Éamon is a reenactor depicting the 15th century. He and his fellow reenactors frequent the Tralee Medieval Museum, this day setting up outside in the sun. I learned very little about the time period he was depicting, but he did teach me how to add the proper accent to the first letter of his name on my iPhone keyboard. Simply hold down the E and select the correct accent, in this case, the fada, which changes the EA to an extended long A as in Éamon.
We took a 20 minute car ferry across the Shannon River from Tarbert to Poulnadaree, County Kerry to County Clare.
Herb is a retired lawyer from Winnipeg. Herb and his wife Donna are on the Inishfree Irish Music Tour with friends Roger and Ruth, all from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He used to skip a curling team that included Roger and Roger’s two brothers. I photographed Herb on the Tarbert Car Ferry.
Pauline is an arts shop owner in Kilrush. Her front window was filled with beautiful paintings so Kelly and I stepped in. It turns out that Pauline, is the sole artist, and she works in a variety of mediums including oils, water colour, and acostic. In the winter she also teaches art classes. You can find her at Paulinedunlevyart.com and @anchorcraftskilrush.
Paddy parked our bus at Kilkee Beach where we saw many people swimming. At the top of the sea wall, along the busiest road in town, I met Joan. Joan, who is from Kilkee, was sitting at the Kelly’s Delicious Winkles and Dillisk vendors booth. Winkles (Periwinkles – Sea Snails) and Dillisk (Dulse – seaweed) are harvested right off the beach at low tide and sold as snacks. The winkles are washed, boiled, then eaten by picking the creature out of the shell with a toothpick. I ate one sample winkle. It was salty but tasty.
Adam is a fiddler from Clare County. Well, not originally. He grew up a violin and drum player in South Africa, a child of Latvian and Irish parents. After seeing some traditional Irish musicians touring in South Africa, he fell in love with the music and came to Ireland for a brief stint to study the music. That was nearly 30 years ago. He plays with three other musicians in a group called The Fiddle Case and has really made the music his own.