Traversing Ireland's Incredibly Rich History And Culture | Hidden Ireland Documentary

it is a land forged on the Wild Frontier between the Old and New World built upon a destiny of freedom and self-determination sitting on the westernmost edge of Europe it's lyrical green valleys bordered by Soaring Coastal cliffsides it's a small island but with a large influence thanks to millions of immigrants who brought their Traditions with them across the globe and while the culture may feel familiar if you dig past the surface there's a brave new and old world an Emerald Isle is Scholars and Saints poets and politicians stories and those who sing them two countries on one Island intertwined in history mythology and hope this is what I came for a rich land where every step reveals a new surpr R often hiding in plain sight I'm Peter Greenberg and this is hidden [Music] Ireland there's an enduring beauty of Ireland stories they are both true and then full of colorful myths and those stories don't just power the present they give life to the past this country was settled relatively recently compared to other parts of Europe just 10,000 years ago ago over the ensuing Millennia the arrival of different societies would shape its identity Celtic tribes Catholic missionaries Viking settlers and finally the Norman Invasion bringing Ireland under the rule of Great Britain this led to hundreds of years of unrest and outright Rebellion compounded by the great Irish Potato Famine in the mid 1800s in 1919 the violence against English rule exploded into a full-on Irish war of independence leading to the creation of two separate countries the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland but now with the battles ended Ireland enjoys a peaceful present marked by a growing population determined to secure a brighter future and my journey as with many Travelers begins in Dublin the capital of the Republic of Ireland City where set molone as the old song goes Dublin is a delightfully Fair City and eminently walkable it's also eminently drinkable you won't go thirsty here there are over a thousand pubs scattered throughout the city so you're never far from a place to bend your elbow and meet a new friend in Dublin the old and new coincide tech companies that flooded into the city in the 21st century sitting not far from the libraries that preserve the works of legendary authors and Poets earning Dublin the title of UNESCO city of [Music] literature while Dublin is a modestly sized capital city with a population of roughly half a million on certain days you wouldn't know it 1if of Dublin's residence can be found here Peter welcome to kog park the capacity of this stadium is 82,00 people and you fill it we'll fill this absolutely full of the gills but what most people Miss is what's up there Jerry McGary is a former athlete who now works at cro Park the home of the gaic athletic association and and its traditional Irish Sports croak Park is actually a neutral Stadium meaning there's no Home Team all teams play here as equals there's been a stadium here since the late 1800s and in 1920 it was the site of the Bloody Sunday Massacre during the war for independence in the 9s a 12year renovation project began to create the croak Park of today okay Peter we're nearly there that's what you said half an hour ago a little bit just a little bit more to go the worst part is over there we have it wow this is the most magnificent view of Dublin City you're going to get one thing you notice about here Peter there's actually no Skyline in Dublin no high-rise buildings because of that for us we can see all the way from the mountains all the way over to the Sea amazing the lack of skyscrapers is due to strict height regulations in Dublin and and while taller buildings have started to creep in the centuries old cityscape remains well it was worth the climb from this vantage point you could see the past present and future of Dublin so they get to play out there huh we get to look at this no no you get to play two play what this is hurling practically unknown outside of Ireland but along with gaic football it's the heartbeat of croak Park teams of 15 sparring to score through their opponent's goal posts harling goes back in Ireland to mythological times but 2,000 years if you're a very very good huler that thought that that was very very good training to be a KN and to be a warrior back in those days and it is still the game of Warriors and a game of volunteers that's right no one gets paid everyone is playing just for the pride of their communities [Applause] [Music] hey guys how you doing how you today I'm getting a crash coron hurling from Dublin players darra and Connor and we're starting with the basics so this is called it's called a hurl we call it a hurl it's a hurl a hurl yeah all right let me guess this is not a ball no no they call that a slitter a slitter yeah it's Irish Irish Irish okay so I got to hit the slitter with The Hurl that's that's the idea yeah that's the idea tring to get it now all right should we try this perfect all right you go out there all right okay that was weak hold on I want to tr you want to give it a go all [Music] right oh you're not going for a home run right of course I'm going for a home run maybe if you shorten