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Cloonmonad

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    • TravelerIreland 2023
      121
      Day 8

      Beara Peninsula

      May 9, 2023 in Ireland

      Kinsale is a town on the southern coast of Ireland that has two 17th-century forts sitting on opposite banks of the River Bandon. We planned to tour Charles fort (a star fort) but ended up at the smaller James fort. It was a beautiful spot to see the town and Charles fort, meet some pups and chat with a semi local who spent her younger years in the Tampa area.

      After leaving Kinsale, we headed for the Beara Peninsula. Many have heard of the Ring of Kerry - Beara is to the south of the Kerry Peninsula and is the least popular with tourists. That made it a perfect place for us to tour!

      This is the most incredible place to see! The untouched beauty is mind-blowing. Remote and wild, full of sheep and cows grazing and so many twists and turns on the Healy Pass. In fact, the roads actually have a story as well. During the Great Famine (1845-1851), the government used forced labor workers to build roads and paid them with food.

      After driving the peninsula, we headed to Helen's Bar for a bit of dinner and a pint. Helen herself sat us and was a delight! A cheap pint and pups inside...our kinda place. 😆

      The rain came in a bit after dinner as we headed to our stay for the night....an alpaca farm! They were adorable, and the little stone cottage was wonderful.      Read more

    • TravelerIreland 2023
      1213
      Day 9

      A busy day - and our 15th Anniversary

      May 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 54 °F

      ❗️Ooops ... if you were here before I finished updating everything...I have finally finished!

      _____________☘️☘️ ________________

      We were up early and out the door to see a stone circle and hoping to wake up the fairies! 🧚 I even got to open and close the gate in the rain so Richard could drive through.

      Driving through Moll's Gap, the Black Valley and the Gap of Dunloe was full of wonder and awe. The Black Valley was called this because it did not get electricity until the 1970's!! 😳

      Torc Waterfall in Kilnary National Park was outstanding. We were headed for a jaunty ride through the park, but I had to get a photo at Muckross Abbey. Richard did not want me to go to the abbey as he was sure we would be late for the jaunty ride. So, I hoofed it out there and back while he waited for me...and it was worth the huffing and puffing! We loved our jaunty ride (which we were on time for!!) with young Louis and horse, Francis. Louis is just 16 but is a 6th generation jaunty driver. When asked if he had a girlfriend, he said he likes the "catch and release" method. 😆

      We then went out on a boat tour of the lakes. There are 3 loughs (lakes) in the park. The most fascinating part was the copper mine that went between 2 small islands and connected under the lake!!

      After skipping over Kerry Peninsula, we headed for the Dingle Peninsula. First stop, Inch Beach, which is over 3 miles long, extending into the North Atlantic.

      Tom Crean was a member of 3 Antarctic expeditions starting in 1901 under the cammand of Capt. Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. He was from Annascaul, a small village near Inch Beach. There is a great pub there called The South Pole Inn. Met some folks there who recommended a nearby beach. Bin Ban Beach was spectacular!

      After getting settled into our B&B, we headed out for dinner at a Michelin Star restaurant for our 15th anniversary dinner. We popped into Dick Mack's, a "famous" local pub for a pint for heading back to our B&B to wrap up our day.      Read more

    • TravelerIreland
      1
      11
      Day 7

      Not as We Planned

      June 8, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

      Started our day off with pouring rain! It was bound to happen…..Walked to the Westport House near our hotel and got the tour about the manor house, originally built by Grace O’Malley. Beautiful, restored house, including dungeon and wine cellar. We were supposed to go to Ashford Castle for lunch but a little GI bug kinda sidetracked that. Larry had it earlier in the week, we were hoping it was something he had eaten. Eileen was the next victim. So Larry went off to the Falconry at the castle with our driver and had a great time. We walked into town, hoping to grab a bite at O’Malleys pub but it was closed. Looks like they are dealing with the same staffing issues we have in the US. Passed a Lidl grocery store on our walk, found diet 7up, some little biscuit cookies and potato sticks. A little TV and early bedtime.
      We were last here in Ireland 15 years ago, so we wanted to highlight the things that are still the same and things that have changed or improved. Certainly the roads are the most dramatic improvement. We were educated by Pat that the more numbers on a road, the smaller, more narrow and possibly unfinished the road is. M and N roads are the highways. The little ones are L for local. So a challenging road would be L34521. About the worse you can get. Major areas are now connected by M and N roads and they are great. Roundabouts and driving on the left are still the way of the land, so next 2 weeks should be interesting as we take the wheel.
      Lordy, ice for a drink is still hard to find. Had major issues with this on last trip, most of the hotel bars will get for you but they give you a funny look, like, “why?”.
      A big difference so far for us is that we have been staying in some very nice hotels with many modern conveniences, including USB ports, but suspect as we transition to B and Bs by Friday, we will see a varied level of modern conveniences.
      Of course, the people are warm and welcoming everywhere we go. They are happy to have tourist back. Many towns were devastated by Covid closures and 1 out of every 2 pubs in neighborhoods closed. It is sad to see boarded up pubs and other businesses. Interesting that 85% of Irish population is vaccinated. We see some mask wearing among locals and tourists. Nothing has been so crowded that we felt uncomfortable. So we hope that continues.      Read more

