The Millennium Experience

A lovely patchwork of rolling green fields speckled with farmhouses, cows, and sheep…yes, if you fly into Ireland, your descent will probably be shrouded by gray clouds. But as your plane breaks through the mists, you’ll see the land for which the famed Emerald Isle was named. Shimmering lakes, meandering rivers, narrow roads, and stone walls add to the impression that rolled out before you is a luxurious welcome carpet, one knit of the legendary “forty shades of green.” (If you’re lucky you may even see a rainbow—something you’ll see again and again if you travel the countryside.) This age-old view of misty Ireland may be exactly what you imagined. Travelers still arrive expecting Eire to be the land of leprechauns, shillelaghs, shamrocks, and mist. Though we dislike the role of debunker, we feel it but fair to warn that the only known specimens of leprechauns or shillelaghs are those in souvenir shop windows; shamrock only blooms on St. Patrick’s Day or around the borders of Irish linen handkerchiefs and table cloths; and the mists, in reality a soft apologetic rain, can envelope the whole country, cities and towns included, in a matter of minutes. Yes, much can still be sung and said about the “romance” of Ireland and the tear and smile in her eye. Soon enough, however, you’ll discover that today’s Ireland is this and more—much, much more. ... More

For a small island country (just over half the size of New York State) isolated on the westernmost extreme of the continent, Ireland has nevertheless managed to strut its way around the European stage. Economically it has traditionally been a mere understudy to the great European powers (especially Great Britain); politically its influence is minimal, and yet everyone knows of the Irish, and they all cast a slightly envious eye at this mysterious island of romance. ... More