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Street Prophets Friday: County Clare, Ireland (photo diary/open thread) [1]

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Date: 2025-01-31

Well welcome to another little, fuzzy-headed open threaded bit of fluff. This week I'm looking back to the day we headed out from tiny Cloghane and headed north into County Clare from which I have a few photos to share.

The Cliffs of Moher

This was an interesting stop on our journey back to Dublin. Narrow trails wind along the tops of shear cliffs towering over 200 meters above the sea. Most of the paths are set behind waist-high slabs of stone and so narrow that people frequently had to stop or turn sideways to let people pass. It was pretty packed with tourists the day we visited and our walk along the cliff tops took a couple hours. We kept our eyes peeled for puffins, but didn't see any. We did see quite a few idiots posing for pictures off the paths though.

I mostly avoid taking pictures of people, idiots or otherwise. I kinda regret not taking a picture or two of the buskers on the broader paths near the parking lot and visitor's center. The Cliffs of Moher are famous for puffins and buskers— well, and spectacular views.

A little observation tower— I can't imagine the view is worth the time queuing in that line.

The Burren

Burren National Park is an otherworldly landscape made up of fields of limestone that had been worn flat by glaciers. Like giant, cracked, tiled floors it's a unique geological area of Ireland, the largest karst region in Europe.

The low, limestone cliffs in the area are popular with climbers

Tea Time

As we drove on to our next destination, our driver Alan pointed out a stone table at the side of the road that daily has a lovely tea set out for the local fairies to enjoy. You know, it's best to keep up good relations with your little neighbors.

This week I stayed up late a couple of nights watching some Star Trek Voyager, moping while Mrs the Werelynx was off at another conference in Amsterdam. A bit of a Star Trek fan since childhood, I'm finally catching up with some of the spin-offs. By a lovely coincidence, I happened to be watching my way though mid-season episodes of season 6 of Voyager. Episode 11 and Episode 17 take place in a holodeck simulation of a fictional Irish town called Fair Haven. Our intrepid Captain Janeway falls in love with the local barkeep and, to avoid awkward questions, tells him that she's from County Clare, well maybe not immediately. During one conversation she mentions having family from there and barkeep Michael Sullivan begins calling her Katie O'Clare — I mean, how perfect is that for this week's diary?

Thanks for stopping by. Just a relatively short one this week. I hope you don't mind; photos tend to be fewer when I've resorted to using my phone as a camera. More to come next week.

This is an open thread.

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