The Cliffs Of Moher

by chris cunningham

Ah, some nice sleep. I actually feel like I want to stay here another night after that noisy ass hotel in Dublin. I got an early start today which was good and bad. Good because I had a lot of driving to do, but bad because it was like planet Pluto cold outside. All of the fields around had frost on them and the sun looked amazing as it was raking across all of the ice. I had to find my way down to Liscanoor to see if some ferries were running. I suspected they weren’t but thought I’d give it shot. They weren’t, but that did allow me to take a beautiful drive through the hills on the way to the cliffs. I even passed through Lisdoonvarna which is home to the famous matchmaking festival.

After a couple hour drive I finally arrived at the Cliffs. Damn. Those things are some big cliffs. The sun of course was working against me photo wise but they were still amazingly beautiful. After an hour or so at the cliffs I needed to hit the road so I could get up to Clifden and the Connemarra in the late afternoon. At the end of the day I pulled into the town of Sligo exhausted and beat from the days driving. The first hotel I passed I stopped at and thank God they had rooms. If I had to search out a hotel right then I would been a wreck. I was more mentally tired than physically tired, so I wasn’t really sleepy yet. So what better thing is there to do when you’re mentally tired but go to the circus! As I was driving into town “Tom Duffy’s Circus” was across the street from the hotel.

It was about 8:15 when I finally got over there. I walked up to the ticket counter and saw that the show had started at 7:30. I asked if I could still go in, but he said I missed the lions and tigers. I figured most of the show was going to be a huge animal exploitation fest anyway. So the less I saw of that the more I could probably enjoy the whole camp factor. I said I was cool with going in late because I had nothing to do. For God’s sake I’m the north west corner of Ireland on a Friday night going to a circus. Of course I have nothing to do. He sold me the cheapest ticket yet still gave me a grandstand seat.

Ok, I’ll never do this again, as I was seriously the oldest person there without a kid. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show though. Animal taunting and all. Man, those poor alligators. All they did was cart them out, throw them into the ring, and rap their noses with sticks so they would open their mouths in defense. Then the circus performers would throw their hands up in the air like some great feat had been done. Everyone clapped except me, who sat horrified in the darkness of the last row. God bless Cirque Du Soleil that only exploits little russian gymnasts and asian girls who throw around yo-yo’s and stuff. At least they could quit if they want. Anyway, I’ve never been to a traditional circus before and it was exactly the David Lynch house of horrors experience I expected it to be.