I got to go to Clonmacnoise twice this summer. It’s just south of Athlone on the Shannon. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the midlands of Ireland. Since I live in a place where the river is held captive to provide water and electricity, I love to see a river running free. The first time I went with our students; they were impressed. The second time I went with Mark; he was not. Both times it was crawling with busloads of German, and some Spanish tourists, but not many Irish people.
The first time I went to Clonmacnoise was the first summer I taught for Study Abroad Ireland in 2005. When we returned I went to the Londis, our corner market, for some groceries. The young Irish clerk asked me where we’d gone that day. When I told her we’d taken the Viking Boat down the Shannon to Clonmacnoise, she looked puzzled. When I told her a little more about it, she shook her head, “No, it doesn’t ring any bells.” Over the following years I’ve become ever more aware that the old sites and old stories of Ireland that fascinate me and other tourists are often of little interest or relevance to many modern Irish people.
Nonetheless, the old stories and myths do a have a very strong presence in Irish life and culture. The Cuchualain Transport is just one example of how the mythic heroes pop up in everyday life. It was parked outside the hospital in Athlone. Maybe the connection is between the wheelchair and Cuchulainn's chariot. 
The picture at the top shows five Study Abroad Ireland students at Clonmacnoise with the Shannon and its flood plain behind them. From left: Jared Corder, Kalli Fox, Ashley Bagley, Alex Shannon, and Ed Pettet