the grip a little bit you might have a bit more control okay but then hold with two hands hold with two hands like that yet I'll try it again go for it again go for it again oh that was pathetic if at first you don't succeed bat bat again oh got noise all right this one's going over your head all right that was great it's pretty good it's pretty good in real game you have about 15 players trying to kill you for that ball for this yeah you're free to do whatever you want in the game it's it's a war yeah you're on your own [Music] but to truly understand Ireland you need to go Northwest from Dublin starting about 30 mil away to County meth in Ireland's ancient east which was once the home of the high king of Ireland and with Kings come castles castles are built for a number of reasons one is to say I'm here and the other is to make sure that you stay here you don't build castles in Friendly environments David Gilroy grew up by the most intact Castle in all of Ireland trim Castle everywhere I've ever been in Ireland it's castles followed by castles followed by castles how many are there let some say there's up to 30,000 castles in Ireland 30,000 30,000 a lot of those will be ruins obviously but they look this but this is a real castle this is the real castle so this it's the largest Anglo Norman castle in Ireland it was built in 12 Century with a location chosen deliberately along this important life blood of Ireland we're standing on the banks of the river Bo since the started Global civilization 10,000 years ago this River has flown along here you look to that River you looked at that castle you're not looking at stones and water you're looking at the lives of men and women and over a 100,000 people come to trim Castle every year to imagine those lives but if you know a guy who knows a guy then maybe you get a chance to see it from a different perspective you've seen trim Castle from the ground I have and today we're going to take a different uh Bird's ey if you going to bring you flying in this in this on most days you'll find sheay party in the left seat of this airus 320 flying at 30,000 ft as a veteran pilot for Ireland's flag carrier air lingis but today he's piloting at a lower altitude giving me a completely different look of the bo [Music] Valley there it is so you're just coming up as you see trip castle and as you can see see here it holds a very um prominent doesn't it position I mean it's hard to imagine we're flying over something that was started in the in the 12th century I mean think of the of the architecture the design the construction the physical construction they were cutting edge it's a whole different perspective from the air not just in terms of the view but in terms of the real history you see the circular field with the Sheep here up so that is the hill of Ward that's where Halloween started The Druids used to have a festival it was called s on this hill evidence shows that the Druid sent light to a large bonfire and the Feast of Halloween was born what happens there during Halloween now uh really not much it's because now as you can see it's it's active Farmland yeah so what you're telling me is the ghosts come out at night the ghosts come out at night Absol just double checking you see the mound on the hill that is the famous new great UNESCO world heritage site thousand years older than the pyramids this Monument built in 3200 BC was designed so that one day a year on the winter solstice the sun would shine perfectly through into a chamber I mean it's one thing to see up on the ground it's another thing to get up here and then tell that story yes and the one thing that comes into view from above apart from Ireland's ancient east and almost down into land's hidden heartlands in fact it's the entire view is that you're surrounded by Green well if you ever wondered how Ireland got the name the emerald aisle just look out the window you look out the window [Music] absolutely I continued heading north and as you cross over the invisible border between countries the Majesty remains unbroken Northern Ireland is just 1/5 the size of the Republic but it is no less full the Wonder volcanic fissures birth these pillars of the Giant's Causeway inspiring Legends of its construction by a mythological giant a swaying rope Bridge draws adventurers looking to take an exhilarating stroll and if you didn't know better you might think this is a Photoshop brochure but what you see is really what's here the scenery often radiates images bordering an unspoiled Beauty Northern Ireland did have challenging times during what was known as the troubles which began in the late 1960s and continued through until the 9s at the heart of the matter on one side the mostly Protestant unionists who aim to keep Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom on the other mostly Catholic nationalists who wanted the country to rejoin with the Republic today in Northern Ireland the streets are peaceful but there are signs of Remembrance in the capital city of Belfast these peace walls were built during the troubles to separate the Catholic and Protestant communities now they become a canvas to honor a dark history as well as a sign of Hope for a fully reconciled future Belfast has moved beyond the troubles it has a