing from the censors).

God is good.

sketching & painting along the way

though i've traveled the States and overseas many times and even lived in Scotland long term, i've never really taken the opportunity to do plein aire artwork (sketching & painting outside). 

as i blogged earlier...this time is different. i have been taking brief moments here and there to stop, sit down on a fort wall or a rock in the middle of a river or a large stone near a cairn or a rock wall in a monastery and take out my wee art bag (which includes a wee sketchbook, some wee pencils,a few wee charcoals, a wee travel watercolor set, and a wee cloth)...so i can be creative in the midst of the beautiful scenery that i've been exploring.  

this particular sketch/watercolor is of a scene at the monastic site at Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains in the east of Ireland (south of Dublin). it's one of my favorite spots in all of Ireland and i have to say that it was a wonderful feeling to be in the middle of such a beautiful valley with such rich Christian history surrounding me. 

i don't consider myself a watercolorist (in fact i've only recently learned how to use them) but i am having a lot of fun painting with them as i travel. i certainly am gaining tons of inspiration and am looking forward to returning to my studio in Idaho to paint these scenes on a large scale in oil...and also have a go at creating some abstract collage expressionist paintings from these ancient and spiritual themes. i can tell that this trip has been and is exactly what i've needed to truly breakthrough the artist block i was experiencing earlier in the year. 

i have really felt God's presence here in Ireland and i've been enjoying my quiet and artistic times with Him as i explore, create, and learn.

the otherworld

standing stones & ogham stones:

it's crazy...i've seen tons of standing stones and many of them are just sitting in the middle of a farmers field somewhere. each time we see one, my friends and i look at each other and ask, "i wonder what happened there?" cuz standing stones were typically meant as a memorial of something that happened. but most of the stones have no markings or signs to educate the explorer...so it all becomes a mystery. i've also been able to see a many ogham stones that have carvings on them (i wrote about the Gallarus Oratory and the stones there in an earlier blog). 

dolmens & cairns:

some of my favorite things to see and experience here are the passage tombs (burial tombs). many of these have celtic myths and legends around them. it is said that they were portals to the otherworld (Tir Na Nog) as i wrote about in an earlier blog. i got to see the Poulnaborne dolmen (pictured) out on the Burren over on the west coast of Ireland. and i gotta tell you that it was an amazing site out there. i've also gotten to see the cairns at Loughcrew (and actually climb inside one of them into the inner chamber). i've taken some fantastic photos of ancient artwork carved on stones. and i climbed the Hill of Tara (where the Lia Fial stands...the stone where the High Kings of Ireland were ceremonially crowned). i will also be returning to the cairns of Newgrange and Knowth (i saw them on my last trip to Ireland in 2005) and going to the Hill of Slane (where St. Patrick lit the Paschal fire challenging the High King and druids over on Tara). 

i am loving the rich ancient history that i'm walking and touching day after day.

play day on the sea

the aran islands: a trip to inish mor

today i traveled to the Isle of Inish Mor in the Aran Islands. what an amazing day! the weather was grand for a day out on the sea. after taking a coach from Galway Bay to the Connemarra (a region north of Galway filled with peat bogs and rock walls), we hopped a passenger ferry boat that took us to the isle of Inish Mor (the largest of the 3 Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland). Once on the isle we took a minibus tour of the island. 

The Aran Islands are known for their wool and also for their barren and rocky landscape where settlers of old lived in thatched roof cottages with rock walls to divide their land. The island was featured in the Irish film "The Secret of Roan Inish" (and yes, i did see the seals!) 

There are no trees on the Island of Inish Mor and it is home to one of the largest and oldest stone forts (dating back to 1500 BC). This fort sits on the edge of a steep cliff looking out upon the Atlantic Ocean. It was made "famous" in the 90's Irish film "The Matchmaker" with Jenine Garafalo.

i made the long pilgrimage up to the fort to see the breathtaking view...right up to the edge! all i can say is...WOW! and here's the picture to prove i did it.

all things monastic

so sorry for the long gap between posts...internet access has been a bit absent this last week (as i was staying in Tipperary Co. at a working farm called Fairymount Farm...lots of sheep & horses & dogs & chickens)...i've been going throughe email withdrawals (perhaps you have too?)...so sorry. i am currently in Galway (on the west coast) and i have WIFI access, so i will do my best to give you a recap of my tour of all things monastic.

so far on this trip i've been able to visit 11 monastic sites! PHEW! i know i will see many more before i leave the emerald isle...but let me list what i've seen so far for you....

