National Concert Hall

Coffee is the great ally during jet lag recovery, (and fresh flowers )…❤️

We are picking up our car in Dublin and driving to Ballyvourney today.

Always look forward to our cab rides with the utterly charming cab driver/ traffic angels 😇.
Today’s driver was no exception as he updated us on the current green government of Dublin City who has “turned half the feckin streets into bike lanes and one way’s.”

The three and a half hour trip went very smoothly.
Gas is 8 dollars a gallon and we are pleased to be driving a VW Polo which is perfect for 2 people.

So happy to have dinner and Guiness at the Mills Inn in Ballyvourney and to be checked into our own little private cottage under the shadow of the Old Colthust Castle.And we even have an outdoor seating area to enjoy during our stay.

Back in the colonial days, when the locals here had their land seized , the English family the Colthursts were granted most of what is now County Cork by the King and ruled from castles throughout the area.
My Sweeney ancestors were tenants of the Colthursts before John Sweeney, my great great grandfather and his wife Mary Dineen and her parents left for homestead land in Wisconsin in the early 1850’s. By the way , the Colthursts still own and operate nearby Blarney Castle.
Ps Jörg is raising a glass to you readers in gratitude for your wonderful comments ❤️🙏☘️🇮🇪Okumaya devam et