Trailwood Films and Videos: Ireland: Celtic Myths and Splendors

The country of Ireland has many stories to tell... and some of them are true! There is no better place on earth about which to spin the tales of past and present, than this wild, woolly island off the coast of Europe.

We venture around this magic spot to experience some of the splendors it possesses. And in the process meet Giants, Geniuses, Castles, Coffin Ships, Saints, Spirits and a whole lot more.

In the Midlands, we begin as the dawn sun of the winter solstice illuminates, for just a precious few minutes, the blackened interior of a prehistoric neolithic stone passage tomb.

Then on to present Dublin, with stories of life along the Liffey River, and the wonders of this City founded by the Vikings. And follow an Irish descendent from abroad as he searches for his ancestors in the surrounding countryside.

North of Dublin, the Hill of Tara was the spiritual center for the Celtic High Kings until the 11th Century.

Nearby, on the Hill of Slane, St Patrick is said to have lighted an Easter fire as a challenge to the pagan Celtic High King. We relive the story of the young Patricis, a kidnapped shepherd from Briton who became Ireland's most famous Patron Saint.

Also nearby is the Monastic abbey of Monasterboice with its Celtic High Crosses.

The town of Droheda is well known for its cadaver tombstones, and the Church of St. Peter, where the relic of martyred St. Oliver Plunkett is displayed.

Southeast, through the Wicklow Mountains is the valley of Glendalough and the Monastery established by St. Kevin in the 6th Century. Thru this, - the garden of Ireland - we visit the neolithic site of the Browns Hill Dolman, with the biggest capstone in Ireland.

We explore Kilkenny, the medieval town with its slips and alley ways, and stories of 14th-Century witches. The Southeast also takes us to Waterford's Glass Exhibit. Following the Ring of Hook to the oldest lighthouse in Europe, we discover Loftus Hall and relive it's bizarre ghost story.

Close by is Kilmore Quay, a small fishing village built on the oldest rock in Ireland. Among its thatched cottages, we indulge at it's seafood festival, and join young lasses learning traditional dancing, On the park grounds of elegant Johnstown Castle, we also join a bridal party for their wedding pictures.

Through the lower Shannon region is the gigantic and magnificent Rock of Cashel, a seat of royal and priestly power for over a thousand years.

Nearby, Blarney Castle, where kissing the Blarney Stone is a questionably wise tradition.

In Cork, today's city scenes overlook one of the world's largest natural harbors ...and the last stop for the Titanic as well as millions of emigrants who left Ireland in the mid-1800's. We retrace path of adults and children who emigrated via nearby Cobh to the U.S.

Drombeg Stone Circle, dating back 150 BC. is the finest of the many stone circles in County Cork and an authentic mystical experience.

Around Bantry Bay we get an exclusive in-depth tour of the elegantly luxurious Bantry House, one of the great houses of Ireland, built in 1720.

On the popular road - the Ring of Kerry, Molls Gap offers one of the finest views in Ireland as well as magical glens.

We also meet a local man and his son for a private tour of the historic, but little-known "Butter Road".

A drive around Dingle Peninsula takes us over O'Connor Pass to Dingle Quay, Beehive huts, where early pilgrims lived, and Gallus Oratory. Shaped like an upturned boat, we see why it is the best preserved early Christian Church in Ireland. Then out to Slea Head with spectacular views of the Blasket Islands steeped in Myth.

County Clare's town of Ennis beckons with antique shops, and nearby we experience our own "antique Greek" Bed and Breakfast.

The renown music festival at Miltown/Malbay is bursting with master and novice traditional musicians.

Thru bogs and Burren to explore Aillwee Cave with it's mysteries and charming female professional cave explorer.

West is Galway, with it's busy and romantic downtown, where special jeweled Claddagh rings are created. And north is Crough Patrick, where they say St. Patrick fasted 40 days and nights.

Northwest, the area around the town of Sligo is the poet Yeat's country. Here we meet a woman who has a passion for mistreated donkeys and has established a donkey retirement home, and a woodcarver/mystic who leads us on a very special journey.

We cross into Northern Ireland, to Armagh, where the Observatory/Planetarium is a place where the heavens come down to earth, and inside St. Patrick's Church where the magnificent stained-glass and decorations are a gift to the angels.

At the Giant's Causeway, the popular Irish giant Finn McCool's story comes alive. Further along the windswept coast, we cross over the amazing Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge.

The Northern Ireland capital city of Belfast astonishes visitors with some surprising architecture. We also visit Down Patrick, and the traditional site of the grave of St. Patrick.

Our tour ends by remembering the tragedy of the Irish Potato Famine in the 1800's that forced an migration of over a million people to America.

But that's not all..., throughout this isle, we'll explore other popular sites, and little-known nooks and crannies. Enjoying the richness of history, myth and culture of the Gaelic people today. Which almost always produces the same reaction from most non-Irish visitors ..."Perhaps I could be a wee-bit Irish?"

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