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The Lamplighter Multi-cache

Hidden : 11/5/2008
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The hunt for this cache will bring you to the Promenade in Salthill, Galway, a seaside walkway much frequented by Galwegians. The cache is hidden a mile or so beyond the end of the promenade, on a small island off Knocknacarra.

The above co-ordinates will bring you to a plaque bearing the words of the poem 'Fear Lasta Lampaí' or 'The Lamplighter' in English, by the Galway poet Máirtín Ó Direáin. This poem is familiar to many Irish people; most of us studied it in secondary school!

If you look across the bay from this plaque, you should be able to see a small island in the distance. This is the cache location! To get the co-ordinates you will need to use the plaque to answer these questions:

1) How old was Ó Direáin when he died? Let this number be X.
2) What is the difference between the first year mentioned and the last year mentioned on the plaque? Let this number be Y.

Put the numbers into the following formula to discover the cache co-ordinates:

N 53° (X - 64).9(Y)
W 009° 06.7(Y+6)

Note: The plaque features an English translation of the poem on one side and the Irish version on the other. The same dates are mentioned on either side, and either side can be used to make your calculations.

The route to the island will lead you to the outskirts of a campsite. Here you will need to leave the path and walk around the campsite perimeter to reach the trail to the island. If the tide is too far in you can always climb the wall into the campsite and make a shortcut through it.

Be aware also that occasionally a high tide will cut off access to this island! You should be able to see from some distance though whether or not you can get out there. If you head out and get stuck the water is usually only at wading depth, though this is not recommended during stormy weather or at a particularly high tide!

The trail to the island is quite rocky so wear thick-soled shoes, and the trail on the island gets quite muddy and slippery when it's been raining so be careful! Stick to the trail as much as possible though, as birds occasionally nest in the long grass.

If you plan to hunt this cache at night, bring a bright torch!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gnxr gur cngu ba gur evtug unaq fvqr nf lbh neevir ng gur vfynaq. Gur pnpur vf uvqqra oruvaq n ynetr ebpx, pbirerq ol gjb ynetr fgbarf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)