Program 356: Disappearing Places USA; The Irish Sea

On the next Travel with Rick Steves, we'll hear about the threats to iconic places in the United States that the World Monuments Fund has added to its latest "watch list" of endangered places.

Guides from Wales and Ireland share their favorite highlights of the Irish Sea, that unites the Celtic lands of Britain and Ireland. And we get a wee taste of the storytelling prowess that the Irish are famous for.

Add a little character to your world each week, on Travel with Rick Steves. 

• World Monuments Fund USA project coordinator Frank Sanchis
• Martin DeLewandowicz, tour guide based in Wales
• Stephen McPhilemy, tour guide based in Northern Ireland
• Irish storytelling feature from Travel with Rick Steves producer Sarah McCormic 

• The World Monuments Fund has issued its updated "Watch List" of endangered places for 2014, and has an interactive map with details and photos from the sites on the list. 
• Lee Rosenbaum blogs about the high rise controversy over the Palisades in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
• Stephen McPhilemy operates the Paddy's Palace hostel in Derry.
• Irish Ferries operates routes from Dublin and Rosslare to destinations in Britain and France. 
• Direct Ferries books passage on the ferry lines from Northern Ireland to Scotland.
• Wikipedia lists extensive information about the Isle of Man. 
• The TT ("Tourist Trophy") Motorcycle Races are held in late May and early June on the Isle of Man.
• Martin and Stephen suggest that Dún Laughaire is a pleasant community with an Irish Sea ferry connection, and is an easy DART ride into Dublin. 
• Storyteller and tour guide Johnny Daly offers a "Food, Folklore and Fairies" night out at the Brazenhead Pub in Dublin, which is said to be Ireland's oldest pub.
• The Heritage Ireland website has information about the Blasket Centre on the Dingle Peninsula.
• A list of literature published by Blasket Island writers.

• "My wife and I will be traveling to Ireland and Scotland in August.  We will be taking a high speed ship from Belfast to Stranraer and are curious as to what we might see."   (Ed in Huntington Beach, California)
• Caller describes a visit to the Isle of Man. "Although it is Celtic with a long Viking period, the people appeared to me to be mainly English and Victorian in character. What do the English and Irish feel about the Isle of Man?" (Kriss in Aliso Viejo, California)
• Caller inquires about taking a car on the ferry from either Belfast or Larne to Stranrar, and returning to Dublin via Hollyhead, Wales.  "Are there restrictions on taking rental cars between the UK and Ireland?" (Irene in Phoenix, Arizona)

• Caroline Goulding, "Hector the Hero," Caroline Goulding / Telarc
• Everything But The Girl, "Imagining America," The Language of Life / Atlantic
• * Mark Isham, “Many Chinas,” Vapor Drawings / Windham Hill
• Eleanor Kane, "Shark's Favorite," From Galway to Dublin: Early Recordings of Irish Traditional Music (collection) / Rounder
• Gwenno, "Tryweryn," Celtic Crossroads (collection) / Putumayo
• Dingle Folk, "McAlpine's Fusiliers," Craic Me A Dingle:  The Best of Irish Folk (collection) / Ba-Ba Music
• Luke Daniels, “Patsy Denning Set,” The Celtic Heartbeat Collection, vol. 2 / Celtic Heartbeat
• George Formby, "Isle of Man," 50 Favorites / Roslyn Records
• * Donald F. Lindsay, parlor pipes, Alannah Fitzgerald, Celtic drum, "The Seagull Jig," The Emerald Isles:  Music Inspired by Ireland and Scotland (collection) / Telarc
• Martha Clancy, "The Ash Grove," A Hundred Thousand Welcomes / Darach Records
• Clannad, “A Mhuimín Ó,” Landmarks / Atlantic
• The Chieftans, "Rob Roy," Film Cuts / RCA Victor
• La-Le-Lu, "Far Away (karakoke version)," Folk, vol. 2  / Sing Like Me! Karaoke
• O’Malley’s Folk Music Players, "Lament for Stalker Wallace," Irish & Celtic Folk Classics /  Big Eye Music
• Sean Cheasit O Cathain, "Port Na bPucai,"  Beauty of Oileain: Music and Song of the Blasket Island / Claddagh

• In the billboard, and in the segment A interview, Rick notes that there are "dozens" of historical sites and monuments in the US that are at risk.
• Frank Sanchis discusses a current controversy "this year" over rezoning the New Jersey Palisades for high rise buildings, starting at 9:20.
• At 25:44, caller Ed asks about a trip he's planning "in August" for the Irish Sea area.
• Stephen and Martin discuss the Sellafield nuclear power plant, starting at 27:07.  Rick adds that he's heard the Irish Sea is called "one of the most radioactive seas in the world."   
• At 28:48, Rick says he's heard Irish engineers have proposed building a tunnel to Scotland, but the guests agree that there is no funding to proceed on the project.
• Martin notes at 35:06 that young people today want to live in Glasgow over Edinburgh for its "edge."
• Stephen mentions the annual TT ("Tourist Trophy") motorcycle road races that are held each June on the Isle of Man at 41:29.