Billy is a Folklore and Archaeology professor at the Sacred Heart University campus in Dingle. He walked us through the Reask Monastic Site explaining what scholars have been able to discern from what the site reveals. The carved rock with an early cross and Latin writing tell us it is an early Christian site. The structure and shape of buildings tell us the site held a church and a residence, and that the time period was the sixth century. He also introduced us to ring forts, the Celtic Otherworld where Aos Si (pronounced ees-shee) live, and dispelled the modern depiction of Leprechauns.
David is a fellow traveller on the Inishfree Irish Music Tour. He lives in my hometown, Kitchener. He sings in the Rainbow Chorus of Waterloo-Wellington who recently performed one of David Francey’s songs, “The Breath Between.” David is posing here in front of the Gallarus Oratory in Dingle, an ancient church built of dry stacked stones, almost a metre thick. The roof stones overlap and are angled in such a way that the inside stays dry. It had not been used in centuries, but local people respected and maintained it, knowing its importance to their ancestors.
Linda is from Saskatchewan, Canada, but has recently moved to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She has purchased a home with her son and his partner. Leaving a life and friends behind in rural Saskatchewan is difficult but the weather in Victoria is more agreeable, and the city offers her many opportunities for activities and socializing with new friends. Linda is a weaver, seeking out Irish weavers’ work in local shops. Her daughter Carmen, who lives in Portugal, joined her on this Inishfree Irish Music Tour.