Happy Birthday Lily: Waterford Part 1 (10/6)

[Chris]

October 6 was Lily's birthday, and she wanted to go to Waterford. This trip will be divided into 2 posts, with the first one being the general day in the city, and birthday celebrations.  The second post will be a deep dive into the House of Waterford crystal-making factory tour.  Part 2 will be a little nerdy (well, nerdier) from a manufacturing point of view.

Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland, having been settled by Vikings in the mid 9th Century and built in the mid 10th Century.  Not counting Christian missionaries (St. Patrick et al in the 5th Century), Vikings were the first invaders of Ireland, where they transformed part of the culture from nomadic/agrarian to villages/trading.  They never conquered the entire island, but did establish major trading ports along the coasts (Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Cork, Limerick).  The Vikings slowly assimilated into the Gaelic population, and were eventually displaced by the Normans in the late 12th century, leading to the British tension that has lasted for almost 900 years. 

One nice thing about Waterford is that they have a 5-event family pass you can purchase that lasts 12 months.

What we did (photos below)

• Guided tour of the Viking Triangle (the historical district)
• Bishop's Palace - another stately manor guided tour

What we can come back to do in the future:

• Medieval Museum
• Silver Museum
• Time Museum 

Our day was spent walking, doing tours, and shopping, and then we concluded Lily's birthday with dinner out, a visit to the pub, and birthday cake!

By now you know we love 3D models of cities and structures

Another 3D model out on the street, focusing on the "Viking Triangle" which was the first settlement in Ireland, formed at the confluence of two rivers (one of which runs through our backyard in Clonmel).  The round tower at the point of the triangle is Reginald's Tower, shown below.

Reginald's Tower, behind a Viking ship with their word that eventually became "Waterford" due to similar spelling, although it technically means Windford.  Ragnall/Reginald is considered the founder of the settlement.  He was the grandson of Igar the Boneless (which apparently refers to either a skeletal condition, or ED, seriously).   It is the oldest building in Ireland (not counting ancient tombs), and the only Irish monument with a Viking name.  It's a little taller now than when it was built; you may notice the subtle change in stone color above the first window.

Viking or Dwarf?  You tell me.

Were Vikings this smiley?

The beginning of the end.  After the Vikings faded, in 1170 a Gaelic chieftain was struggling with his neighbors, so he went to London and invited the Norman lord/knight/mercenary Strongbow (née Richard de Clare, but Strongbow is a much cooler name) to come to Ireland and defeat his neighbors, which he did.  Strongbow married the chief's daughter as promised (the people-chairs in the photo are the happy couple), the chief died a year later leaving Strongbow his entire region, Henry II decided he better move into Ireland so that Strongbow didn't get too powerful, and the Anglo-Normans never really left.  The chieftain who invited the Normans in, Dermot MacMurrough, is not a popular figure in Irish history.

Waterford is the home of the designer of the Irish flag (1848, inspired by the French Revolution).  After being shipped to Australia and literally escaping from a death sentence for being an Irish revolutionary, he went on to join the US Civil War, founding NY's Irish Brigade and rising to the rank of General (full circle with our Gettysburg trip in April!), and also became acting governor of Montana (before statehood), where he was (allegedly) murdered by political opponents at the ripe old age of 43.  Thomas Meagher, pronounced mare.  Interesting life!

Bonus photo - The Irish Brigade monument in Gettysburg in April, with the Irish Wolfhound at the base.  The Irish history in the Civil War was quite interesting, as they supported the moral position of the North on slavery, but also understood the South's desire to secede from an overbearing Union.  You see this same sympathy with their support of Palestine today.  It's also not coincidence that Irish independence gained a lot of momentum following the successful American and French Revolutions, although it would take 100 more years.  Fun fact: Irish Wolfhounds seem to have gone extinct a couple hundred years ago when the wolves died out, but they have been "revived" by selective breeding of similar dogs to recreate their appearance and personality.

Not captured in any of our photos is the fun fact that a Waterford friar (Luke Wadding) was asked to review the liturgical calendar of the saints for the Catholic Church.  He noticed that none of the three patron saints of Ireland made the calendar, so he quietly added Saint Patrick on March 17.  The rest is history.  Another fun fact: due to the dramatic movement of Holy Week depending on the year, when Holy Week includes March 17 it takes precedent and St. Patrick's Day is moved.  This happened in 1940, 2008, and will happen next in 2160. 

A different era of history, from a thrift store.  When's the last time you have seen a cassette?  Let's be honest, if I was going to buy a tape, Marc Cohn would be near the top of my list.

Lily talking her way into her free birthday drink at Starbucks.  The baristas were so nice, and from Clonmel! 

Moving on to the Bishop's Palace, another grand estate (this one from the Georgian Era - the century when 4 Georges ruled Britain).

Waterford chandeliers

The Bishop married a Bonaparte.  I think Napoleon was his Uncle in Law.

The harp is the national symbol of Ireland.  Ireland is the only country with a musical instrument as its emblem.  I've been reading a lot of Irish history, and I believe I read that Lucky Charms came in second.

Waterford dishes, natch

You can read

Lily's birthday present, a Claddagh ring.  Why Irish has so many silent h's and gh's might be a later blog post, though it might wait for when I get through the current blog backlog.  See what I did there?

After a long day, walking the streets of Clonmel at 9 pm for dinner leads to few options, but we found a little diner open where Sam finally got her hamburger, and Kate ate an entire pizza.  Lily and I got doner kebabs.  We all left sated.

Back at Baker's Bar.  This time with euchre!

And we ended the day with some cake and ice cream.  Lily made her own cake!

Meanwhile, in the US, Lily's friend group always chalks each others' driveways on big days, and they oriented their message to our security camera in her absence.