Friday, 03 August 2007
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Ireland - 2007
I started out my trip in beautiful Galway, in the West of Ireland, at the 14th Irish Society of Homeopaths Conference. This is the fourth time I have spoken at this conference and I always love it.The Irish are a wild and friendly nation and even if the weather is bad - and it often is - the warmth of the people is just grand!*
The Irish conferences were established in 1994 by Nuala Eising of the Burren School of Homeopathy.
The Galway College of Homeopathy - founded in 2004 by Kate Chatfield and Clare Sheehan - are continuing a fine and fun tradition.The homeopathy conferences are brilliant events: unique in that they are organized by students
- a fresh group of students each year who make all decisions, including who to invite to speak! They work incredibly hard to pull off events that are well-attended and great value. Over 300 students and practitioners attended from all over Ireland, England and Europe - and a smattering from the rest of the world.
The University of Galway (the conference venue) is just outside the city of Galway.
Between sessions, people and vendors galore hung out inside the light and airy building that was our
(conference) home for 3 days!
The auditorium was so well 'built' that speakers did not need microphones.
As usual most attendees are women - as are most homeopaths.
Here I am with two of the 'organizers/future homeopaths' - Helena and Breda.
My talk went well - I spoke about the key things that I had learnt in 25 years of homeopathic
practice.
Jayesh Shah came from India to talk about his work with Sankaran's 'sensations'.
Other speakers including Misha Norland (the Devon School of Homeopathy), Amy Rothenberg (who
spoke about her husband - Paul Herscu's Cycles and Segments), and Jurgen Becker (who spoke
about his inspirational work with the C4 diltutions.)
It is always lovely to see old friends at these conferences, especially Francis Treuherz from
London who is a friend and colleague for the past 30 years. He introduced me (for my presentation!),
telling a fun story about a box of chocolates he had given me one time as a birthday present.
The box was from Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy and inside the box were 6 bottles of tablets:
Chocolate 6C, 12C, 30C, 200C and 1M!!! Jeremy Sherr had just completed his proving of the remedy
(where a substance is 'tested' on a group of healthy people) and the remedies were newly available
at the pharmacy.After the conference I stayed in Ireland for four glorious days, driving and walking and trying
to stay warm! It was in the low 50s for most of that time. Thank goodness the sun peeped
out for an hour or more some days!
Galway CityGalway is a small city on the west coast of Ireland at the mouht of the River Corrib which
runs into the Atlantic ocean. It's history dates back to 1124 when a fort was built - from
which a city grew. I had a great time walking eating fish and chips and visiting some of the
ancient sites. I loved St Nicholas' Collegiate Church - the largest medieval parish church in
Ireland which holds the remains of a Knigh Templar! The holy grail legends are alive and well
in Ireland that's for sure! Galway is the fastest growing city in Europe and it's heart is a
compact hub of delightful, winding streets full of life.Click the little arrow icon to hear a Galway Fiddler I passed by walking through the City.
You can hear the people laughing and chatting outside the pubs as well!
The Burren
The Burren looks like a lunar landscape - it's name means 'rocky place'. It is starkly beautiful, with
gray limestone hills and valleys like giant rock gardens littered with dolmens, burial chambers and other
megalithic tombs up to 6000 years old - older than the pyramids!!
Apparently the spring is the time to visit the burren because Arctic, Alpine and Mediterranean plants
are in full bloom in an amongst the stones.Cliffs of Mohar
These breathtaking cliffs stand 700 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and are home to over 30,000 birds
with 29 species nesting there including Atlantic Puffins, hawks, gulls, guillemots, shags, ravens and
many more.
The visitor center is a spectacular, environmentally fascinating building carved out
of a limestone hill.Knocknaree
Here are my friends Gerry and Angie who both work at the Irish School of Homeopathy
in Dublin. I stayed in their lovely cottage in Sligo to unwind after the conference. Sligo is
'Yeat's country and is full of the most beautiful countryside: I had many beautiful walksby lakes, streams and valleys
Knocknarea is an isolated hill by the seaside marked by a huge stone cairn on its summit.
It took a good hour to get to the top and was well worth it in spite of the bitter winds up
there! Beautiful views abounded.Tradition tells that is is the tomb of the redoutable 11th century warrior: Queen Maeve
of Connaught. Maeve is reputedly entombed in the Knocknarea cairn in an erect position,
in full battle regalia, facing northward towards her Ulster enemies. Some tombs are
dated to the Neolithic era, with evidence of the re-usage of such tombs in the Bronz and
Iron Ages!
Mute Swans
Here are some facts and trivia! (mainly from Wikepedia)
The Mute Swan is the national bird of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In the UK they are the property of the Queen and only the monarchy can kill/eat them.
It is one of the heaviest flying birds: males reach 30lbs or more. They fly up to speeds of 55 mph.
The swans in the moat at The Bishops Palace at Wells Cathedral, England have for centuries been
trained to ring bells for food. Two swans are still able to ring for lunch.
Swans are highly revered in by the ancient Celts. Some Celtic bird-goddesses took the form of swans.
Swans are also highly revered in Hinduism.
The sound of the wings during flight, which has been described as a musical throbbing or humming was
believed by both the Ancient Britons and the Anglo-Saxons to be a human voice.
Socrates' last words before being put to death in 399 AD: " You think I cannot see as far ahead as a
swan. You know that when swans feel the approach of death they sing, and they sing sweeter and
louder on the last days of their lives because they are going back to that God whom they serve."
(Plato)Celtic Seaweed Baths in Sligo!
Thalassatherapy (seaweed-based therapy) has been popular for thousands of years. It is believed
that seawater and seaweed have therapeutic properties, because seawater is similar to body plasma.
So, soaking in warm seawater enables the body to absorb minerals and trace elements while at the
same time eliminating toxins and impurities. Seaweed contains minerals and trace elements including
iodine. It also contains natural oils which are released by warm water. Seaweed baths are known to
relieve conditions like psoriasis, eczema, rheumatism and arthritis.The hot bath was wonderfully relaxing and my skin was super-silky afterwards but the
mucilaginous properties of the seaweed made me reluctant to lift an arm or leg out of the water.
Strings of slime are not appealing to me under any circumstance. Silly me!Here's the beach by the baths.
Finally ... here are some panoramic photos that i 'stitched together'
Strandhill ... near Sligo - home of the Celtic Seaweed Baths!
A view from Knocknarea.
Inniscrone Beach ... Ireland's oldest 'seaside resort' with the finest, whitest of sand and the
softest of dunes in which to nap, sheltered from those Atlantic 'breezes'!I have visited Ireland several times but this was my first time to really experience it and enjoy
more than a few days at a homeopathy conference! It was just grand. * I can't wait to go back!
I loved the way complete strangers would stop and talk for hours, the wicked irish sense of humor, the way the rain fell oh so gently, the creamy guinness (creamier than guinness anywhere else in
the world!), the dry stone walls in so many more shapes and patterns than I've seen anywhere
else, the fat and crispy chips (fries!), the sound of music and laughter in every pub ... and so
much more.* Grand is the Irish 'adjectorial' equivalent to the Brit's 'brilliant'!
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