    • TravelerIRELAND 2022
      Day 23

      Westport House, Town and Quay

      May 24, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Today we decided to visit Westport House and a good and amusing guide took the tour. Westport House was built over 400 years ago by the Browne family. In the 1500’s there was a tower house on the site which belonged to the infamous pirate queen and chieftain Grace O’Malley. Owners of the current house included family members who’s fortunes came from the plantations in Jamaica that were manned by slaves and a later owner brought about the emancipation of slaves in Jamaica. The last resident marquis, Jeremy, his wife Jennifer and 5 daughters kept the estate running with various tourist initiatives such as the campsite, renting out Gypsy caravans, self catering cottages, a zoo, and a children’s adventure park. Difficult financial issues in Ireland resulted in the family having to sell the property and land and under new ownership a large amount of money is being put into restoration and development. The marquis title has gone to a male family member in Australia.

      After the tour we walked into town to look around then down to the quay for supper in The Helm - a very delicious meal.      Read more

    • Irland - Norden und Nordwesten
      Day 6

      Die Piratin

      August 14, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Weiter ging's nach Westport, wo wir noch ein bisschen einkaufen gingen. Westport war ursprünglich direkt beim Westport House, wurde aber abgesiedelt und hier neu errichtet, da die Herrschaften den Pöbel nicht so nah an ihrem Anwesen haben wollten.

      In Westport gab's viele Souvenirladen, Pubs, ein ganz tolles Küchenutensilien-Geschäft usw.
      Die Preise waren z.T. eher im gehobenen Segment. Ein Eisstanitzel mit 1 Kugel Eis kostete € 4,30.

      Nach dem Shopping-Rausch mancher Mitreisender fuhren wir mit dem Bus zum Westport House.
      Hier bekamen wir eine kurze, sehr interessante Führung und erkundeten das Haus dann auf eigene Faust. Es wird gerade saniert, da es massive Feuchtigkeitsschäden hat, man sieht aber trotzdem, wie prunkvoll es war .
      Das Westport House bewohnte zur Zeit von Elizabeth I. Grace O'Malley. Grace O'Malley war die Tochter eines irischen Clanführers und Seefahrers (wir würden eher Piraten sagen, da Plünderungen damals an der Tagesordnung und absolut üblich waren). Als kleines Mädchen beschloß sie auch Piratin zu werden. Allerdings waren Frauen auf Schiffen nicht erlaubt, da sie angeblich Unglück brachten. Sie rasierte sich daher mit 9 Jahren die Haare und ging als Bursch verkleidet an Bord. Natürlich wurde sie entdeckt, aber sie hat ihrem Vater so imponiert, dass sie von nun an mitfahren durfte.
      Später wurde sie selbst eine Piratin (mit einem Heer von 200 Schotten). Sie bekam sogar eine Audienz bei Elizabeth I., wo sie gegen die englische Politik in Irland protestierte. Sie sprach mit der englischen Königin Latein, da sie kein Englisch sprach und Elizabeth kein Gälisch!
      Sie war in ihrer Zeit auf jeden Fall sehr einflußreich und bekannt.
      Auch ihre Nachfahren und späteren Besitzer des Hauses waren sehr umtriebig. Peter Browne z.B. war der Vizekönig von Jamaika und schaffte dort 30 Jahre vor Amerika die Sklaverei ab, weil er sie so furchtbar fand. Allerdings hinterließ er auch viele uneheliche Kinder. 😉

      Wir hörten diese und weitere interessante Geschichten rund um das Westport House und seine Bewohner.

      Um 16:30 Uhr ging's dann zurück zum Breaffy House Hotel Resort, das Max und ich auch noch kurz erkundeten (wunderschönes Hallenbad, riesiger Fitnessbereich, Minigolfbahnen, Jogging Trail,...).      Read more

      See translation
    • Axel PetersenSchottland, Irland, Wales
      Day 30

      Musik im Matt Molloy's

      October 3, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

      Ab 21 00 Uhr kamen ein paar Musiker....
      Um 23 00 Uhr flippte Oma aus

      See translation

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