The May Ireland Tour

We hope you are all enjoying some summer living, creating lasting memories with your family and friends.

 Ireland is now a beautiful dream! Back in May, we travelled from Dublin through Tipperary to Kinsale, Killarney, Galway City and Bunratty, playing at seven different venues, meeting new friends, and enjoying the gorgeous land and seascapes along the way. Our sightseeing was embellished by almost every type of weather, including gale force winds, soaking rains, and brilliant sunshine, often within the space of a day.

We especially want to thank our travelling companions, who put up with our shenanigans , cheered us on at our shows, and are forever a treasured part of the BBC family.

 One of the tour highlights was visiting the 19th Century home of Bridget Cleary. As many of you know, we had made contact with the private owners of the "Fairy Cottage" as it is locally known, back in 2007, when we left a copy of our first CD, Catharsis, for them to discover behind a boarded-up window.

The cottage has since been renovated by the new owners, John and Catherine, who graciously invited the band to come see their home, taking off a day of work, and personally driving us from the village of Cloneen. Their generous Irish hospitality even extended to the rest of the tour group, who were provided a homemade lunch at the local pub, just across the road from the cemetery where Bridget Cleary was laid to rest.

Another high point of our week was a visit to an ancient fairy fort. However, we were not allowed to step one foot around the ring without agreeing to strict rules, followed by a serious admonishment from Tom, our tour driver,

 "If anything bad happens to me in my life, I'll know who to come to"!

This was his warning about the risk of rule breaking! Before we left the fort, we all held hands while he said a blessing in Gaelic to keep us protected. At that moment, the wind kicked up so strong that his words were carried away.  Afterwards, the bus ride was hushed indeed for the next portion of our journey. We learned that the majority of the Irish people share his view that "it's not worth the risk" to disturb the fairy places.

The musical experiences in Ireland were equally extraordinary! In every town, at every venue, BBC was appreciated and welcomed with open arms. Rose and Genevieve made new Irish musician friends, who are touring around the USA, circling back this week to visit the girls a second time. Their band is called Portherhead and you will surely be hearing more from them in the near future. Check them out on You Tube!

 Photos from our adventure can be found on the photo page of this website.

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