After finishing up our house sit in Howth, we toured other parts of Ireland on our own, including taking guided bus tours of Connemara and the Burren/Moher areas. Here are some of the things we learned.
Britain taxed light, i.e., windows, so people looked for ways to minimize the tax. Split doors were installed because a split door allowed in light but was not taxed as window. In the photo below of the Bank of Ireland you can see that they completely bricked in the windows to avoid the tax.
I apologize for the poor quality of the following photo, taken from the bus, but I included it because it illustrates several things: note how the traditional cottage has small windows and a split door due to the light tax. It also has a thatched roof, which is becoming less and less common. Thatched roofs are expensive to install (the equivalent of over $30,000 US) and insurance is high due to flammability of the roof.
Everywhere we visited in Ireland and later Scotland, we noted that the people spoke with animosity about the British. Likewise, the British spoke disparagingly about the Irish and Scottish. Undoubtedly, the history runs deep. Here is a small example of the history and ongoing attitude of the Irish toward the British. Below is a photo of what are called “famine walls” – labor intensive walls made from thousands of stones. These were part of a governmental make-work program by the British to keep out-of-work Irish people busy and provide some income during famine. The walls didn’t have any other purpose, for example, they didn’t divide one property from another.
The Burren is a rocky area on the coast of Ireland, scraped bare by ancient glaciers. The tour guide summed up the Burren as follows – There’s water, but not enough to drown a man; there’s wood, but not enough to hang a man; there’s soil, but not enough to bury him.
Finally, I have to mention that we stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast, Clooniff House, in Galway. The proprietress and her husband were so friendly and accommodating, she cooked up a great, traditional breakfast for us each morning, and she gave us great tips and assistance with our tour reservations.