*Glendalough, Co. Wicklow

*Gallarus Oratory, Co. Kerry

*The Black Abbey, Co. 

*The Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary

*Athessal Abbey, Co. Tipperary

*Quin Friary, Co. Clare

*Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly

*Ennis Friary, Co. Clare

*Kilmacduagh, Co. 

*Rock of Dunamase, Co. Laois

*Cong Abbey, Co. Mayo

most of them have some things that are similiar (structure and features) but all are unique in how they impressed upon my heart. 

i have been able to capture some amazing photos and have walked some beautifully old & historic floors and steps and i've been deeply touched. i've seen castles, cathedrals, abbeys, and round towers. i've viewed breathtaking arches, high crosses, frescos & cloisters. i think the thing that blows me away the most is how old many of these are...many from the 1100's. one in particular...The Rock of Cashel...a very large monastic site that sits on top of a hill...St. Patrick himself walked those corridors. it's knowing stuff like that that really excites me...and to actually be there touching the stones...it moves me to pray. 

as i said above, i'm in Galway...i just spent the evening at the Tis Coili pub listening to traditional Irish music being played while i sipped my pint of Guinness and tapped my feet. ahhhhh good good times. tomorrow i'm heading to the Aran Islands to Inish Mor via ferry boat. i will try to post again before leaving Galway.

sheep are silly creatures...(and other animal stories)

sheep:
while on this trip i've been able to see tons of sheep. i think sheep are silly creatures. they can be cute and fluffy, but they can also be dorky and a bit scruffy too. they seem to go wherever they think there's better grass (on top of mountains, over rock walls, into neighboring fields...which could mean crossing the narrow winding hilly road that yer traveling on at about 80km. one suicidal sheep in particular came maniacally charging towards our vehicle as we were heading to Tralee. that was a close shave! INSANE SHEEP!
dogs & cats:
i've also seen lots of dogs and cats on this trip too. just about every place we've stayed has had it's resident animals. The Old Barn at Dungarvan had 2 big black Irish Setters that loved to roll around on their backs so you could scratch their bellies and they would also wait by the door in the morning, in hopes that we'd let them in. there was also a gang of white ducks that would come quacking into the garden to noisilly announce their arrival. there was the calico cat at Ross Castle that sat near it's owners shop door waiting to be fed (for the 3rd time). then there was the adorable orange tabby cat that was taking a snooze by the rock wall at Gallarus Oratory. at the B&B in Dingle there was a cute little brown & white King Charles Spaniel (my mom loves those!) . Our current place (Fairymount Farm) has 4 black and white sheep dogs that love to play fetch (even with rocks!SILLY DOGS) and today at Kilkenny Castle there were 2 identical basset hounds that came barking up to me.
other animals:
cows and horses are also in abundance here on the emerald isle. i've even seen horses that were marked like black and white dairy cows! i had to look twice to be sure of what i was seeing. i've seen some magnificent looking horses here (my horse loving friends would enjoy the farm i'm staying at right now...they have working horses there).

that's just a taste...sorry no photo on this blog...i don't have internet access where i'm staying this week, so i'm at an internet cafe in Kilkenny (and unable to upload photos). i will try to add when i'm able. until next time...Slainte!

ancient stones

i've been in Ireland a week now and i've already been able to see several castles, abbeys, cathedrals, monastic sites, and megalithic standing stones. this place is truly a "candy store" for those of us who are fascinated by ancient history. 

