Connemara and Mayo with the O'Malley's

Julie and Mike on the Quiet Man bridge in Connemara.

Julie, pictured wearing her late grandfather's cap, something she wanted to bring back to Ireland in his memory, and pick a special place to wear it. How nice.

The happy couple pictured at the Quiet Man cottage at Maam Cross.

Another lovely picture inside the cottage.

Well, i did have to get in on the act with my pals at Kylemore Abbey.

The famine memorial in the Delphi valley.

Not the best picture you will ever see of Croagh Patrick, but the clouds were covering its peak.

Pictured together at Roonagh harbour, with Clare Island on the horizon in the background, one of the safe havens of the great Pirate Queen,Grace O'Malley. Can we say Mike's Granny?

Pictured at the bottom of Croagh Patrick, with the tiny white image of St Patrick in the distance.

Pictured here at the memorial of the famine shop, outside Westport.

You cannot go far in Westport without coming across the O'Malley's.

The memorial to St Patrick in the heart of Westport town.

Seated together inside the Basicila in Knock, and seated in front of the beautiful main altar.

Inside the Shrine chapel, with the statues of the Knock vision in the background.

A lovely picture at the grotto in Knock. Julie is really showing off her beautiful Irish red hair in the lovely sunshine.

It was not as warm when we got to the Cliffs of Moher, but this couple know how to keep warm.

Another nice picture at the cliffs.

One of our final pictures at Quin Abbey near Ennis in county Clare.

O'Malleys on Ring of Kerry tour Nov 2016

 The beginning of a really fabulous day as we began our tour of the famous Ring of Kerry. Our first stop off was at the Killarney Golf Club, which is situated on the shores of Lough Leane, and here we have Mike and Julie, happy and rested, after a great night's sleep in the Killarney Plaza hotel.

 Pictured together near Killorglin, hoping that their rainbow can been seen in the background.

 Killorglin is famous for it's annual ancient pagan festival, known as Puck fair. This statue of the male goat, on the outskirts of Killorglin, a puck is male goat,was erected here to commemorate this festival.

 Unfortunately we had a touch of mist when i took this photo on the Ring, with Dingle bay and the Dingle peninsula in the background.

 One of our most famous patriots, the great Daniel O' Connell, was born here in Cahersiveen, and here we have my pals, pictured with the ruins of his home in the background.

 Waterville was one of Charlie Chaplin's favourite holiday resorts, and the people of this town were grateful for that, and erected this memorial in his memory.

 One of the greatest exponents of our national game of Gaelic football, a game quiet different from ordinary football, or soccer, as you can use your hands as well as your feet, was the great Micko O'Dwyer, and this memorial was erected by the townspeople in memory of their greatest son.

 This view from Cumikista, at the head of the Ring of Kerry, is quiet spectacular. Once again, due to mist, this picture does not do justice to the view, but Mike and Julie still look very happy to be here.

 Pictured together at Carrol's Cove near Cumikista. This bar on the beach is located in a really beautiful location and a great place for a snack or a beer.

 Another break, and a beer, in a great pub in Sneem.

 This man relies on the generosity of tourists to keep his magnificent goat, a puck goat, well fed and happy. It looks like my pals are also very happy to meet puck.

 Mike and Julie, pictured together at the famous Ladies View in Killarney. It was getting a little chilly, as you can see here.

Well, that is one of the best ways to warm up.

We did have a great day, but we were all glad to get back to Killarney, and the warmth of a good pub.
Tomorrow we are off to Dingle, so come along and enjoy.

O' Malley Irish tour 2016

 My tour with Mike and Julie O'Malley began in Cork this morning. We had met for the first time at breakfast at the hotel, and i knew from the start that this was going to be a lovely tour. They were so friendly, and excited about their Irish adventure.
Our journey today was to take us into West Cork, a beautiful rural area which was always a stronghold for Irish republicanism, and the birthplace of the famous Michael Collins, who was assassinated in this locality in a place called Beal na Blath.  In the picture above, we have Mike and Julie, standing at the memorial to this great patriot, who played a huge role in forcing the British to finally reach an agreement which was to return 26 of our 32 counties to the new Republic of Ireland in 1922. This led to Michael Collins death, as he was assissinated by his own Irish republican brothers, as they felt he had betrayed them by not holding out for the full 32 counties. Collins, and many more strong republicans, firmly believed that at that time there was no chance of the British giving any more, as they had been warned by the Unionists in the North of Ireland that they would go to war if Britain decided to force them into the new Republic, as they felt that they were British themselves.

 A cost free way to do your shopping. We pictured this lady in one of the many towns we passed through on our journey today.

 The town of Bantry is a very lovely town, and located right on the western side of Ireland, where Bantry Bay leads directly into the Atlantic with nothing left between us and the USA but that ocean to the west.

 Mike and Julie, pictured looking really happy together, with Bantry Bay in the background.

 Unfortunately, we had the odd shower of rain here and there today, and the dark cloud did nothing for the light in this picture of Mike and Julie on the hillside overlooking Bantry Bay.

Another lovely picture of the coast of Kerry as we made our way up the south coast on our way to Killarney, where we will be tonight. Note the lovely Fuchsia.
Tomorrow we are off on the famous Ring of Kerry, a journey around the Iveragh peninsula, starting and ending in Killarney town. Then on Friday we are touring Dingle, where we will be staying before moving on to Galway. Mike and Julie will be staying in Benners hotel in the centre of Dingle town, and i myself will be returning to a favourite place of mine, Pax House in Dingle also. I have very special memories of this place, my first time back there in some time.My last visit was very special and holds very special memories.

This was a really nice start to this tour, and our weather was very good for November, cool but not too cold, and only the odd shower or two as we travelled.
Make sure to follow along with us as we make our merry way around the south west of this beautiful country.