Social object: WAW and Irish history Sample FB ad: "The Wild Atlantic Way isn't just a coastal

route of epically rugged proportions. It's a time machine" Historical tales along the WAW
You dont only score epic views and rugged excitement touring the Wild Atlantic Way--You also rack up some history points by stepping back in time.

TIme-warp back to the traditional 1930s and 40s. The spot is Muckross farm and your water is no longer out of the faucet or a lter in your fridge; its across the farm at the bottom of a well. The outdoor stroll provides contrast to the dimly lit house, for electricity has not yet found its way to the countryside. And though this walk is a chore, the Irish landscape is both peaceful and simple. Today, amongst the animals, machinery and landscape rest the Caprenters Workshop, Blacksmiths Forge and Labourers Cottage. Find it: Muckross House Gardens & Traditional Farms, Killarney, County Kerry. The year is 1845 and the disease known as potato blight has contributed to the Great Famine, thus inspiring the Doagh Famine Village. This outdoor museum contrasts the harsh life in Donegal against the equally rugged Derryveagh Mountains and expansive coastal stretch of the Inishowen peninsula. If spirits in the Haunted Rooms attraction arent able to tell you of the arduous times, try the Irish Wake where the dead are sent-off in the traditional way. Opposed to funeral homes, remains of loved ones would abide in the home until burial. Find it: Doagh Famine Village, Doagh Island, Inishowen, Clonmany, County Donegal. Block 2 The National Museum of Ireland Country Life While Ireland struggled for independence from Britain, Irish tenant farmers fought for their private land ownership. Tenants would pay the agent of the Fitzgerald family in the library, who would then hand them a receipt after noting the payment in his books. Though hed usually face the glass doors awaiting entering tenants, its said that he would listen to the tenants conversations hiding behind the concealed door. Visit this hiding spot of an original eaves-dropper in the Turlough Park House, and see the exhibition with the shows the resolution of the land debacle once Ireland gained her independence. Find it: National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park House, Castlebar, County Mayo. Block 3

Only those native to The Blasket Islands could most successfully put this Islands beauty into words. Written by islanders, books like The Islandman and Twenty Years A-Growing contribute to the records of the Island traditions and simpler way of life. The small, isolated community that lived here on Europes edge maintained Irish in its purest form. Now uninhabited, the Islands exists only in these pieces of literature and to those who can visit by ferry to gaze upon its wonder. Find it: The Blasket Islands, Dingle Peninsula, West Kerry

Our time machine has landed in the hillsides of the Dingle Peninsula where a traveler can hear of the hardships and yields of farming such wild landscapes. Though youll get specics on a tour, its not too hard to see why the Irish have farmed here for centuries after you see the views beyond compare. Speaking of rare, the farm contains breeds of sheep that exist almost no where else. Find it: Farm World, Tralee, County Kerry