thriving City Center and the popular Titanic Museum highlights his history as a manufacturing town and in addition Belfast has earned the title of UNESCO city of music because of a diverse performance scene that reckons with the city's turbulent past but also offers a path forward I feel that music has helped to bring people together after a really difficult period of time there a kind of generational trauma that we're dealing with and uh so creativity is the large large part of of healing in that it's sort of a unifying Factor now and that's I guess why I'm still here miles McCormack has lived here all his life and has become one of the city's most prominent performers music has always been a a big part of at least my life here in Bast whenever I first got involved I felt like I'd just fallen into a little family where I could meet someone who I'd never met before but we had a common [Music] language miles started out playing rock as a teenager then expanded his skills into traditional Irish music like miles the music of Belfast keeps evolving the music scene in Belfast is always changing when I was a teenager all the gigs that I saw were metal bands now there's Pop there's Rock there's traditional music in every [Music] part a strong music scene requires supporting new voices and a driving force for that is the oh music center a nonprofit organization that provides resources for up andc coming musicians to rehearse record and perform I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription or fire including the Rooftop where some artists say they can draw inspiration from the spirit of the city we slowly grown into the comfort zone one of the strong parts of reconciliation in Belfast was the music it brought people together it gave people hope and for musicians like miles it gave them a future not to mention an inspiration for his music clusters of weeds creeping over the m atome wow lovely comfort zone yeah this is a comfort zone yeah now I'm looking at an electric piano here yeah what are we going to do we're going to do something all right give me a key I would say G to keep her [Music] simple okay you start I know it's been a while since he got a lion I see you looking down I'm still [Music] crying so take my tiny hands and hold them in your giant one so I can feel part of this giant world if you look into the history of Iris music it actually defined each era whether it was the famine Civil War reconciliation and ultimately freedom and I was lucky to play a small part in Belfast music we could be [Music] flying part of this tiny [Music] world all right man I'm a two cord wonder I mean we both are the music of Belfast is just the appetizer to the rest of Northern Ireland an hour west of the city you couldn't find a more striking difference in tone at the Tranquil shores of [Music] L it's almost a shame that more people don't know about it I mean this is the largest lake in Ireland this place is my whole being my ancestry have all operated from the shoreline Seven Generations that I have Tred back every yeah I do Gary maeran and his wife an Marie uphold the family tradition of fishing on Loch and for them it goes far beyond being just a job something that's in grinding fisherman and we need to be fishing this what this Our Lives it's not a case of me simply doing this for 11 this is something that's in me you couldn't drag it out of me archaeologists have found evidence of people fishing this Lake as far back as 9,000 years and now it was my turn good day profession now I've caught many fish in my life but today we're going after something else this has dropped them for Lo we're going for eel e fishing yep that's right eel fishing Lo is full of them you've probably heard the legend of how St Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland but did you know the rest of the myth where did the snakes go they were driven into this Lake where they miraculously became eels no I'm going to throw this all L the water okay Gary tosses out a marker to guide the Nets which me basically has drawn across the bottom are are Bottom Feeders so to the bottom we have to go to find them so the net will go to the bottom it'll go to the bottom Yep this method hasn't really changed over the past hundreds of years it's a very interent method fishing here in L it's a simple but effective method that he has perfected over a lifetime how long have you been doing this I was 14 he's out here at 4:00 in the morning and then catching the school bus at 8 to go to school so you were fishing at 4 in the morning catching the school bus at 8 absolutely oh my [Music] God that's are coming up oh there we are come you here I'm right here you take this I got this put this over here if you're on the boat you do more than just pitch in because you're reminding Gary of the treasure that is locked we're so used to we take it for granted uh and then whenever good folk like yourself come down here and see it you're you're know at the beauty that Lo these are eels how how many we got probably have about 25 or 30 not bad for morning that's good that's good we without every we going to happy now that I've gotten a taste for eel fishing it's time to get a real taste for eel so Peter I'm going cut us on the bite-sized portions you're calling that