Thursday

Breakfast at the hotel.

Drove to Shannon for Covid tests. Results in 20 minutes. We passed.

Drove on to Limerick (20 minutes) and checked in at the Absolute Hotel. We have stayed here before.

Walked to The Locke for final beers in Ireland. Great spot.

Dinner at the hotel. And off to bed.

Tomorrow morning we drive to Shannon Airport, turn in the car, and fly to Boston. Overnight in Boston at Logan Hilton with very early flight on Saturday to Phoenix. We’ll be home mid morning.

If I remember, I’ll post that we are home safely. Otherwise, this is the last post until our mid September road trip to Trinidad, CA and Depoe Bay, OR.

It’s been fun. Later!

Potpourri of Final Day Photos

From the Absolut Hotel (most from our room)

Panorama from Our Balcony

From the Locke Bar

Wednesday

A busy day. We are heading to Castletown Geoghegan. It’s only 90 minutes away, so we killed an hour so in the morning by visiting the River Walk alng the Clare River in Milltown (Tuam). Delightful little walk. I didn’t go down the slide!

Then we were off to Castletown Geoghegan in County Westmeath. The town is located almost exactly in the middle of Ireland. Despite the name, I have no relational connections here. There isn’t much to Castletown Geoghegan. The castle ruins are small. There is a nice church. Of course, I got pictures with the town signs. And we cruised the cemetery by the church and found a few Geoghegan graves.

Then we backtracked towards tonight’s hotel, the Athlone Springs Hotel. Since we were early for check-in, we stopped in Athlone and visited Athlone Castle on the banks of the River Shannon.

Dinner was in the room with chow from Supervalu after waiting a long time to be served in the hotel restaurant. The hotel redeemed itself with a lavish breakfast buffet.

Off to get Covid tests tomorrow and then a last night in Limerick. Tests are required for re-entry into the USA. One more post tomorrow from Limerick.

Tuesday

We checked out of our penthouse suite at 11:00 for the short drive to Tuam, the birthplace of my grandmother. Since we weren’t expected until mid-afternoon and since it was only a forty-minute drive away, we killed some time with a visit to Silverstrand Beach. It was very cool and windy, so we didn’t expect much. To our surprise we saw people swimming and a couple of guys windsurfing. Fun to watch.

Then it was on to Tuam. Nana Geoghegan was actually born in Stripe North, a farming townplan near Tuam. The connections I had established came to pick us up at the Ard Ri House Hotel. Michael and Brid Flaherty were a delightful couple, and they drove us around the area where Nana Geoghegan (née Flynn) was born. The house she was born in was gone, but we stood on the spot where it was. (That’s the empty field in the pictures.) We visited the church where they would worshiped, but it’s been torn down and rebuilt as a lovely modern church. Are we related to the Flaherty’s? As best as both of us can figure out, our connection is thus: They are related to the McGagh family. Nana Geoghegan’s sister (so our great aunt?) was married to Thomas McGagh and had three children. Sue will remember them as cousins Mary Priest and Elizabeth Cox (the third became a nun) who we occasionally encountered, mainly at funerals. My Uncle John’s family was closer to them than we were. So, at best, we are related to the Flaherty’s as cousins by marriage. They were a fun couple to meet and they laid out quite a spread for us for dinner. And they gave us parting gifts. Quite extraordinary. Fortunately we had brought little gifts for them from Arizona.

Michael is a retired dairy farmer and still owns 50 acres and 200 head of cattle. His son runs the farm now, but he is still very active in caring for the cows. Calving season is just over, so there were lots of baby cows around. We saw the milking operations. Great fun. We met his son that runs the farm and another son and his family who stopped by the house with their grandchildren.

On to Castletown Geoghegan tomorrow.

Monday

First off, Elaine thanks everybody for the birthday wishes. We celebrated over wine Sunday night sitting on the balcony. She got a lovely card (in Irish, of course) and a nice pair of earrings that I purchased from Gráinne at the Coach House before we left Dingle.

Weather forecast: lots of rain. Actual weather: mostly dry, quite a bit of sun, and the occasional shower. No complaints. In the morning we walked around the Salthill Promenade on Galway Bay. It was teeming with people yesterday, but, being a Monday, it was pretty quiet.

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We have walked by an unimposing garden entrance along the way many times in the past. This time we wandered in. It’s called the Circle of Life Garden and is dedicated to organ donors from around the world. Behind the unimposing entrance gate lies a beautiful garden. Pictures describe it better than me. The link above explains the history better than me.