today we toured the 15th century old Ross Castle in Killarney. built by one of the O'Donoghue Ross chieftans, it is located on the banks of Lough Leane, and is a typical example of an Irish chieftans stronghold during the middle ages. it's one of my favorite castles. this is where i learned the origin of the "cubby hole" (a wee shelf build in the wall near the fireplace to place the baby a baby to keep warm during cold nights)...and also the phrase "back against the wall" (due to the narrow spiral staircase built specifically to protect the castle, sword fights were to the attackers disadvantage). 

we also toured the Gallarus monastic site near Dingle. there is a church built somewhere between the 6th and 9th centuries in a very unique way built without mortar with corbel vaulting (almost a beehive look) and an ogham stone nearby (pronounced OHM) which had slash marks on them (an early medieval alphabet representing the old Irish language). we also saw a house that was built by St. Brendan (the Navigator). 

and just across the road from our B&B is a standing stone in someone's field. knowing that standing stones usually were placed by ancient peoples to signify something...the question i'm asking is...."hmmmmm, i wonder what happened there?" 

Ireland is a land of mystery.

a taste of Ireland

while in Ireland (or the UK) there are some foods that are a must eat for me. and with each bite i make memories.

fish n chips: take away

there is nothing like the taste of

 fresh fish battered and fried on top of greasy chips smothered in salt & vinegar in one hand and in the other, a cold orange Fanta. ahhhhh. this trip i got my first taste at a chippy called Mimmo's in the portside town of Cobh (the famous city where the Titanic & the Lusitania were docked before their tragic ends). i sat on a bench looking out upon the ocean, listened to the waves of the water & the cries of the seagulls, smelled the salty sea air, and munched on my fish n chips. Oh aye!

chicken curry & a pint: pub food

this is one of my favorites...the spicy Indian curry washed down by a freshly poured pint of ale. mmmmmmm it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. it's best savored inside of a local pub with lively Irish music being played. my first chance at this delicious fare on this trip was in a pub called O'Mearas in Killarney. i had a 1/2 pint of Smithwicks (or Smithy's as they say in Ireland) to go with my chicken curry. and the song was "Whiskey in the Jar" by the Dubliners piped in over the speakers. Oh there's nothing like it! 

irish stew, cheese toasties, chicken pasties, digestive biscuits, oat cakes, curly wurly bars, muesli cereal, cadbury fruit & nut: etc.

and obviously, there's much more to taste...there's always tomorrow. YUM!

and so it begins...

Hiya! 

I'm here. I'm really here in Ireland! Oh and it tis grand, that it tis!

Actually, I've been here a few days already. I apologize that this is my first chance at blogging. We've had problems with the internet at the place we're staying and we've not had the time to stop at an internet cafe as of yet. A dear friend of mine sent me off with a card that had a note in it from her that read "remember to be flexible and keep God first"...good counsel when traveling abroad. I will give you a synopsis of what I've experienced so far.

Day One: Flying.

I got up at 3:30am on Friday to be ready to get to the airport by 5:30am. Our first flight took off from Boise at 6:30am. Surprise of all surprises...I didn't get searched nor did I set any alarms off. That's a traveling miracle for me! We made it to Salt Lake with no problems and we had a couple of hours layover...where I ran into some friends from Boise who were traveling to Mexico, it was good to get some hugs and well wishes on the way. The flight to New York was long and then we had about a 5 hour layover at JFK where we met up with another of our traveling party. So 3 became 4. It was rainy and cold in NY but that was okay with me (I love that sort of weather). Our flight from NY was delayed about an hour. After traveling across the Atlantic we safely arrived in Dublin...but then we had to sit on the tarmack forever waiting for a gate. When we finally made into the terminal it was around 11am Saturday (4am Boise time). So all in all...technically we were up and traveling for 24 hrs, but it sure felt longer than that! 

Day Two: Driving.

Once we got into Dublin and retrieved our luggage and rental car, we began the trek south to Dungarvan. The weather was overcast and a bit rainy (Oh aye!). My friends are doing the driving(I'm too chicken to drive a standard stickshift where the driver sits on the right side of the car and drives on the left side of the road. Too scary for me (and if you know me well anyways, you'll know that I'm already directionally impaired and can't drive a stickshift). I'm happy to be a passenger. 

