Good-bye Ireland!

We were awake early on our last day in Ireland.  Our hostess provided a light breakfast, we stopped for gas, and were on our way to the airport in Shannon to return our rental car and hopefully get on a plane bound for home.  (When you're flying stand-by, you never really know until the last minute!)  We rented our car at the airport in Dublin, but returned it at the Shannon airport--scratch free I might add!  The check-in lines were L-O-N-G at American Airlines because it was their first day of the season flying out of Shannon and there were a LOT of trainees working.  Security lines were long too.  And pre-US entry lines.  AND customs lines.  But we got to our gate with time to spare.  If fact, we had time for a chocolate muffin and latte!  And we were VERY happy to find that there was indeed room for us on the plane.

I can't imagine a more wonderful trip.

Good-bye Emerald Isle!  Hope to see you again someday.

Our last day

 

Yesterday, after a wonderful day at Kylemore Abbey, we arrived at The Connemara Country Lodge, and it was love at first sight!  Mary (our third hostess/owner in a row named Mary!) made us feel so welcome and showed us to our fabulous rooms.  We also met her parents, and then this morning at breakfast we met her daughter, who runs the wool store next door.  Mary cooked a delicious breakfast and then entertained us with her delightful music!

After leaving the lovely Connemara Lodge, we happened to see a sign for the Sky Loop Road and decided to investigate.  So beautiful!

We stopped at the Connemara Visitors Centre, and learned, among other things, how peat is harvested.  Peat, or turf, has been harvested in Ireland for centuries, and has been used as a source of heat throughout history.  (Our cottage in Lahinch burned peat in the fireplace!)  Peat forms over time from decaying vegetation and is harvested from the bogs scattered throughout the Irish landscape.  It was very interesting to see the countryside where peat had been harvested, and to see the trailers that transport it.  It's big business in Ireland now, but there is concern that the bogs are disappearing.



We traveled through the Connemara National Park, and were able to see the views little better today.  No rain!

The "dots" in the water are fish pots.

 

We were delighted to see sheep in and all along the roads in the park.  This picture was taken through the windshield, and isn't very clear, but that's a lamb nursing its mother right in the road!

We made our way to Ennis, enjoying the beautiful scenery, but sad because this would be our last night in Ireland.  Our GPS didn't take us to the Railway View House B & B where we were staying, but we thought we were in the general area, so Tim and Art walked to see if they could ask someone for directions.  They met a woman on the sidewalk, and as it turned out, she was the owner!  The Railway View House was perfect.  The rooms were clean and comfortable, and the hostess was so accommodating.  We knew that we would have to leave for the airport before breakfast was served, and she offered to prepare something early for us.  So kind!

We walked into Ennis for dinner, and FINALLY heard the traditional Irish music that we had been wishing for!  Ennis was a pretty town, and we enjoyed walking around looking in the shop windows.  We ate dinner at Cruises, and it was a great choice for our last Irish meal!

What a wonderful way to spend our last night in Ireland!

What to Pack for Ireland in the Spring

At the Giant's Causeway

On the streets of Dublin

In Glendalough

At the Rock of Cashel

Denise's new wool gloves!  Aren't they the perfect souvenir?

On the ferry

At the Cliffs of Moher

Get the picture?

Connemara

Today we drove to Connemara in the rain.  Although we had been drizzled on while traveling in the car, blown away by the wind at the cliffs, frozen at the Rock of Cashel, and hailed on in Glendalough, Killarney Park, and Cliffs of Moher, this was the first day that we actually were rained upon.  It rained hard enough that we couldn't really see the beautiful lakes and mountains of the Connemara region, and we couldn't get out of the car to take pictures.  We could see well enough to know that we would want to return here someday though!


Kylemore Abbey

Today was rainy, cold, and dreary, but we visited to Kylemore Abbey anyway, because we knew that this would be our only chance.  The gloomy weather actually suited this imposing looking castle!

Kylemore Abbey is currently home to a community of nuns of the Benedictine Order who came here in 1920 after their abbey in Ypres, Belgium was destroyed in World War I. The nuns opened a boarding school for girls, and began restoring the Abbey, Gothic Church and Victorian Walled Garden.

Back before the nuns, in the mid-1800s, Connemara was a popular destination for hunting and fishing.  Margaret and Mitchell Henry visited Connemara while on their honeymoon, and fell in love with it, returning often.  On their visits, the Henry's rented Kylemore Lodge, the original building on the site where they later built the castle.  When his father died, Henry used his inheritance to buy the lodge and build the castle and gardens.  He provided jobs and a better way of life for the locals who were recovering from the Great Famine.  Only three years after the castle was completed, Margaret Henry died.


In 1903, Mitchell Henry sold Kylemore Castle to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester. They lived a lavish lifestyle financed by the Duke's father-in-law.  They immediately started renovating the castle, removing large amounts of Italian and Connemara marble, and removing a beautiful German stained glass window.   The locals did not approve, and felt that these changes desecrated the memory of their beloved Margaret Henry.  The Duke and Duchess left Kylemore in 1914 after the duchess' father died.  One rumor says that the Duke lost Kylmmore in a game of cards, but the truth may be that funds dried up after the death of the Duke's father-in-law, and they could not afford to keep it.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad that it was available when the Benedictine Order of nuns needed it, and glad that they have restored and maintained it.  It is truly amazing.


The Gothic Church

We visited the beautiful Gothic Church on the grounds of Kylemore, and were so fortunate to be there at the right time to hear a concert by a visiting a Capella group. 