bite size well we're out there you I thought you'd been hungry okay I'm hungry all right big bites so we get these on you'll notice I'm not using oil but as the eel starts to cook suddenly there's oil Welly that's a lot of oil that is a lot of oil but that comes right from the e it's not true you can't get fresher than this this is L to table okay I'm going to taste this right now oh wow that's good I can eat this all day our ills without question are special delicacy the reason is the high oil count with in the lovely CH it's great these eels are still in demand throughout Europe but L and its eels actually mean something more to the people of Ireland if you go back to the time of serious hunger and Ireland you're the time with the family that fed us so it has been a crucial stretch of water been there for us before there for [Music] again it was time to leave lck and head a short 20 mi West until the road narrowed and finally disappeared as I arrived here at this mystical setting this is a very ancient um landscape that we have here with the seven circles it's 5,000 years old we don't know who lived here the big more Stone circles were uncovered in the 1940s while the answer to who built the circles may be lost to the past there is evidence that this was a burial site it's a mini Stonehenge complete with stories of mythical proportions as well as the Irish who still worship the gods a site full of ritual and awe the seven circles they're as important to us as the Rhymes that we say and the songs that we sing this is darra Val the leader of the Arma rhymers a band of traveling folk performers from the nearby town of you guess it's ARA long before television H was invented and had everybody Charmed in a corner sitting on a sofa the rers went from house to house entertaining their neighbors their their friends so you could imagine a dark Winter's Night and we would approach the house and as a captain of the play I would say open the door and let me in we hope your favor we shall win and if there's any children in the house they would hide on the on the table I remember doing that scared oh they scared sff and I can kind of see why these frightening yet curious masks made of straw represent characters from Celtic mythology okay so that's when you come to the house but what about here well well come over here and I'll show you [Music] okay the rhymers come here like their ancestors did for centuries to commemorate life cycles and the changing of the seasons but the only way to truly understand is to join in put that on okay and there you are I'm I'm join the circle now I was given the mask of Lou the allseeing Celtic Su God a pretty big role for my first Rhymer performance it's one something to be a spectator but before I knew it it was forced audience participation how am I doing swing your arms shoulders back head up [ __ ] in bellies out and close your left [Music] [Laughter] [Music] ey we have stories we have music we have dancing the folklore and and the ritual has been passed down to us we feel that we are the keepers of the tradition you are no longer a guest you are one of us put it there I'm a rhyme you are a Rhymer today the begore circles are just one stop for the rhymers as they carry this performance tradition throughout the country and my journey has to continue as well [Music] am exploring an entire country is a daunting task but Ireland lays out a path for you the wild Atlantic way it kicks off in dear old donaga in the Republic of Ireland weaving between the crashing waves of the coast and the mountainous Countryside the wild Atlantic way guides you through Villages Frozen in time and along expansive Vistas that have inspired generations of artists and Poets at over 1500 miles it's the longest uninterrupted Coastal driving route in the world and if you head just East the hills are DOT with a certain population and in the village of clur the sheep outnumber the humans the main type of farming here in this part of the country is sheep farming all our life is based around hill sheep farming if you want a closer look the locals will point you to Joe Joyce a third generation sheep farmer but he doesn't do it alone as you can see the terrain around here it's very difficult to walk on so for us to collect cheap of them mountains there you need good dogs the well-trained sheep dog is a must for any sheep farmer there's no other animal no other machine can replace the sheep dog for us here on the mountains now who's this this is spot this is my old guy spot you have a dog called spot yeah so what I'm going to do here now with spot I have a bunch of sheep up at the end of the field here in the distance we're going to send spot to way yeah we're going to send spot up there to fish them down spot you ready he buddy and without hesitation spot goes to work and you can see how steep the ground is so the fact that the dog goes up there rather than me having to go is much better uh you figured that out huh oh [Music] yeah as soon as the SE sheep team comeing see the react see how good his hearing is watch this walk on walk on see you can hear that from here if only more people were disobedient Stay Stay stand stand stand he'll do the same thing with over 100 sheep on the mountain he done with them six sheep so basically