On our way we stopped in the Wicklow Mountains for some photo ops (rolling hills covered in heather, green everywhere, peat colored streams flowing over ancient rocks, sheep bleeting and the fog misting). I breathed in deeply and my heart was full. I took the picture you see of me...right there in the Wicklow Mountains. We drove through Waterford to get to Dungarvan. They are by the sea on the south east coast. We came to the place we're staying at this week....it's a farm out in the country and the barn has been remodeled into a B&B. It's self catering, so we had to go to the grocery store to buy food (we went to Lidl). Things in Ireland are a lot like they are in the UK (I mean as to language (hiya, cheers, toilet, take away, cooker, etc.), having radiator heating, seperate switches for the electrical outlets, the washer (& dryer) in the kitchen, seperate water heating&on/off box in the shower, toilet flush handles on the right side & the water coming from the front of the toilet when flushing, and types of food...tea, digestives (a type of cookie they call a biscuit that tastes like an animal cracker), muesli (granola type cereal), wee packaging of milk, butter, eggs, sugar, etc., and duvets with no top sheet on the bed. I was excited to be back amidst all of this culture...and to hear the accents again too. 

Day Three: By the Sea.

Sunday we got up and headed out after breakfast. We traveled a bit east along the coast to Hookhead Lighthouse. The Celtic Sea was right there...I climbed out upon some rocks and watched the waves roll in. I knelt down and touched the salty cold water...and teared up. We took a tour up into the oldest working lighthouse in the world (you heard me right!) It was really cool to learn about the history. Afterwards we went to Duncannon Fort (a military defense fort in the 12th century)...I found out that it was a location for the recent movie "The Count of Monte Cristo" staring Jim Caviezel. I believe it was the fort (and beach) at the beginning of the movie when they land at Elba where Napoleon was being held. Oh...and there was an art gallery inside one of the buildings and I talked to the guy there (ya know, art gallery shop talk...we exchanged info-as I gave him our new color VineArts Ministry brochure). We then went and found Dunbrody Abbey (which wasn't open when we arrived....so we just walked around the outside and took photos). It's an abbey ruin that is being restored. We also took a scenic drive up into the Comeragh Mountains before heading back to Dungarvan. 

Day Four: Coastal Cities.

Monday was our day to hit the cities of Cork, Kinsale, and Cobh. We had another lovely warm day as we drove. At Kinsale we toured the Charles Fort (another fort like Duncannon). I sat myself down on a rock wall and sketched and painted what I was seeing. It was a lovely relaxing moment for me. I really like my wee watercolor set. As we're traveling around I'm noticing a lot of young people (teens thru 30s) who are traveling too (backpacking and doing tours). Many are from other countries (Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Russian speaking countries, France). I really like being amidst all this diversity.

Driving in Ireland is a challenge. Tiny winding roads that are bumpy and have rock walls and hedges along both sides...so when cars pass by it can be a tight squeeze. It makes for fun stories. Like for example...we got lost. Oh aye, tis a grand day to be lost. And we found ourselves on a tiny road out in the country somewhere bookended by very tall bramble bushes...then a car was coming from the opposite direction...there was no room for two cars on the road side by side. My friend tried his best to back up and accidently got the car stuck into the left side of the hedge brambles. The local driver coming the opposite way actually drove alongside us...he was literally an inch away from our car (only because we were stuck into the bushes. After he cleared and went on his merry way...we (as in the 4 of us) got out to push the car out of the brambles (leaving many of us scratched and stinging...as there were stinging nettles in there!) 

In Cobh (pronounced Cove) I got to go through the Queenstown Story history museum. Cobh is where all the major ships left to go to America and other countries from during the 1800s (especially during the famine time). My great great grandfather Michael McCabe crossed to New York on the ship Gratitude on May 5, 1865 with his brother Edward, they left from Liverpool and would've stopped off in Cobh before sailing on to New York. Going through the museum and being there was an emotional experience for me. Afterwards we got fish n chips at a chippy called Mimmos and sat on the pier looking out over the water. It was a peaceful ending to our day. We headed back to Dungarvan.

