West of Ireland

Nancy Blake's Pub, West of Ireland

Since it is so close to St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd explore an Irish sim, in particular the West of Ireland sim. I don't know what I was expecting. Perhaps some thatched cottages and green fields. The sim does have that, but it has a lot else. Of course, there's shops and a pub, a very popular one called Nancy Blakes.When I visited, they were celebrating Mardis gras, so I can just imagine what it will look like for St. Patrick's Day.

Art Gallery, West of Ireland

West of Ireland also has some horses and stables in a pretty glen, an art gallery, and a surfing beach. The surfing beach has some huge waves, and there are shops selling surfboards and other beach gear on the boardwalk. I also noticed a skydiving platform and, in the village, a free tarot parlor, both of which I intend to try when I visit again.

Village Tarot Parlor

A notecard I picked up on the sim gave some very interesting background: "The West of Ireland promotes Irish and Celtic culture within Second Life, while raising funds for Project Children and providing an entertaining environment for guests. These estates are owned by the South Texas Celtic Music Association and are collectively a recognised 501(c)3 nonprofit organisation with both the US government and Linden Labs. Project Children was started in 1975 as a way to bring Catholic and Protestant children from Northern Ireland together. At the time the organization was founded, Northern Ireland was strewn with political strife and violence . . . At the West of Ireland, we host concerts, DJ dances, theme parties, and other events as a means of raising donations for Project Children."

Garden Maze

One other surprise I found at West of Ireland was a garden maze. There's a lm-giver by the art gallery to the maze, but you need to be farther from the maze to use it. The maze itself is quite lovely and, although I haven't tried it, I imagine it's tricky, too.

Also, for your information, the West of Ireland's library moved from this sim to Info Island and is now the Seanchai Library offering the same quality programs and storytelling as they have in the past.

Slurl to West of Ireland: http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/15/69/22

Originally posted in "Eye of the Grind" blog