what you're saying is this is sheep traffic control big time and if you're going to be a Shepherd you have to dress the part the traditional spec cap is what the Irish Farmers wear here in the west of Ireland and I can see you got my size well um we'll work on that another day and now we're going to see if we can get spot to go for you to go left is come by to go right away to stop will be stand to walk means walk on wherever they're positioned okay with spot at the ready it was time to try out my sheeper in commands away away away see he goes out to the right oh yeah now come by come by come by oh wow say come by again come by come by so we drive them back so say come by again now come by oo there that was good so now he's got know your voice it took him a few commands yeah yeah oh here they come again stand stand oh there you come I had never HED sheep before but it was a fun moment of delusion thinking I could actually control the animals when in fact I had very little to do with it it was all about the dog okay I have another command yeah ready lamp chops oh the dinner it works I'm also very proud that I'm still here working on the land because our forefathers have fought and died to get possession of their own land in this country so I'm just proud that I'm still here as a sheep farmer and that's where I want to stay hello [Music] goodbye and just over these Hills is a world unto its own I told you Ireland has castles but nothing compared to Ashford Castle it's a very special place that brings with it over 800 years of History formerly the home of the Guinness family it's now a hotel but it's more than a hotel it is in itself a way of life how's this for an arrival it's just the beginning indication of what to expect at Ashford anything you want to do you can do it and in style from horseback riding to ziplining archery playay shooting even falconry and they offer one more experience but first you need to know to ask for it and if you do the folks at Ashford will send you down this unmarked road but you won't get lost just listen for the music they say the harp chooses its victims and tortures it for life I heard a harp when I was 10 and I was captivated I had just had to make that noise accomplished harpist Paul dly has been playing all his life and when you come here you don't just listen to the music you go into the workshop where you help make the instruments this is the iconic Irish Harp um it probably goes back to a thousand years ago or thereabouts in Ireland anyway at least we're starting on the soundbox where the toner and volume are generated which is made from one solid piece of a willow tree right you've used the plane before yeah in high school okay okay so start there and find the bumps first like you see there's a littleit bump there take them out and it's fairly straight now but so okay one and then now you put your put your back into it as they say yeah I'm putting my back into all I make Harps because when I began playing the harp I couldn't afford to buy a one so I just began making them oh that's good now good yeah it's getting smoother the harp has been associated with Ireland from as far back as the 12th century um travelers to Ireland commented on how fabulous the musicians here were and then it became the emblem of Ireland around maybe the 15th 16th century and today the harp can be seen on government documents on beer labels it's even reflected in the fame Samuel Becket bridge in Dublin so how long does it take to finish a complete harp a complete complete harp like that one about six weeks maybe six weeks yeah so what you say is I'm staying for dinner yes okay but it's not all woodworking I then got to play the instrument what it is is a uh just the white notes of a piano without the keys you are the keys you want to try Little Bit Of [Music] Tune that was fantastic for a first try but it's all wrong I'm sure it's all wrong you know you can't play the piano with just your tongue that's true same with this you have to put all the fingers on it is a music that if you let it it transports you not to a different destination but to a different time and allows you to immerse to appreciate the hopes the loss and the dreams of a Nation genius back on the road 2 hours south I made a musty stop at the Cliffs of Moore in County CLA in fact some might say for most tourists it's unavoidable the massive sheer walls run for 8 Miles plunging over 700 ft into the ocean below this is the number one tourist attraction in Ireland and you can tell and you can also count on the morning I arrived I spotted 50 large tour buses for me not the way to have a special moment in such a breathtaking dramatic location but if you know the right person to ask you'll get a very different View and they say around here from the top you see the water you see the sea but when you come out on a boat like this you see the cliffs and their True Glory as a Young Man man Eugene gahi made a living as a fisherman in these Waters but now he runs Cliffs of more cruises to share his ocean Vantage Point people viewing the cliffs from this angle really get immersed in the beauty of the cliffs it's a completely different [Music] perspective Through the Ages The Cliffs have inspired Legends of mermaids Celtic deities and a lost