May 31

Final Rehearsals

Final rehearsals at Brainerd United Methodist Church, topped off by a special celebration for accompanist Merry Lee Wilson's birthday..

Mayor Ron Littlefield visited with the boys and awarded them with their official designation as "Ambassadors of Goodwill."

June 4

Travel from Chattanooga to Shannon, Ireland

After having having arrived on time, we loaded the bus and waved goodbye to our loved ones as we made our way to the Atlanta airport. Ticketing and security were a breeze thanks to the boys' organized demeanor. We enjoyed a seven hour flight across "the pond" which ended at the Shannon, Ireland airport. We loaded the coach (from the left side!) and started our adventure where everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. (We learned that most contries once under British rule continue to drive on the left side of the road.)

June 5

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Limerick

We toured Bunratty Castle, built in the 15th century to protect the Port of Limerick. The Bunratty Folk Park, built around the castle, depicts 19th century Victorian Ireland, with its gardens, chapels, millhouses, and animals. We enjoyed quiches, salads, soups, and sandwhiches at the Folk Park's cafeteria before leaving for our dorms at the University of Limerick. These apartment style dorms are a real treat with wonderful rooms, common areas, and grounds. After getting settled we took a drive through the city of Limerick learning about its history, geography, commerce, and the famous King John's Castle (the King John from Robin Hood fame, which we will be exploring more tomorrow.) We completed our long day with a medieval banquet hosted in the Bunratty Castle's Great Hall. For this feast, we ate without utensil while sitting at tables which dated from the 16th century! While enjoying our fare, we were enjoyed wonderful singers from the castle's court musicians accompanied by Irish harp and fiddle. As a special treat, the Earl of the castle "locked up" Mr. Oakes in the dungeon. The boys freed him by singing the Irish tune "The Last Rose of Summer" for all the guests. Fortunately he was freed by the boys' wonderful efforts! We finished the evening with a photo opportunity in front of the original Durty Nelly's, long a Chattanooga favorite.

June 6

Limerick

Following a delicious breakfast in the dorm rooms, we left for a city tour of Limerick. We learned much about the city and its beginnings before stopping for a bit of shopping downtown. Next, we traveled to St. Mary's Cathedral where our guide taught us much about the history of the church. A short walk brought us to King John's Castle where we explored several towers, the mint, and the former soldier's quarters. We returned to the University of Limerick campus for lunch, followed by a master class on traditional Irish music at the World Music Center. We learned several new songs, including one in Gaelic! The teachers were very impressed with the boys' tone and demeanor. Following dinner at the University, we traveled a short distance to Abington Church for our first concert. The small church, built in the 19th century, was hosting both the CBC and musicians from the Peter Dee Music Academy. The Peter Dee musicians played traditional Irish music with four-stringed banjos, accordians, Irish whistles, fiddles, and concertinas. The boys sang their program to the delight of the audience, including one gentlemen who loudly requested "Tennessee Waltz." Following the performance the boys had the chance to talk to members of the congregation at a reception just outside the church. During the bus ride home we enthusiastically sang the Irish song "Molly Malone," quick becoming a favorite on this trip!

June 7

Cliffs of Moher, Galway

We packed our bags and bid farewell to Limerick. On the way to Galway we made several stops as we admired the beautiful landscape. The first stop was at a monument in remembrance of the potato famine which killed over a millon people and drove just as many to other countries, including the United States. The next stop brought us to the spectacular Cliffs of Moher which are 600 feet high and run five miles along the coast of the Atlantic. The view of the Cliffs was breathtaking. Our next stop brought us to a region known as the burren, a 150 square mile area of limestone. We took a short walk across the limestone to see an ancient burrial ground known as a portal. Next, we traveled into Galway and took a short walk through the main city streets before checking into the luxury hotel. Following a two courses of a gourmet three course meal (some choices included lamb shanks, stuffed chicken, salmon, and gourmet burgers!), we headed to St. Nicholas Cathedral for our second performance. The Cathedral is said to have been the place where Christopher Columbus prayed some time before sailing out to discover the New World. The boys performed to many locals and travelers who were enjoying the unusually pleasant summer evening. We returned to the hotel to finish our last course of our meal - dessert!

June 8

Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, Galway

Today started out in grand fashion, with the boys enjoying a FULL Irish breakfast at our luxurious hotel.  And, as has become their daily custom, each boy was ready to go, some ten minutes earlier than our tour guide John had requested for them to be ready – John was duly impressed!

We started the day continuing our journey through the incredibly scenic Connemara region.  Grazing sheep, green-clad mountainsides, and breathtakingly blue water surrounded us for the entire drive.  We stopped at a wonderful marble factory where the renowned Connemara marble is cut and polished.  We had a fascinating tour of the operation, and we were able to peruse beautifully intricate tiles, keepsakes, and jewelry items that were formed from pieces of marble which dated from over 6 million years old.  We continued passed Galway Bay (while learning the words and melody to the wonderful Irish song of the same name), where we spotted several sheep and people enjoying the spectacular weather along Laugh (Lake) Inagh.

Our next stop was the amazing grounds of Kylemore Abbey, the Monastic home of the Benedictine Order of Nuns in Ireland.  Here, a school, an abbey, a chapel, museums, and elaborate gardens are maintained.  The boys began their visit by eating lunch, which was followed by an amazing performance in front of a packed audience in the abbey cathedral – a truly wonderful concert, with plenty of smiles and words of thanks from appreciative tourists.  Following the concert, we toured the grounds for several hours, taking in the majesty and wonder of such an amazing place.

The bus ride home made several stops, as we took in Kilary Harbor (the largest fjord in Ireland), the quaint town (and gift shop) of Spiddl, and another last look at Galway Bay.  We also stopped to make friends with several Connemara ponies who wandered to the edge of their field, close to the road.  John told us that these prized horses are the mix of native stock and Andalusian horses which came ashore on the Irish coast from ships of the 16th century Spanish Armada fleet. 

Our supper was another gourmet dinner (salmon-stuffed mushroom caps, anyone?) at our hotel, filled with a relaxed evening of postcard writing and suitcase stuffing, as our travels tomorrow take us to the exciting capital city of Dublin!

June 9

Blackwater Bog, Lucan, Dublin

This morning we packed our bags and bid farewell to Galway. An hour into our drive to Dublin we stopped at a peat bog. We boarded a train and traveled around the bog learning about the way that peat is harvested and moved to a power plant to create electricity. We were fortunate to see machines doing three of the four processes to cut, dry and move peat during our journey. Midway into the journey we stopped and walked on a part of the bog - although it was 80% water, it felt like walking on a fairly dry sponge. Everyone had an opportunity to "cut peat" the way it was done by farmers on their land years ago.

On the second half of our journey to Dublin we stopped in Moate for a bite to eat. Our tour guide, John, gave us a ten-question quiz to find out just how much we had learned on our trip so far - we'll find out the winners tomorrow night!

We checked into our hotel room (Wow! We didn't think it could be better than our hotel in Galway, but it is!) and freshened up a bit before heading out to dinner at the Foxhole pub. We enjoyed vegetable soup, which in Ireland is a creamy, pureed soup, salmon or roast beef, and delicious apple crisp with custard. With full stomachs we proceeded to St. Mary's Parish, the venue for our final concert of the tour. We enjoyed an incredibly warm welcome and had one of our best performances of the tour. Both the St. Mary's Choir and the St. Mary's Junior Choir participated in the concert with us. The concert was closed with the combined choirs singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic," after which the choirs received a standing ovation. What a way to end our performances in Ireland!

June 10

Dublin

June 11

Return to Chattanooga