Day Five: Wicklow Mountains.

Tuesday was a long day of driving to and from the Wicklow Mountains. We went up to Powerscourt Gardens (the largest gardens in Ireland) where we spent a few hours walking around taking photos and enjoying the elegant grounds. I sat on the steps and sketched and painted. Then we headed to one of my favorite spots in Ireland....Glendalough. Glendalough means The Valley of Two Lakes. It's where a monastic site was founded by St. Kevin. in the 6th Century. We took the tour and wandered through the old buildings and graves. There is a complete round tower still standing. I sat and sketched and painted. It was a very peaceful place to be at. I've painted Glendalough several times and I've been there once before. Oh...and we found a small labrynth outside on the grounds. So I took sometime to walk it (a labrynth is different from a maze. a labrynth has one way in and is a continuous path that leads to the center. then you leave going back the same way. It's used for contemplative purposes...for prayer and meditation). Then we drove to a place called Avoca where there are 2 rivers that converge. We went to the spot where Sir Thomas Moore wrote his famous poem "Meeting of the Waters". The spot really reminded me of the Boise River...and there was a hill with a large white cross on top of it overlooking the river! I was having dejavu for Boise! We continued on back to Dungarvan and didn't arrive till 10pm. 

Day Six: Rest.

Today we slept in and are taking things easy (do laundry, catch up on emails, blog, write in journals, nap, tidy up the place, and repack). Tomorrow we will leave Dungarvan and head west to Killarney where we will stay in a B&B for one night and then head to Dingle on Friday to stay for one night and then Saturday we head in land to Tipperary for a week stay at another self catering farm where we will do more day trips out from there. 

I don't know what our chances at internet will be from here. I will do my best to blog when I can. Thank you so much for your prayers and well wishes as we travel Ireland. I take you with me in my heart as we tour about. So until next time....

Slainte!

ready to go

life is good.

one week

i've got one week left till i head out on my journey across the pond to explore the wee emerald isle. soon i'll be walking the old cobblestone streets, frolicking upon the green heathered hills, touching weathered ancient stones, & tasting the salty sea air.

i just wanted to let you know, my dear friends, that i'll be thinking of you as i travel. thank you for keeping me in your prayers. with each step i take you with me.

have paints-will travel

my friends recently gave me a pocket travel watercolor set to take on the trip.

i'm really looking forward to doing some plein aire sketching and painting while traveling Ireland. i'm hoping to fill up my travel journal & sketchbook with notes, sketches, paintings, & mementos. Ireland will be a much needed muse for this artist.

i don't normally use watercolor as a medium. my chosen medium is oil, but for various reasons, it's not always practical for traveling. and i have always envisioned myself sitting somewhere foreign with a journal & sketchbook & paints, recording what i experience to savor over & over again once i'm no longer there.

so i've been doing some wee practice paintings...to get a feel for it...and i just know that my little paint set will become a dear friend along the way. i'll try to photograph some of the paintings that i create while in Ireland and post them here on the blog for you to see.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tir na nOg

"The Land of Eternal Youth or the Land of the Ever-Young, Tir na nOg is the most popular of the Otherworlds in Irish mythology. The hero and the guide travel together on magical horses, able to gallop on water, to the Blessed Realm and the hero spends some time there. It is considered a place beyond the edges of the map, located on an island far to the west of Ireland. It could be reached by either an arduous voyage or an invitation from one of its fairy residents (the Tuatha De Danaan). This otherworld is a place where sickness and death do not exist and time seems to stand still. It is a place of eternal youth and beauty. Music, strength, life and all pleasurable pursuits come together in a single place. Happiness lasts forever, no one wants for food or drink." *

"Saint Patrick in legend is to have been met by two ancient warriors, Caílte mac Rónáin and Oisín (regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland), during his evangelical travels. The two were once members of Fionn mac Cumhaill's (Finn McCool) warrior band the Fianna (mythical hunter-warriors), and somehow survived to Patrick's time. They traveled with the saint and told him their stories...one in which Osian is taken to Tir na nOg by a fairy woman named Niamh." *