Sunken City and people have been coming here for more than 200 years Peter this is a mystical place right back to 1835 when Cornelius O'Brien recognized the beauty of the place and built this Castle as a tourist attraction so before the tour buses there were tourists no you well you had tour buses but you don't see tour buses at the bottom like this no but the cliffs have a more vital role the most important important aspect of this area is that it's the UNESCO geop park that is the protection of the wildlife and the birds in this area it's the biggest bird sanctuary on the mainland of Ireland we have 40,000 nesting birds and you can really only see them from the water so we're in the right place we're in the right place Peter we right under the castle we have on BR on Mo it's a a major sea stack and a bird Colony the erosion has put away the stone between the sea stack and the cliffs and it's a sanctuary for five or six different species of birds and you'll see the birds have a different hierarchy so at the top is the cleanest place to live so if you're unlucky enough to be at the bottom you get all the [ __ ] on top of your head so the clever birds are at the top it's like life itself life itself Peter yeah exactly you nailed us you can see the geologic history with your own eyes layers of sandstone siltstone and Shale deposited more than 320 million years ago and as I learned the magnitude of these Cliffs can resonate deep within a person's emotions both in highs and lows it has a deep contradiction for different people in life it's a really really romantic PL to visit like we're doing this morning but it also has tragedy but sadly um there's a lot of people that decide to end their lives at the C more and as well as to match that uh people get married every year at the top of the CLI some and they have all those romantic photographs also people like to shake their ashes here at the bottom of the C more so what you're talking about here is the entire cycle of Life the entire cycle of Life yeah am I sound a bit emotional but it does that to you [Music] and whether viewed from the water or from the land The Cliffs offer their own powerful perspective I suppose looking at the The Majestic Cliffs here I suppose it just tell us how small we are in the world and how instant we are we're here and we're gone but these Cliffs go on for millions and millions and millions of years so we can protect it for the future Generations I think we leave them uh a nice Legacy and not do too much damage along the way I hear you heading south on the wild Atlantic way I passed what looks like endless farmland and 30 minutes west of the city of limmerick there's a place that will immerse you in traditional Irish life hard work and the threatened world of the family farm the family farm was the main stay of life in Ireland and especially small Farms such as ry's Farm [Music] here ry's Farm is a rare breed Caroline and Joe rigny started it as a working farm and now to make ends meet it's also a working bed and breakfast but you don't just get a view of the farm if you're staying here you're working here [Music] you hear that noise yeah they're really hungry they want their dinner feeding them is allowing the guests to see the pigs in a very near to natural environment they didn't waste any time who's hungry who's hungry I got most of it they got quiet real fast didn't they just [Music] but feeding pigs was only part of my marching orders can't be in Ireland without talking about potatoes we're going planting them that is a seed potato you could have eaten it or kept it for seed I'll make a hole okay and you just drop a potato into it that's it that's it boom simple as that and in about 3 months you can be eating beautiful Irish potatoes Generations back the potato was the main food source for the Irish people potatoes were so Central to the Irish diet that the famines of the mid- 1800s resulted in a million deaths and another million people fleeing the country it puts into harsh perspective how fragile and how vital farming is [Music] you've got a really important job to do here H has left us a couple of eggs there you go okay got it and then down here is a trickier one cuz the hand's in there and she's laid an egg and you're going to take it out and she doesn't want to go out ah I'm glad wearing gloves good plan I will help you she's just a little aggressive really just a little okay oh sweetie look at that you don't get any fresher than that the final task is not something that most people think of as farmwork this wall has been here for about 150 years in the condition it's in now now it's repair time to bring it back to as it was these simple stone walls have been the traditional way to Mark the borders of farms in Ireland for hundreds of years but someone's got to build them and it's all got to be done by hand that one there that piece looking out you got this figured out like a jigaw puzzle yeah practically all the stones have a job but many of the folks who come to rigny are almost compelled to help rebuild that wall it probably would stem back to their own family history as well of where they came from to see maybe some of them would have a have have Irish roots and it would go back as far as before the wall was built and it's all