Animal Experiences in Ireland
/We recently returned from a very productive research trip to Ireland. This time we focused on the mid- and north-west coastal areas – from County Kerry up through Counties Limerick, Clare, Galway, Mayo, and Sligo (and County Leitrim, for a minute!), all the way up to wild County Donegal.
While we were there, a some local Italian friends of ours were staying in our house. We texted back and forth each day, asking them for updates on our cats, Hoover and Socksie. Every day, we sent them photos of the animals we saw on our trip. After a few days of this, they wrote: “Dalle vostre foto l’Irlanda sembra un grande zoo!” (“From your photos, Ireland seems like a zoo!”)
Some were from the side of the road: horses, donkeys, cows, and sheep. There were no shortage of those! We love all the roadside animal encounters we have. Birds, too!
(Seriously, readers, this is one reason among many to give yourself plenty of time to get from one location to another. You will see some very cute roadside buddies, that might make for a good photograph. But more importantly, logistically, when there is a herd of sheep in the road, or a few strays, you obviously have to slow down or stop, and that can add time to your trip, so you don’t want to schedule yourself up to the last millisecond.)
We even encountered some animals in bars! For example, this inquisitive parrot. He lives in a bar in County Sligo, in a back room, kind of by himself, but the regulars told us that they often go back to see him and chat him up, and that his owner takes him home when the bar gets too rowdy.
The bird didn’t think much of matt’s jokes, though.
We also had a chance to visit with some Old Irish Goats, a particular breed that was in danger of ceasing to exist until local people decided to make a point of creating a sanctuary for them. We got to meet two of them: Dennis, and Norman. Their caretaker was effusive, and very dedicated to their care. We had a great time chatting with her and learning all about them!
One of the most interesting animals we saw were the sheepdogs we saw in the two different sheepdog shows we attended. You will find these shows all over Ireland, but we seek out the ones that are led by the farmers themselves, as opposed to the ones held at big centers or castles, which have a couple of hundred spectators at each show, and offer several shows each day. The ones run by farmers are much smaller, so you have lots of face time with the farmer and plenty of time to ask questions.
This time, we learned a lot about the difference between what sheepdogs do when they are herding in different landscapes, since the two shows we attended were in very diverse places.
And finally, we visited alpacas! We have visited several alpaca farms, in Ireland, and here in Italy where we live. These alpacas were just adjusting to their new owner — the farm had just been bought by a new man. He showed us the alpacas, then brought in their three new friends: three geese he recently introduced to the farm. We use the term “friends” loosely — the alpacas did not like the geese, and the feeling was mutual! The geese started attacking the alpacas, and then the alpacas got pretty upset, and one kicked Matt in the knee!
Luckily he was OK, we were able to just laugh it off, and a few moments later the owner picked one of the alpacas up and then handed it off to Matt. Matt said the alpaca was as heavy as “three Hoovers” (Hoover, our 20 pound cat). Whew!
Some of the pics we sent to the kids were just doggos that we met on our way - Matt is a sucker for these guys, big or small.
Surprisingly, we saw very few cats – such a shame since Matt always carries a little bag of treats with him. But we did see them and other animals represented in various public art installations here and there.