Then we walked along the shore into downtown Galway, about a 40 minute stroll. You enter downtown Galway near the famous Spanish Arch (where I forgot to take a picture). We walked around, popped in at St Augustine’s Church, and had lunch at McDonagh’s (famous for fish and chips – we had cod). Weary after the long walk in and fearing a heavy shower (that didn’t happen), we took a cab back to Salthill. We got another delightful Irishman with a good sense of humor for a driver. We had a beer at Killoran’s Pub and picked up a bottle of wine for dinner at Centra.

For dinner we decided to get pizzas to go from Da Roberta’s Restaurant right around the corner from the apartment. Then we changed our minds and instead went there to dine in. Excellent decision! Garlic bread and duck spring rolls to start. Elaine had vegetarian penne for her main, and I had a pepperoni pizza. I have low expectations for pizza in Europe. This one was truly excellent, and Elaine loved her main course. Some pictures in the restaurant and of the appetizers (I forgot to snap pictures of the mains). What looks like a pizza in the photos is the garlic bread (which was excellent too). Note the Sistine Chapel type ceiling.

Then it was home for a good-night wine on a chilly but dry balcony. And off to bed. Tomorrow we will be moving on to Tuam to meet some people who are potentially related to me. They will definitely NOT be Geoghegan’s. They are somehow connected to my grandmother, born in Tuam, whose maiden name was Flynn. We’ll see.

Sunday

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Sunday dawned bright and sunny. We had a delicious breakfast at the hotel and took a few more pictures (including a panorama) of the gorgeous Moy River at the Ice House.

Before heading to Galway we had planned a trip to Céide Fields, the world’s most extensive Stone Age monument. Not happening! It’s still closed for “ongoing works”. Instead we decided on a trip to Downpatrick Head (St Patrick founded a church near here) – “the perfect place to park and stretch your legs with an invigorating coastal walk and magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean as your companion”. Great decision in perfect weather! I’ll let the pictures show you what Downpatrick Head was like. You’ll see a picture about Eire 64. It’s explained here.

Noonish we finished up at Downpatrick Head and backtracked through Ballina toward Galway. For lunch we stopped in Foxford for a look at their famous Foxford Woolen Mills. They have a great café where we enjoyed a delightful lunch.

Then it was on to Galway where we checked into our two bedroom penthouse suite at the Jameson Court Apartments overlooking Galway Bay. Here’s a panorama and some pictures from our balcony.

It was still nice out, but were tired. We enjoyed a beer sitting outside at a pub along the promenade at Salthill, the beach area of Galway City where we are staying. Then we bought some crackers and cheese at a Centra Market for our dinner. After a big breakfast and lunch we didn’t need a big sit-down dinner. All-in-all, a very enjoyable day.

Friday

A day to wander around Dingle and say goodbye to landladies, publicans, restaurant owners, wait people, and friends. A day to wash clothes and pack. Filled the tank with petrol. (Using much less gas than expected because of having a hybrid) Barbequed hamburgers at home for dinner.

Saturday

Bye Bye Dingle. The destination for tonight is Balllina in County Mayo, about a five hour drive. We left at 8:30 AM. Fortunately the route goes right through Limerick because we had to return there to re-up our car rental. 30 days is the max rental period and we were at day 28. That took all of three minutes to complete and we were back on the road. We stopped at the SuperMax roadside rest area in Tuam (of which you’ll hear more in a few days) for lunch and had surprisingly good sandwiches. With time to kill before we could check in in Ballina, we stopped in Knock. This is the home of Ireland’s amazingly large International Eucharistic & Marian Shrine. Your lesson for the day:

On a wet dark August evening in 1879,  the villagers of this place had spent the day doing the usual work of the harvest time of the year – gathering winter fuel and fodder. As evening approached, the heavy mist that had been persistent throughout the day,  turned to a steady downpour.  The villagers gathered around the turf fires in their homes, taking comfort and shelter on a terrible night.

Suddenly word spread throughout the village that something extraordinary was happening at the Church and so they hurried to the windswept gable where they witnessed a heavenly vision surrounded in a brilliant white light. Men, women and children gathered in prayer at the gable wall of  the parish church.

The witnesses clearly saw the Blessed Virgin Mary dressed in white robes, her hands and eyes turned towards heaven in prayer. On her head was a gold crown and where the crown fitted the brow, a single golden rose. On her right, bowed respectfully towards her, was St. Joseph. He appeared older, his beard and hair were grey and, like Our Lady,  he was barefoot.

To Our Lady’s left stood John the Evangelist vested as a bishop, wearing a small mitre. He held an open book in his left hand and in its pages the lines and letters could clearly be seen. He appeared to be preaching but no voice was heard. He stood so that his back was neither turned to the Virgin or to the Lamb that stood upon a simple plain altar. Behind the Lamb was a Cross. The witnesses watched and prayed for over 2 hours and though they were wet, they noticed that no rain fell on upon the Apparition or on the gable.