stems on from that and they can see how it's done and partake in how it's done I don't know about any Irish Roots but even helping with a few stones on that wall made me feel closer to Irish history for me when it comes to Ireland my favorite Direction has always been Southwest as far as I can go to Port McGee po McGee you're my tra you're a beyond measure your magic will ever end named after an 18th century Smuggler Port McGee is the quintessential small fishing Village the perfect place to find a pub at the end of the day and you never know what's waiting for you behind the [Music] door a typical session is spontaneous it's not organized people just gather together and they sing together they dance together they play together they socialize together in all ages from 5 years old up to 80 years old Gerard Kennedy is the owner at moring's Restaurant and Pub and these music sessions aren't just a way to blow off steam they're a way to keep Traditions alive it's all about passing it down these are songs that are there for hundreds of years and tunes that have written hundreds of years ago so they're being passed down from one generation to the next if you're at a session you won't just be sipping a pint and watching you're going to get involved so don't be surprised when music literally gets handed down to you I got to show you how to clear the B on you hold your put your hand in here in the back and you get that like a pencil up and down up and down perfect perfect am I doing okay you're doing okay and if you think you can just sit and learn think [Music] again this traditional dance is called shoe the donkey Irish have been doing this two-hand dance as long as anyone can remember I dance side by side with my partner holding right hand and right hand left and left as you can see talent and Agility are not requirements but spirit and passion are and you better have plenty of that as small and close-knit as Fort McGee is some of Ireland's communities are even more hidden available only by ferry they publish a schedule but you aren't always Bound by it the locals often call ahead and that's when you get to go to Cape clear 8 m out it was one of the last places immigrants saw as they headed west to America by ship some of them might have thought of it as the point of no return When in fact the island is a place once you get to know it you long to [Music] return it's a place where everyone knows everybody else and with 10 minutes of your arriving everybody knows you at the moment we have 100 people living on the island only 100 only 100 unfortunately we're still suffering from the last Great Depression which by which I mean the depression of 1929 wow and up until that point in time this was an extremely prosperous Island and that's when the fishing industry declined on this island and so did the population and so did the population Sheamus oal is one of the few residents on Cape clear an island that feels like it comes from another time and place it's only 3 square miles and Gaelic is the primary language there's only one small store and everything comes in Via boat even children take a boat to go to the mainland for school on Cape clear you don't have the conveniences of the modern world that fingertips but in their place may be something much more meaningful go it's an incredible place to live it has a great sense of community and it just has a wonderful quality of life now no Police Department No No need no need for a police department really I can tell you that uh we've gone on holidays on many of occasions and we leave the doors open so the postman can put the post on the table there's no fishing industry here anymore more but in the last couple of years something strange has happened Cape clear is actually producing something it's not agriculture or high-tech or even light manufacturing they're actually making Jin people have tried various types of Industries on the island but we know from our history that the things that worked most and worked best on this island were things based on the natural resources I knew the main ingredient would be a local plant but I wasn't expecting it to be seaweed and with so few people on the island they're only too happy to ask for help it wasn't meant to be k at all and the original plan was to use some of the plants from the island we tried hundreds and hundreds of plants and we were making very fine gin but we weren't making an exceptional gin and that's when we started looking at the seashore and this was right in front of you all it was right in front of us the whole time this is actually very nice seaweed and that brings the sweetness a hint of saltiness and the freshness of the sea to the Gin it's very very good quality today so this is going to make excellent gin I only work with high quality kelp yeah absolutely once the kelp is trimmed it's taken inside to dry so basically we need to just spread it out in the racks like this and in about 24 hours this is going to be beautifully dried once dried the Kel pieces are broken apart and bagged added to the pot and distillation can begin well this is a distillation and we've been distilling since this morning the whole process takes about a week to turn kelp into gin and then it's ready for bottling one more here we go keep them