Cast Iron Kettles and other Images from Ireland

When my wife Mary first moved in with me, one of the first things she set up was her kettle, an electric model: fill it with water, press the button and minutes later, you've got boiling water for your tea. The Irish love their tea.

Mary and I stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast in Ballyvaughan a couple of nights ago, and I found these three old cast iron kettles on display there, so I had to take a picture of them. The bed and breakfast owner said they're hard to come by these days. These three show their age beautifully.

Ballyvaughan is a four-pub village right on the western coast of Ireland, nestled at the edge of Galway Bay. Most of the activity is on land this time of year as the weather is quite cold, but there are a few boats here and there. These three dinghies rested in a harbor by the village. I believe the oars were handmade from fiberglass.

The craic was good as we stopped in at several pubs and heard some beautiful songs, hilarious limericks and good tunes. I sat down in Greene's Pub and played a few tunes with a small group of players while Mary connected with a couple who happened to live in Mary's hometown of Murroe.

On our way home, I quickly took shots from inside the car:

Lough Derg, Shannon River, County Clare

Kinvara, County Galway

Tractor with three bales of silage

Local Man hosing down his part of the village