Ireland 2001
In October of 2001 my Dad & I went on a fortnight holiday
to the West of Ireland. Here are some of the photos from our trip.
(click on each photo for a larger version)
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Moher
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Watchtower
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Moher Bug
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Doolin Town
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Doolin Jetty
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| 1) We landed in Shannon in the West of Ireland and headed into Ennis to find our lodging for the evening. We did manage to eat a fine meal and catch a little music at Cruise's Pub before heading to get some sleep. The first goal in the morning was to beat the tourist bus to the Cliffs of Moher, Later that day we made it into Doolin Town.
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Doolin Seaside
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Kinvara Scene
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Castle Ruin
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Castle Closeup
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Castle Demesne
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| 2) We stayed out late and heard some great music at McGann's Pub, then headed north along the coastline towards Kinvara and beyond. This castle on the western coastline was reputedly the home of my banjo-playing friend's ancestors.
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Stable Inspection
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Holy Grotto
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Burren Landscape
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Pulnabrone Dolment
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| 3) Here's my Dad in the old stable or coachhouse at the edge of the castle grounds. There was also a little grotto which is still visited regularly by the locals who believe it is a holy place. We had tea in Kinvara, then headed inland, over the rugged Burren landscape.
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Sky Road
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Clifden Ruin
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Clifden Coastline
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Famine Memorial
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Skeleton Crew
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| 4) Just outside of Clifden is a high road along the coast that leads to Cleggan, called the Sky Road. Although the weather was a big foggy, we had some great views anyway. We continued north along the coast to Croagh Patrick, Ireland's highest and holiest mountain. At it's foot is a memorial to the Great Famine of the 1840's.
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Connemara
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Kylemore Abbey
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Rockfleet Castle
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Granuaile's Wall
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Mystery Castle
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| 5) We scheduled some time for a walk through the Connemara National Forest, and stopped briefly at Kylemore Abbey on the way. It's a boarding school for girls, but we didn't see any, dang it. We also found the castle of Ireland's Lady Pirate, Granuaile, where she divorced her husband by denying him from the tower. Along the way I spotted an impressive castle right on the coastline, but was unable to get close - it was surrounded by walls and was apparently someone's private residence!
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Rockfleet Demesne
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Castle Approach
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Croagh Patrick
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Westport Environs
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| 6) Rockfleet Castle was actually Granuaile's second castle. It's pretty nice for a vacation home! We declined to climb Croagh Patrick and settled for a pass through it's historic museum before continuing on to Westport. The landscape is starting to change as we head into the Northwest.
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Abbey Cemetary
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Abbey Window
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Abbey Cloister
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Irish Cross
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| 7) At the foot of Croagh Patrick is an old abbey with a cemetary full of headstones from the 15th & 16th century. There are some amazing carved stone crosses, and the view out to the western ocean is absolutely beautiful.
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Dolmen Info
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Four Maols Dolmen
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Galway Doorways
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Galway Water Cover
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| 8) Heading into Galway we stopped at a relatively obscure dolmen on the outskirts of town, then grabbed a bite and walked around downtown Galway for a little bit.
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Sligo Coastline
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Foggy Castle
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Hunger Strike
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Old Lyfford Jail
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| 9) Although Ireland is not that big, if you hug the coast you can spend a week just travelling 200 miles. Although the weather wasn't ideal, it was close enough to Seattle weather that we almost forgot we were in Ireland at times! Eventually we approached the border between the Republic & Northern Ireland. Lyfford was the old county seat, and they had an extensive historical museum about Lyfford's role in Irish/English politics over the last 800 years.
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The Real IRA
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Fancy Spikes
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Cannon Lineup
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Derry Bank
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Derry Church
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| 10) Derry was a real treat - a walled city on a hill surrounded by the 19th century sprawl of a larger town. Derry has been one of the main English strongholds for hundreds of years, and there is still strife, although not like the 1980's when bombs were a constant threat. We walked around the High Town on the enormous fortified wall of Derry.
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High Town
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Embrasure Foliage
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Civil Rights Mural
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Free Derry
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Gas Mask Mural
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| 11) The center of town had some great shops and resaturants, as well as some great old churches and historic buildings. There are plants and flowers in the cannon holes that dot the wall. Below the High Town is Bogside, where the Catholics lived and fought against opression for hundreds of years. Colorful murals commemorating the civil struggles can be found in sight of the walled city in what's known as Free Derry.
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Sledge Hammer Mural
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Behind The Bar
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1916 Memorial
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IRA Memorial
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No Photos!
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| 12) After leaving Derry, we headed south back into the Republic and lunched in a sweet little town called Carrick-On-Shannon. They host a music festival each year, and you can charter cross-country boat tours through Ireland's canals and waterways from here, too. Along the way from North to South we passed many stone memorials to heroes and martyrs of Ireland's 800-year struggle for freedom from the hated British.
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Birr Castle
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Thurles Tower
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Thurles Church
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Tipperary Cows
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Traveller's Wagon
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| 13) As we passed through Ireland's interior we saw more of the country style of Irish life, including different styles of architecture, more agriculture and even some Travellers. There wasn't much time as we sped towards Cashel, but we tried to stop and get a taste of the country along the way.
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Cashel Approach
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Castle View
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Imposing View
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Cashel Nave
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Abbey Doorway
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| 14) Cashel was the center of Irish power in the previous millennium: a gigantic castle carved from the rock on which it stands, overlooking miles and miles of the surrounding flat countryside. Kings and priests controlled much of rural Ireland from this castle for hundreds of years until the English finally put an end to Irish independence.
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Abbey View
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Stone Gryphons
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Cashel Transept
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Cashel Cross
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Castle Cemetary
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| 15) Below the castle is an abbey, sitting in the rural fields of central Ireland. There is some amazing stonework and architecture here, and it would be easy to spend the entire day just wandering the grounds and thinking about what it must have been like to live here "back in the day".
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Obelisk
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Carving Detail
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Stone Knotwork
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Castle Grounds
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Another Cross
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| 16) Every side of the castle had more surprises, including detailed statuary, a well-populated cemetary, and incredible views on this especially clear day. After some early Autumn rains, the air was sparkling and the fields couldn't have been any greener. What a view!
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Yet Another Cross
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Peek A View
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Structure Shot
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| 17) We finished up our Cashel visit with a pizza at the Italian restaurant across the street, then headed into Limerick for our final day in Ireland. Limerick was just a big old city, but does feature some fantastic buildings crammed in among the modern structures.
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Bunratty Castle
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Irish Rental Car
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Greenland View
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Mountains Of Ice
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| 18) Outside of Shannon is Bunratty Castle, which features historical re-enactments of Irish village life. We were too late for a demonstration, but did manage to loot the gift shop before heading to the Shannon airport. We dropped off our faithful right-hand drive car (no problem, thanks to my mad video game skillz) and flew back to Seattle via the icy polar reaches of Greenland.
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