Window in the Sky

 Ross-Errily Friary

Ross-Errily Friary                            The Entrance to the Forest near Cong

 Bridge to the Forest                                Fishing House for Local Monks

 Joey the Pony

 the Hills of Connemara

The Kylemore Abbey

 Small Chapel on the Abbey Grounds                               Interior of the Abbey            

Modeled after Gothic Cathedrals                                                                        

 Coast of Galway Bay

 Galway Cathedral

 Cathedral Altar

The River Corrib running through Galway

Ireland Part 3: When I Look at the World

After returning to Galway from my trip to Clifden, my first job (as always) was to track down my hostel. It was only a couple blocks from the city center. I checked in to find that I was the only person checked into my five person room. I waited around a bit to see if anyone was going to show up but no one did. I had the entire room to myself. After this comforting revelation, I went out to reacquaint myself with Galway (remember I visited 5 years previous). I made my way down to the bay and back up to the cathedral. I decided that night that I would take a tour the next day, organized by the hostel.

The next day the bus picked me up and I went back north to Connemara to see the area around Clifden. It was a rainy day, but it seemed that whenever we got out of the bus it would stop just long enough for us to explore. The bus driver was witty and talkative. The first stop was at the Ross-Errily Friary, the ruins of an old stone friary. After that we headed for the village of Cong, where the film The Quite Man (starring John Wayne) was filmed. The village is on the boarder of a forest, which I spent the brief stop exploring. It was a beautiful and calming walk. I had time to reflect on the fact that i was doing this traveling entirely on my own and how far i had come since I began my European travels. Then we made our way to our final stop, the Kylemore Abbey. Kylemore Abbey is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle. Kylemore Castle was built as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy politician from England who was also an MP for Galway County from 1871 to 1885.

The Abbey grounds are at the base of a mountain, beside a lake, and create a beautiful and picturesque view of the landscape. There is an extensive garden complex which used to be a collection of beautiful Victorian greenhouses, until they burned down years ago. The Abbey itself is only partly open to the public, but the interior is ornately decorated. The rain from the day was rolling down the mountainside accentuating the rock outcroppings and crevices. The weather made me feel like i was walking through a clouded painting. with the fog obscuring the world beyond the frame. It’s easy to see why Mitchell Henry decided to make a home there. One our way back to Galway we stopped by a farm to see a Connemara pony. The pony’s name was Joey, and he seemed to be used to bus visitors. When he heard the sound of the bus he came running to meet us. When we were done giving Joey some apples, we headed back to Galway.

When I got back to Galway I went to a local restaurant for some fish and chips that were highly recommended. After that I went to explore more of the city before retiring for the evening. Again I had the entire room to myself. The next day I would head south to Kilarney by train.

Running to Stand Still

 Pictures from Clifden and the Surrounding Landscape

                                                                   The Catholic Church in Clifden

 The Clifden Traditional Music Festival

Ireland Part 2: Beautiful Day

Way back in Amsterdam I came across an English language bookstore. While I was there I picked up a book on traveling to Ireland to help me plan my trip. I spent the next several weeks reading the book and picking out places to visit. It became apparent that I could not see everything I wanted when I realized I couldn’t rent a car (I’m not 25). So I pick to limit myself to only a few destinations. One of my priorities was to find a small Irish town and spend some time off the well beaten path. The book mentioned a town by the name of Clifden, in the Connemara region. It was only mentioned briefly in the book, but it seemed like a good fit. When it came time to book a hostel I was only able to stay for one night, since all the other nights that weekend were booked. So, I had to plan the rest of my trip around this fact.

After traveling from Dublin to Galway, I took a bus up to Clifden. The ride was very relaxed and the beautiful scenery was captivating. I arrived in town and was struck by the view of the mountains to the East. I headed to my hostel and checked in. I asked the manager for a good place to go for a walk and he pointed towards the coast. So I made my way West. As I got a little further out of town, I climbed a hill with a small monument on the top. I afforded me a magnificent view of the town and the mountains. After a few minutes on the hill top a large rain cloud passed blissfully overhead. I took refuge beside the monument for about a half hour. When the rain had finally stopped I continued on down the road. The walk itself was magnificent. I felt like I was truly in Ireland. After walking along the hillside of a bay for about an hour, I found myself at the end of the peninsula. The view of the ocean was breathtaking as the sun tore its way through the clouds. I sat there marveling at the rocky islands that dotted the coast. I began making my way around the peninsula as the clouds were dispersing. The small farm houses and open fields were bathed in sunlight. Many homes I passed had children playing as families and neighbors relaxed in amiable conversation.

As I made my way back to town, I began thinking about dinner. When I got back into town, I found a bar with a stage set up outside. I sat down inside, had a burger and a couple pints of Guinness. While I was inside a band took the stage and started playing traditional Irish music. As it turns out, this was the weekend of the Clifden Traditional Music Festival. Everyone from the town was there. After I had eaten I went outside to enjoy the music for the rest of my evening. There were even kids from the local step dancing class who performed on stage with the band. The night was fantastic and the weather was perfect. That was one of the first times I had seen consistent sun for most of the day in Ireland (even considering the passing rain clouds). When the concert started winding down I headed back to the hostel and went to bed.

The next day, I woke up to realize it was Sunday. I decided not to miss the opportunity to attend a small town, Irish Catholic Mass. To kill some time before the mass I walked back up the hill to the monument I had visited the previous day. The sun was shining and the sky was dotted with puffy white clouds. I sat there for a while just enjoying the day. Then I made my way back down to the church and to mass. It was a great service, being the Sunday after Easter. The choir had some traditional instruments from the night before performing with them and the kids from the step dancing class performed as well. After the mass was over, I walked around and explored the town some more before my bus back to Galway arrived. When it did arrive, I was sad to go. Clifden was definitely the experience that I had been looking for in Ireland and I will remember it always.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

 "Bono Vox" is an alteration of Bonavox, a Latin phrase which translates to "good voice."

It's where U2's Bono got his nickname.

 Statue of author James Joyce                     Dinning Room in my Hostel/ Bed & Breakfast

 River Liffey and the Ha'penny Bridge

 Guiness Brewery

 The Kilmainham Gaol Prison                      The Victorian Wing of the Prison

 Atrium in the Guiness Storehouse

 Raw Power of Guinness

 View from the Guinness Storehouse "Gravity Bar"

 Poster in the James Joyce Center                Artwork at the James Joyce Center

The Temple Bar