Limerick, Galway, Ennis, and Doolin

King John's Castle in Limerick City

History plays amidst spectacular surroundings and small towns enchant. Fáilte (Welcome) to Western Ireland.

The River Shannon runs along the side of this 13th century fortification, King John's Castle. There's a tremendous view from the top of the cylindrical towers following the river to the green hills beyond. During the Great Seige of 1642, Cromwell's army dug mines beneath the castle walls to undermine this once mighty fortress. Invincible? Hardly.

Two Writers - Galway

In this imaginary scenario, two famous writers, Oscar Wilde and Eduard Wilde (from Estonia) are deep in conversation. It's anybody's guess what their talk is about. They had never met in real life. May I dare say they're exploring their "roots" since they bear the same last name?

Healing Hands by Shane Gilmore

Pro Cathedral of St. Peters and Paul, Ennis

There are various interpretations of these limestone hands modeled from the hands of Willie Walsh, the Bishop of Killaloe. All of these attributions - peace, cooperation, faith, and the welcoming of immigrants hit the mark. But the best interpretation may be this quote from Isaiah 49:15 that is engraved on a plaque by the sculpture: "I will not forget you. I have carved your name on the palm of my hand." How beautiful!

O'Connell Street, Ennis

My home base in County Clare was Ennis, a small, colorful town about 30 minutes from Shannon Airport and on both train and bus routes. This turned out to be a good choice as Ennis is well situated between the cities of Galway and Limerick and a short drive to the Cliffs of Moher. At the end of the day, I went home to peace and quiet except on the day of the World Cup finals when the occupants of the hotel room next door to mine were pounding the walls and shouting angrily. I guess their team lost. tsk tsk.

Doolin

The coastal town of Doolin is famously known as the home of traditional Irish music. Its pubs are alive with music sessions nightly in the summer and in February, a music festival is held to honor Doolin's own, the Russell brothers, for their many contributions to elevate traditional Irish music to the world stage. Doolin is centrally located between the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher and the perfect kicking off point for walking explorations in the area.

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Images by Charie

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was...

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and...

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the ...

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