"God made the grass, the air and the rain;
and the grass, the air and the rain made the Irish;
and the Irish turned the grass, the air and the rain back to God."
Below right: Terry braves the 80' high Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge.
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Above left: Another view of the rope bridge
Below: The Giant's Causeway, basalt columns along seashore of the north Antrim Coast.
"There is something inexpressibly weird
about those millions of mathematically
formed pillars which thrust
themselves
upward at the edge of the sea...
I have never seen stones that so closely
resemble iron or steel.
The Causeway
has a queerly modern look! It is Cubist."
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Above left: Terry, about 40' high on a ridge of basalt columns.
Right: The ruins of Dunluce Castle, built around 1300. It was the main stronghold of the MacDonnells, Lords of the Isles.
It was closed for the day, so we returned later in the trip.
Below left: Belfast Castle, its interior renovated for receptions, conferences, and banquets.
Right: The castle at Carrickfergus, built in 1180 to guard the approach to Belfast Lough. |
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Above: The harbor and lighthouse at Donaghadee, with fishermen repairing nets.
Below: Down Cathedral, in the town of Downpatrick. |
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Above right: Next to the cathedral, the boulder above St. Patrick's grave.
"Stonework will take the eye: the heart conceives
In the pure light from wall to whitewashed wall
An unseen presence, formed by the faith of all
The dead who age to age had worshipped here,
Kneeling on grass along the roofless nave."
Below left: Grey Abbey, founded 1193 (in the tiny town of Greyabbey, no less), and its cemetery.
Below right: Hillsborough, a nice small town with a large park behind a castle, an
excellent restaurant (The Hillside), and this elaborate cross in front of the church. |
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Above left: Stampede! The cows got loose and took over the yard the morning
Tracy & Terry were to set out on their road trip to Ireland's central west coast.
Right: You're going 60 mph on a winding highway...'round a corner...SHEEP!
Lesson learned: don't talk to them as they pass...it spooks them, and they can't get away, so they ram your car.
Below left: We soon discovered this was a common sight.
At right is Aasleagh falls, in the northern part of Connemara. If you rent "The Field," (and you really should)
starring Richard Harris, John Hurt, and Tom Berenger, you'll see the falls in a crucial scene. |
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Above left: Murrisk ("marish," or "marsh") Abbey, with Croagh Patrick (about 2300 feet) in the background. The abbey figures prominently in the history of the O'Malley clan, from which came Grace O'Malley, "the pirate queen."
Thousands of people make the annual pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick, honoring St. Patrick's climb and 40-day fast. Tradition also holds that it is from this peak that he cast the snakes out of Ireland.
The ship is a somber memorial to the people who died trying to escape the potato famine. The memorial
is near both Murrisk Abbey and Croagh Patrick's trailhead, between Westport and Roonagh Quay.
Below left: Tracy, at the bow of the ferry "The Pirate Queen," with Clare Island ahead.
Right: Clare Island Lighthouse. Be sure to check out their web site, linked at the bottom of this page! |
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Above: Our room was the only one with direct access (through a narrow hallway) to the 180-year-old tower.
Below: Our first evening at the lighthouse. |
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"Land of Heart's Desire,
Where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood.
But joy is wisdom, time an endless song."
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The next day, our anniversary (June 26) was brilliant.
Tracy looking down the 360-foot cliff below the original lighthouse tower. |
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Left: West toward the Atlantic. Right: East, over Clew Bay with Croagh Patrick in the background. |
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Click here to visit the Clare Island Lighthouse web site!
| Page 2 of our photos from Ireland
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