coming Peter keep them [Music] coming SL well thank you very much that's smooth isn't it quite nicely done very nicely done it's These Quiet Moments like sharing a drink with a new friend that show the real community of Cape clear and why it's so worth preserving it's almost inescapable that if you spend any amount of time in Ireland you could begin to think like the Irish you could begin to drink like the Irish dance like the Irish in fact you might even believe you are Irish and there's a good chance one in every 10 Americans have Irish ancestry so you know what's next I had to check out my roots I returned to Dublin to look for answers at Epic the Irish immigration Museum dedicated to telling the story of those who fled Ireland during the Great Famine like every Museum they have a gift shop which you know I usually avoid but if you pass through here and find this door on the right you can start to find your own history at the Irish and family history Center so what do you need to know I need to know everything Dr Patrick Roycroft is a genealogist and he's accustomed to International Travelers walking through his door the Irish have spread all over the world so people come here from South America North America Australia Europe everywhere because they want to know their Irish ancestry so Peter Greenberg right now who was your father he was Sydney Greenberg Patrick got as much as he could from me but the rest was up to him to discover how far back can you go that depends that totally depends on the records so he sent me on my way and Patrick got to work you always start with the person themselves and work backwards so I start with Peter I get details on his parents and grandparents and from then I see okay looking at the dates who can I find on us censuses from there you can work to birth certificates death certificates marriage certificates immigration immigration police records you name it we can find them and after a few days of digging Patrick asked me to meet him only this time not at his office welcome to the genie Johnston Peter wow and this ship has a fascinating story to tell the genie Johnson it represents the type of ship that a million people left Ireland from during the Great Famine a million people had to immigrate or die because it is the only ship that didn't have any deaths on it while crossing the Atlantic from Ireland to America and now it's mored safely beside the immigration Museum how appropriate a place to finally discover if I was indeed Irish and in the Captain's Quarters all will be revealed been doing a lot of research on your family tree we have some very good news you've got Yiddish and you have Russian and you have Ukrainian and you have lvan ancestors wow the bad news is you have no Irish in you whatsoever unfortunately but on your mother's side was a guy called Elias root Beetle and he is the only member of your entire family who ever apart apart from you who's ever set foot in Ireland he was a presbyterian Minister he traveled very widely and internationally so in 1878 he landed in Queenstown which is modern day Cove in County Cork so he's the only person of your family who actually set foot in Ireland but that's not the only Irish connection because he also employed female servants from Ireland of course he did and he was a very good boss to them he was excellent Patrick found a lot of family trivia but alas no Irish that's it your green in your name is as close to Ireland as you get I'll take it good man but as I discovered I didn't need Irish roots to actually start to feel Irish and with my time here drawing to a close I decided to go for one last walk wandering the streets of Dublin maybe like a James Joyce character but no deep thinking here instead a reflection of what a remarkable Journey I'd had almost overwhelmed with culture and history I learned where ancient rich rituals were born so what you're telling me is the ghosts come out at night and where they are still practiced today I tasted Ireland's Natural Abundance I can eat this all day and played a small part in rebuilding and preserving its history and also helping a community to survive from trying to master the national Pastime all right to crafting its national symbol genius I saw the country from a home New Perspective and I explored an urban center where the percussion of old turmoil has been replaced with real music and so I took one last look on this well-traveled bridge above the river moving through the heart of Dublin flowing from Ireland's past into its future carrying the soul of the people and a land on the precipice of a NeverEnding dream calling out to be discovered once again this is hidden Ireland [Music] [Music]

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 29,861

Keywords: Irish history, New World, Republic of Ireland, TRACKS - Travel Documentaries, authentic travel experiences, cultural appreciation, cultural diversity, cultural experiences, culture, heritage sites, historical landmarks, immersive travel experiences, immigrant influence, off the beaten path, storytelling tradition, traditional crafts, travel adventures, travel insights, wanderlust, western Europe, world exploration

Id: Sg9d0GKwrHM

Length: 53min 26sec (3206 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 04 2024