If you need more, click on the link above. We saw no apparitions and we motored on to Ballina.

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We checked into the beautiful Ice House Hotel located directly on the River Moy. We enjoyed wine by the open window. Pictures from our room:

Then we wandered down (five minute walk) to Crocket’s Quay Bistro for an early pub dinner. Nope. Closed for reconstruction. Instead we walked 30 minutes into Ballina where we had a forgettable dinner in a fast food family restaurant. We just wanted something quick. Some pictures from the walk into town:

Then we went to Harrison’s Pub. Harrison’s is owned by Derek Leonard who I used to play basketball with back in the early 1980’s in Boston. Elaine also met him on several occasions in Boston. He lived there for about ten years. He married his Irish sweetheart in Boston and his first son was born there. For awhile he was the manager of Kitty O’Shea’s Irish Bar on State Street (which is no longer there). Eventually he moved back to his native Ballina and purchased an old decrepit pub and rehabbed it. We had a fun reunion over several beers and met some of his customers who were delightful. It’s a very laid back pub with no music and no food and most of the customers are regulars. Our kind of place. It was a great reunion.

After the drinks we took a taxi back to the Ice House with the best cab driver ever – full of fun and facts. It was well after nine, but the sun was still out. We slept with the curtains open as the sun went down. Here’s a panorama taken from our room window.

Thursday

A do nothing kind of day – some sun, mostly clouds, and the occasional shower. Elaine got her second haircut of this trip, so she’s ready to hit the road. I’m just letting mine grow until I get home. I visited our landlady, Gráinne at her store, the Coach House. My main goal in that was accomplished – we are booked for four weeks in Dingle in 2023 at almost exactly the same time of the year. We’ll be moving to a different house. (Gráinne has five properties.) We’ll be on the same street, Ard Na Mara, moving from # 23 to # 18. We had a look at it one day last week. Much better view and up to Gráinne’s high decorating standards.

We had fish and chips for lunch. Dinner was our last dinner out in Dingle. That could only be at the Chart House (which is right next door to Gráinne’s store). Gráinne had arranged to buy us our dinner wine (Tinpot Hut Pinot Noir from New Zealand). And the proprietors of the Chart House, Jim and Susan, comped our Kir Royales. Dinner was grand (and cheaper than expected). I had an appetizer sampler to start while Elaine had beetroot gnocchi. My main – another sumptuous piece of Kerry beef. Elaine had monkfish. (I forgot pictures of the mains.) I had orange zested crêmé brulée for dessert while Elaine had a decadent raspberry and dark chocolate ganache with ice cream.

It has been unusually quiet in Dingle this week. That will end tonight as the weekend tourists arrive. O’Flaherty’s is just a stone’s throw from the Chart House, so we stopped in not expecting any music. But Fergus was singing and playing, and we had plenty of room to enjoy the music. Easy to get video too, so you get to hear Fergus again and again and again and again.

Late night! Home to bed.

Wednesday

The sun was shining when we arose. Elaine did a walkabout while I breakfasted and showered. We missed the church ruins yesterday because it started raining, so we headed that way again. The object destination was Kilmalkedar Church. It’s nearby one of the most famous sites on the Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle Peninsula), so we decided to stop their first – the Gallarus Oratory. We were the only tourists in sight on site. But there was a professional photographer who was doing some work on new publicity and promotion photos of the site. We had a nice conversation with him, a Kerry native now living in Cork. More history information (which you are permitted to skip):

The Gallarus Oratory resembles the upside-down hull of a boat with two slightly curved sides meeting at the apex of the roof. The inside measures approximately 16 feet long by 10 feet wide, which is why it is more fitting to call the building an oratory (chapel) than a church. It is still possible to walk inside, but expect the interior to be dimly lit. This is because the building has only one small, round window in the east wall and the main door in the west wall, so daylight barely filters inside. Outside the chapel is a three-foot tall stone which reads “COLUM MAC DINET” and is topped with an encircled cross. This slab is often interpreted to be a gravestone. When visiting the chapel, take time to admire the masonry. The rocks, which were all likely brought from cliffs along the sea, have been cut on every side. The large stones fit perfectly together and were clearly shaped and assembled with great care. This sturdy construction is what has allowed the structure to stand over the centuries with very little damage. It also made the building completely waterproof – allowing that Irish rain to run right down the sides.

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On to Kilmalkedar Church? Nope. It started raining so we missed it for the second straight day. Maybe tomorrow. We went back to Dingle and bought some lunch stuff as the fridge is almost empty. (We still have wine and vodka!) Then reading, tv, naps, blog writing, etc.

