Cliffs of Moher
Galway is much more urban than Dingle or Kenmare; it is a university town so there is a larger population and many more restaurants, pubs and shops than the smaller towns where we had been staying. We visited the Latin Quarter, which is where medieval Galway stood. There was an outdoor market by the Collegiate Church of St Nicolas where we picked up picnic supplies from a delicious cheese shop our hosts had told us about and ate lunch down by the river Corrib. We also saw the old Spanish arch, which is the best remaining piece of the old city wall, and the monument commemorating the visit by Columbus to Galway in 1477. After lunch we walked up to the Cathedral of St Nicolas – opened in 1965 it is one of the most modern stone cathedrals in Europe. It is beautifully done and the artwork and sculpture inside the church are very impressive. They also have a small mosaic of JFK – apparently considered a near saint by Irish Catholics :o)
Picnic on the River Corrib
After 2 nights in Galway we headed up through Connemara to County Mayo. This was one of the poorest areas in Ireland and was hit hard by the Great Potato famine. The famine lasted from 1845-1849. An estimated 500,000 – 1.1 million people died of starvation, due to their complete dependence on the potato for food as well as oppressive taxation and resulting poverty from the British government. Another 2 million Irish immigrated, mostly to America as well as to Australia and Canada during this time further decreasing the population of Ireland. By 1900 the population had decreased from 8.4 million to 4 million.
The drive from Galway to Westport in Mayo Co, first took us to the Cashel House hotel, where Shane’s mom had stayed over 20 years ago on her Ireland trip. The hotel was beautiful with extensive grounds and gardens that we walked through before lunch (Theo’s first hike!). After lunch we visited Kylemore abbey, a country house built by a British couple in 1860 and turned into an exclusive girls boarding school by refugee Benedictine nuns after WWI. We also drove through Doo Lough valley. A cross on the side of the road marks the site where, in 1849, 600 starving Irish walked 12 miles to their landlord’s home in search of food. They were turned away and on the walk back, 200 of them died along the side of the road. After the valley there is a famine memorial of a coffin ship. These ships were filled with famine refugees, desperate to immigrate. Unfortunately, the refugees were typically not well enough to endure weeks of sea travel and the ships acquired for them, typically by their landlords, were barely sea worthy. As a result, many died on the ship or shortly after of “famine fever.” Across from the memorial is Croagh Patrick, a small mountain rising 2500 feet above sea level. Here, in the 5th century, St. Patrick is said to have fasted the 40 days of lent and then driven all of the snakes from Ireland. Our drive ended in Westport, a cute little town, built in the 1700’s in the Georgian style. We spent the night here before heading back south to Cork.
Cashel House Hotel
We arrived at the Imperial Hotel, Cork, earlier than expected (Theo had a very good day in the car!), so we stopped in Midleton at the Jameson distillery. We took the distillery tour (which I think Shane could now give we have done so many!) and afterwards Shane was, once again, an official Irish Whiskey taste tester – although this time he had Theo attempting to assist.
Shane and Theo - offiicial Irish whiskey tasters!
The next day we headed to Kinsale, a cute harbor town about 15 miles south of Cork. We took a walking tour that morning where we learned that Kinsale had been a natural harbor and was heavily utilized by the British during the spice wars. By the 1800’s erosion had set in and the port was no longer able to accommodate the ships that were getting larger and more numerous. After the tour we had lunch at Fishy Fishy café (delicious!!) and then walked uphill about 2 miles (yes – I was dying!) to Fort Charles, a star shaped fort built in the 17th century to protect the harbor. After Theo’s nap we grabbed ice cream cones and then headed back to Cork. We used the hotel’s sitting service that evening and had our dinner out on the town. Unfortunately the restaurant recommended to us was not great, but it was fun to actually eat at a normal hour and have a relaxing meal without bibs, bottles and banging spoons!
On our last full day in Cork we visited Cobh, the harbor town that took over from Kinsale in the 1800’s. A ton of maritime history is stored in that little town. The first immigrant to be processed at Ellis island, Annie Moore, traveled from Cobh on 20 Dec 1891 and arrived at Ellis Island on 1 Jan 1892. This was also the last port of call for the Titanic (as well as many other stem ships that did arrive safely in the US). The town also received the survivors and victims of the Lusitania – the civilian ship that was hit by German U-boats in the early days of WWI.
The Titanic exhibit
After Cobh we decided to drive to Ardmore in Waterford Co, partially to give Theo a “good” car nap and also to ensure that we visited every county in Ireland! Ardmore is a cute beach town, which is famous for being the spot where Christianity first came to Ireland, brought by St Declan in 416 AD, 15 years before St Patrick. It also has a round tower, perfectly intact, 97 feet tall that was built 800 years ago! The tower is next to a ruined church and graveyard.
Round tower in Ardmore
We spent our last day in Ireland, before boarding the car ferry back to the UK, in Cork. We visited the Cork English Market, which is a great market with tons of delicious food – Shane kept wanting to buy the corned beef (uncooked mind you!) and had to settle on a spiced beef (cooked!) sandwich for lunch and some yummy chocolates. Theo decided to not take a nap all afternoon and then fell asleep in the car on the way to the ferry, about 1 minute after finishing his chocolate.
Overall it was a great trip and we feel we have definitely seen Ireland! It is good to be home though with no more driving or living out of suitcases. That is our last planned European vacation for the time being as I’m nearing the do not travel stage of pregnancy and we are winding up our time here in London. I will try to do a few more updates before we return to NY in Oct.
Miss you all!
Love, Sarah, Shane, Theo and T4
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