As Saint Patrick's Day once again makes it's way to our calendars, I am reminded of the monastic Celtic Christianity and Padraig's faithful evangelism to the people of Ireland during a time in history when myth & legend mixed with daily life. I can't help but think of the mythical island of Tir na nOg on St. Patrick's Day...especially if you've ever been in an Irish pub on St. Paddy's night packed full of celebratory Irish (and those who wish they were Irish) like sardines in a tin. Live Irish music being played loud and strong. Everyone singing, drinking, dancing, laughing, enjoying life here and now with friends old & new in honor of loved ones and heroic figures from the past with a hope and promise for the future. That's right...having a pint with yer mates in an Irish pub on St. Paddy's is next to Tir na nOg! Life is good!

God bless ye...Slainte!

* quotes taken from Wikipedia: Tir na nOg, St. Patrick, Osian & "I Am Of Irelaunde: A Novel of Patrick and Osian" by Juilene Osborne-McKnight

my heart calls from across the sea...

oh to step foot once again on Celtic lands.

och bheith ceim coise aris eile ar Ceilteach thailte.

"The roll of the wind. As we sail across the water. The roll of the sea. As we're taken through the night. The dimming lamp of day. Leaves the crimson foam and spray. Across the face of the mighty Atlantic. In this cradle we found love. In our lifetimes we were broken. By the spirit we were turned. Here we touched the hope divine. And in the rapture and the charm. Came the tranquil and the calm. On the rage of the mighty Atlantic." -The Mighty Atlantic by Runrig

"On Lough Neagh's bank, as the fisherman strays, When the clear cold eve's declining, He sees the round towers of other days In the wave beneath him shining; Thus shall memory often, in dreams sublime, Catch a glimpse of the days that are over; Thus, sighing, look through the waves of time For the long faded glories they cover."-Thomas Moore

"We Irish pride ourselves as patriots and tell the beadroll of the valiant ones since Clontarf's sunset saw the Norsemen broken...Aye, and before that too we had our heroes but they were might fighters and victorious. The later men got nothing save defeat, hard transatlantic sidewalks or the scaffold...We Irish, vainer than tense Lucifer, are yet content with half-a-dozen turf, and cry our adoration for a bog, rejoicing in the rain that never ceases, and happy to stride over the sterile acres, or stony hills that scarcely feed a sheep. But we are fools, I say, are ignorant fools to waste the spirit's warmth in this cold air, to spend our wit and love and poetry on half-a-dozen peat and a black bog. We are not native here or anywhere. We were the keltic wave that broke over Europe, and ran up this bleak beach among these stones: but when the tide ebbed, were left stranded here in crevices, and ledge-protected pools that have grown salter with the drying up of the great common flow that kept us sweet with fresh cold draughts from deep down in the ocean. So we are bitter, and are dying out in terrible harshness in this lonely place, and what we think is love for usual rock, or old affection for our customary ledge, is but forgotten longing for the sea that cries far out and calls us to partake in his great tidal movements round the earth." -John Hewitt
"Air sgiath a' seoladh nan neoil. 'S an domhain liath. Mar dhealbh a' tighinn beo tro na sgothan. 'S mi a' tilleadh gu tir. Alba nam beanntan ard. Nan acraichean lom. Thairis air na lochan mointich. Nan coilltean 's nan gleann. Alba.

This flight is sailing through the clouds. And the blue heavens. The homeland appears like a developing photograph. Through the mists as I return to land. I see Scotland of the high mountains. And the empty acres. Flying low across the moorland lochs. The forests and the glens. Scotland."-Alba by Runrig

"Icham of Irlaunde. Ant of the holy londe of irlande. Gode sir pray ich ye. For of saynte charite. Come ant daunce wyt me in irlaunde.

I am of Ireland. Out of the holy land of Ireland. I pray you good sir. For the sake of holy charity. Come and dance with me in Ireland." -14th Century anonymous