Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Heavenly Howth

View of Howth Head
from the East Pier
Ten miles north of the City of Dublin, the fishing village of Howth occupies a neck of land that juts into the Irish Sea. The rugged southern side of this peninsula overlooks Dublin Bay. On the gentler northern side, Howth Harbor provides shelter for fishing trawlers and private yachts. Beyond the small lighthouse on the East Pier, Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island loom in the distance like sleeping sea monsters. Fancy boutiques and trendy restaurants line Howth’s main street. Splendid homes dot the rolling hillsides right to the top of Howth Head. Foremost among these grand abodes is Garrymuir, a majestic estate that had been in the Boru family for generations.*

View of Howth Harbor
from Howth Head
Okay, I made up that last sentence. Garrymuir only exists in my novels. Still, Howth is the right place for a majestic estate. I blogged about our hurried visit to this charming fishing village late last summer, but this time we stayed longer and had better weather: we did the glorious cliff walk again.

View of the Irish Sea



The Irish name for Howth is Binn Éadair, the "Hill of Edar." Edar, a chieftain of the Tuatha Dé Danaan, is supposedly buried on Howth Hill. The modern name of Howth emerged during the medieval influx of Vikings to the Dublin area. It comes from höfuth, the Norse word for headland.

Part of the Cliff Walk
As well as providing a well-set stage for my recently completed YA fantasy, Glancing Through the Glimmer, Howth has served as a venue for many events in Irish myth and history. Finn MacCool and his Fianna (the watchers of the coast, the guardians of the shore) reportedly had one of their many outposts up on the cliffs. Sixteenth century Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley paid Howth an outrageous and memorable visit in 1576 (see my previous post, Howth Therapy). And in 1914, author and Irish patriot Robert Erskine Childers smuggled rifles and ammunition for the Irish Volunteers into Howth Harbor aboard his famous yacht, the Asgard.

Heather Blooming
During a Previous Visit
Our latest visit to Howth took place on an early autumn weekday, and so we nearly had the cliff walk to ourselves. The glorious mounds of purple heather and yellow gorse we recalled from our first visit had faded by late September, though the lack of color hardly spoiled our enjoyment of the sweeping scenery. We trekked to the Bailey Lighthouse, climbed the summit to a wind-whipped stand of palm trees, and finished our hike with a stroll to the harbor to visit the seals.

*From Glancing Through the Glimmer by Pat McDermott

But So Pretty!

Enjoying the View





19 comments:

  1. Those seals are hilarious-looking. How much do you think it would cost to live in Howth?

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  2. A lot, Rick. Even the seals can't afford it!

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  3. OK. Could we afford it if we all pitched in and bought a BIG house? What a location!

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  4. Beautiful! Do you reckon those seals are silkies just waiting to come ashore? ;-)

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  5. Maeve, it crossed my mind! They were so funny, six of them bobbing in a perfect row waiting for someone to toss them some food.
    Victoria, if we all win the lottery, maybe we could swing it. Howth is one of my all time favorite places, and I'd love to live there, but for now I'll have to be happy to visit. Thanks for dropping by, ladies!

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  6. What cute seals! Beautiful pics! I'd love to hike there!

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  7. Enjoyed the stroll Pat!! What a gorgeous place!! Love the seals!!!

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  8. eSo beautiful, Pat, so achingly beautiful. Your pictures are so clear I feel like I was there on those walks. Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
    ~Donna

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  9. Nicole, we walked at least five or six miles a day the whole time we were over there. As you know from touring Scotland, the scenery makes walking so easy. Glad you stopped by!

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  10. Glad you enjoyed it, Andrea! Maybe Maeve is right and those seals are really silkies. I think I should go back and check . . .

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  11. Donna, my pleasure. Thanks for tagging along on my virtual stroll!

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  12. Pat, we took a wrong turn driving into Dublin and ended up in Howth for a while, while hubby asked a charming Irish fellow for directions. Getting lost in Ireland seems to be the norm, but what a wonderful "wrong turn." I'm looking forward to going back, but your pictures are keeping me from missing Ireland too much. And love those silkies - I mean, seals. Thanks for posting this!

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  13. Jena, yes, the seals were cute, which in Ireland means shifty and cunning, like a politician. These guys knew how to get themselves fed!

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  14. Cynthia, isn't it great getting lost in Ireland? We left our car at the Dublin Airport this time and took a taxi into town. No way would we drive in the city! Sadly, this blog is the last for this trip, though I did take hundreds more pictures, especially of Howth. When I have a sec, I'll add a few to my web site's photo section. Thanks for visiting!

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  15. Absolutely breathtaking, Pat. Oh, and the seals are cute too.

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  16. Dawn, I loved the seals. I've seldom seen them anywhere but a zoo or aquarium. Thanks for visiting!

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  17. Beautiful pictures and great info! It all makes me want to go back to Ireland myself! Thanks for sharing.

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  18. Alexa, lovely to "meet" you! Thanks for "Putting the Kettle On" and visiting. I hope you'll stop in from time to time.

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