My happy group, sitting in the morning sunshine, (yes, sunshine) after their breakfast at the Lodge at Ashford. They were all ready to go again after a good night's sleep. Today we were off to God's country, the magical land of Connemara. This was the land of the O' Flaherty Clan, known by the English as the "Ferocious O'Flaherty's." Jerry has an O'Flaherty pal back in Chicago. Knowing this, maybe Jerry will have to take this guy a little more gently from now on, when he gets back to Chicago.
Ashford Castle, and Lodge, are right beside the town of Cong, which was really the base camp for the "Quiet Man" movie, and hence the bronze statues of John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, in the center of the town. Don't they all look well and happy?
The same picture, from a different angle, showing the ancient monastic settlement in the background. Cong was one of the very early education centers for the early church in Ireland, and dates back to just after St Patrick's time in the 5th century.
My group, standing in one of the entrance doors to the monastery. From the left, the are
Jerry, Christel, Tia, and Jessie.
The group, standing in front of this ivy covered house, which featured in the Quiet Man movie.
One of the many reasons why you need to drive carefully in Ireland. You just never know what you may meet on the roads.
Killary harbour, pictured in the background here, is the most westerly fjord in Europe.
Ireland is noted for its peat bogs. Peat was the main source of fuel for many Irish homes down through the centuries, and is still extremely popular with most people living in the rural areas. It is also exported as peat moss, a great additive to your garden soil. In the picture above you can see the peat bank from where the peat has been cut, and the covered mounds of peat, being protected from getting wet again after being allowed to dry out.
We did have to stop for a coffee along the way, and our stop was in Joyce's pub and restaurant in Recess. This sign outside the entrance door caught my eye, and i think deserved an acknowledgement.
I managed to get another pub customer to take this photo of all of us together having our break. I complimented him on the photo and told him i felt that i came out very well in his picture. He agreed, and said i actually looked better in the photo than in real life. Well maybe he did have drink taken. Maybe my tummy looks a little large, but i did have a scone.
Galway city at last, and i think that this is a nice photo of my group, posing under the famous "Lynch Window" in the city center.It was from this window that the chief city magistrate, Justice Lynch, hung his own son, after he had been found guilty of murder. The young man was so popular that nobody else would hang him, so the father did it himself. Nice Dad, Huh? They say that it was from this event that the term "Lynching" was adopted into the English language. Note the skull and crossbones on the wall.
This was a great day, and one which i really enjoyed with this lovely group, and i left them in the city to begin to explore the town on their own.
Tomorrow, off to the awesome "Cliffs of Moher. Come along, if you like the idea.
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