Dinner tonight was at Ashe’s – our third visit. If it was good enough for Gregory Peck (a distant relative of the Ashe’s), it’s good enough for us, and, in fact, is one of our Dingle Top Four. Their seafood chowder is top notch, so I finally passed on oysters. Elaine had chowder too followed by scallops. My main was fillet of Kerry beef – scrumptious. All accompanied, of course by a Pinot Noir, this time from France. (As an aside, there are no Irish wines – restaurant menus have wines from France, Germany, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile but almost never from the USA.) Elaine had a beautiful looking sticky toffee pudding for dessert while I sipped on a glass of port. Dingle was strangely quiet tonight. We stopped in at O’Flaherty’s not expecting any music. There was none. We sipped one drink and headed home to bed.

Jan Weiler requested interior house photos of our digs. 23 Ard Na Mata has four bedrooms, all en-suite. Three are on the ground floor along with the kitchen/dining area, the living room, and yet another half bath. You could have visited! The second floor is the master bedroom suite with bathroom and walk-in closet. Here are the requested photos. Excuse the clutter in the house.

Monday

Not today, it wasn’t. The day was as dreary as expected although the sun tried to come out late at around 7:30 PM. Sunset isn’t until 9:15 PM. We had a restful do-nothing day with lunch and dinner at home. By the way, this is the 423rd post on this blog. There have been over 1,100 comments. That doesn’t include stats from the old (pre-2013) blog which can still be accessed via a link on the title page of this blog.

Tuesday

When we arose the sun was out. The sun rises at 5:50 AM. We decided to take a ride to Lispole (Lios Póil in Irish), just 8 km east of Dingle. Then it was another couple of kilometers down a narrow road to the site of the ruins of Minard Castle. It is badly damaged, the most damage resulting from a siege by Oliver Cromwell’s troops in 1650 and subsequently the weather. It sits above an impressive storm bay where the rocks are rounded by rolling around the ocean floor before eventually being deposited on the beach by storms. This natural storm beach is considered one of the finest in Ireland. Elaine chatted with a group of young American women who were doing a hike of the Dingle Way (well, part of it anyway – the whole Dingle Way is 179 km long and takes a fit adult 8-9 days to complete).

A short walk takes one to the visually unimpressive St John’s Well (Tobar Eoin) dedicated to St. John the Baptist. A nearby prayer tree was very bare – previously it has been covered with ribbons and mementos, perhaps because on our last visit it was in the fall near the end of the tourist season and not after a two-year pandemic. Here’s your history lesson for the day (easily scrolled past):

A particular association of the well which has contributed to the long survival of religious observance here is the legend connecting St John the Baptist with the Corca Dhuibhne ( Dingle Peninsula) people. This legend asserted that John the Baptist was beheaded by an Irish druid called Mogh Roith (the Slave of the Wheel) from Valentia Island on the other side of Dingle Bay, and prophesied that the Irish people – and especially the Corca Dhuibhne – would be called upon to pay for the crime at a date when certain time divisions coincided. In 1096 it was thought that the appointed time was approaching, and Ireland was seized with a panic, similar to the millenialist hysteria that had gripped many in Europe a century before. Rigorous fasting and prayer were undertaken, and it is probably from this date that the well derived its importance, along with many others dedicated to St John the Baptist.

A short walk from St John’s Well is a small boat landing spot on Dingle Bay with a view back to Minard Castle. I like the silhouette picture of me on the dock with Dingle Bay all around me and the clouds hanging over the Ring of Kerry across the bay. Good shot, Elaine.

On the way back to the main road we stopped briefly at the Lispole cemetery. Those buried here have a nice view (if only they could see it).

Then it was back to Dingle. We headed off to see the ruins of a medieval church, but it clouded over and started raining, so we went home to lunch instead.

Dinner tonight was a third visit to Out of the Blue. Don’t go here if you don’t like seafood – there is only seafood on the menu (except for dessert). Don’t go if you want French fries – they don’t do them. It’s hard for me not to get oysters wherever we go. Oysters it was then For my main, I had Grilled Sea Bass and John Dory followed by Lemon and Vanilla Posset. (Posset, you ask? Google it.). Elaine chose Salmon and Smoked Salmon for her starter and then Skewered Monkfish followed by a Rhubarb Tart with Whipped Cream. We met a couple from Philadelphia seated at the next table. Then it was off to the Dingle Pub to say goodbye to Richie O’Brien, the singer from Dreams of Freedom. We won’t see him again until next trip. The pub was packed, and we ran into and chatted with the women we met at Minard Castle. We didn’t stay long.

The forecast for the next few days, our last in Dingle, looks promising. Slán go fóill