Mitchell Henry built the church in memory of his wife.  She died while they were vacationing in Egypt, leaving behind her husband and nine children.  He couldn't stand the thoughts of burying her on foreign soil, so he brought her home to Kylemore.  Originally the church was a place of Anglican worship, but was re-dedicated as a Catholic Church in 1920 when then nuns came.  I think that now it is used mainly for concerts. 

The view from the path leading to the Gothic Church

The Victorian Walled Gardens

Kylemore Abbey's Victorian Walled Garden was built by Mitchell Henry at the same time he built the castle.  It originally had 21 heated glass houses, and 40 gardeners.  Over the years, and under various owners, the garden was neglected and gradually fell into horrible disrepair, until by the 1990s it was completely overgrown with brambles and self-seeded trees.  The nuns began restoration in 1995, determined to restore it to its original splendor, and in 2000 the garden was opened to the public.

It is AMAZING!

 Part of the restored glass houses

 The bothy--the structure that housed the many gardeners that worked here

Sheep grazing near the Tea Room at the gardens

On the path leading to the walled gardens

The sun came out and we left, tired and happy, to find the Connemara Country Lodge where we would sleep for the night.  What a wonderful day!

Inis Oirr (Inisheer) and The Burren

With Lahinch and Callura Cottage as our home base, we headed out this morning to visit Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands.   However, when we arrived in Doolin to board the ferry, we discovered that the seas were too rough, and the captain had decided NOT to make the trip to the largest and furthest away of the Aran Islands.  Instead, he would go to Inisheer, the smallest and closest island because the water was not as rough closer in, and the ferry would return earlier in the day.  We were given the option to go (with a partial refund since it was a shorter trip) or to get a total refund.  We opted to GO!

Art asked the skipper if she (our boat) had been out all night.  Oh Art.

The trip over was rough, and I for one was glad that the captain had chosen NOT to make the trip to the further island!

We found this tiny island to be GORGEOUS!  It was small enough that we didn't need bicycles or a rented pony cart to get around.  We just started walking.


















Inis Oirr

Our first stop was at O'Brien's Castle Ruins.  The castle is located on one of the highest point of the island, and therefore is one of the first things you see on the island.  It is thought to have been built if the 14th century.  According to history, the O'Flahertys of Connemara seized the castle from the O'Briens of Munster in 1582.  Years later, in 1652, Cromwell stormed in and took the castle from the O'Flahertys.  (Seems he took whatever he wanted in those days.) Eventually, the castle was left to fall into ruin.

From the castle, we walked down a long meandering path, with beautiful scenes like this.  We thought we would circle around to another part of the island, but when we reached the end, we realized that the only way back was the way we had come.

We didn't mind seeing such gorgeousness a second time on our way back, and we met some pretty nice friends along the way!

After stopping for a restroom break and a little refreshment, we walked to the Teampall Chaomhain (Church of St. Keevaun), a church that has sunk in the ground.  (The sand has to be dug out each year to uncover the church.)  St. Keevaun is supposedly the brother of St. Kevin (the founder of the monastery that we went to in Glendlough), and he is the patron saint of Inis Oirr.  We were pretty fascinated by this church, and the beautiful old graves that surround it.

We walked around as much of the island as we could in the short amount of time we had.  Everything was beautiful, and we couldn't help but envy the 250 residents who call this beautiful place home.  We bought a little of the famous island fudge to tide us over until we could eat a late lunch in Doolin, then made our way to the ferry docks for our return trip.  The water was SO rough on the way back.  The waves washed over the side of the boat, soaking some of our fellow tourists, but the boat was so rocky that that they dared not stand up to move to a dryer location!  Pretty exciting.  For us.  Not so much for the ones who got soaked.


The Burren

Since our excursion to the Aran Island didn't last as long as we had originally planned, we decided to try again to find The Burren National Park that we had heard so much about.  As it turns out, we were very close to it yesterday--we had turned right when we should have turned left!  It was unlike anything we had ever seen.   The word "burren" comes from the Irish word "bofreann", meaning rocky place.  Very appropriate, since the Burren is mile after mile of grey limestone rock.  We pulled over on the side of the rode and climbed up, and there were grey rocks as far as the eye could see.

In 1651, one of Cromwell's Army Officers said of the Burren, "of this barony it is said that it is a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury them."  But what is amazing is that tufts of grass grow up between the rocks,  and there are wildflowers growing everywhere!  There are Arctic-alpine plants growing beside Mediterranean plants, lime loving and acid loving plants growing side by side, and woodland plants growing out in the open with no trees to provide shade from the sun.  And they all survivie in a land that seems to be composed entirely of rock.

Cairns dot the rocky landscape, and Tim decided to make one as evidence that we had been there.  And his was bigger than all the rest!

We were very interested in finding the Poulnabrone domen that is located in the Burren, but were just about to give up when we finally spied it.  The portal tomb* dates back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200BC and 2900 BC.  In 1985 a crack was discovered in one of the portal stones, and the stone was replaced.  During this time, excavations found between 1 and 22 adults and six children buried under the monument.  Personal items buried with the bodies helped establish its age.  Such interesting history!!

*A Neolithic tomb consisting of two or more upright stones with a capstone, believed to have been buried in earth with a central opening to the burial site below.  I think.

Another wonderful day in this wonderful country of Ireland. 

We are sad to leave this area, but are excited about

traveling to the Connemara region tomorrow.