Moville, Co Donegal, 22Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Moville, Co Donegal, Rep of Ireland
Date: Monday, 22 September 2008 6:53 PM

Hi guys

This is our third morning in this wonderful B&B overlooking Lough Foyle. As I type here (in the B&B, free internet access), the sun is visible, rising gently over the hills to the south east, which are in a different country: the UK (Northern Ireland). The weather we've experienced in the last several days has made up for the appalling weather we encountered earlier on and we've taken advantage of it by getting out in the open countryside and experiencing some of the best scenery that Ireland has to offer. Friends here have made the experience so much better because we have been guided to the best of the local sites while being able to have our many questions about the interesting history and contemporary situation answered.

Moville, the village nearby, is the birthplace of Bernard Law Montgomery, and is also his ancestral family home. Also nearby, a ferry crosses to Northern Ireland in a 10 minute ride across the Lough, a ride which Mary and I, in our car, took yesterday when we decided to do the tourist trail thing and visit the Giant's Causeway etc.

Today we're planning to visit Derry (aka Londonderry), only 20km or so away, to experience its history and especially its famous and intact city walls which have remained in place since they were built in the early 17th century.

Anyway some pics...


Mary and I at Malin Head, Ireland's most northerly point and a prominent feature of the Inishowen Peninsula, Donegal.


Looking SW from the area of Malin Head, the coastline typical of the area.


Cottage, one of several similar, all available for rent, in a remote village on the peninsula.


Kinnago Bay, near our B&B, yesterday, on a low swell day. It reminded me of A-Bay, in Noosa, but the water temps differ significantly. I didn't go in for a swim.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow morning we're off to our final stop-off, Skerries, near Dublin, before flying to Manchester on Thursday, then Singapore/Brisbane
leaving Friday, arriving Sat evening.

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Mullaghmore Bay, Sligo, 18Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Mullaghmore Bay, Sligo
Date: Thursday, 18 September 2008 8:27 PM

Hi guys

We've actually left Mullaghmore Bay and are presently using this internet facility in Donegal, a little way north. And it's raining again, only lightly, however, after two glorious sunny days.

Mullaghmore Bay is a tiny settlement with a picturesque harbour just on the southern side of Donegal Bay. It became famous on 27August 1979 when the IRA bombed a small fishing boat carrying 3 people: a young local lad plus Lord Louis Mountbatten plus Mountbatten's youthful grandson, all of whom were blown to bits while on a morning fishing trip. The Mountbattens, an aristocratic English family, owned land and an imposing manor house in Mullaghmore and generally got on well with the local populace although they didn't live there permanently.

Our B&B in Mullaghmore was one of only two in the village and provided us with a bedroom whose window looked westward at the imposing ranges which reared sharply from the coast. A stupendous view resulted; and just below a beautiful sandy beach suitable for an evening stroll beckoned. So we stayed two nights and really loved it.

Some pics:


Mountain just to the south which we examined closely during a drive through the hinterland.


View over the loch, a famous salmon and sea trout fishery


The Mountbatten manor "Classiebawn" in Mullaghmore. Not open to the public.


From the headland looking over the water where the bombing occurred. I searched in vain for any sort of memorial of the event -- a local informed me that such a memorial would be politically difficult to retain. Nevertheless, during a stroll out to the headland I came across a tiny cairn in the centre of which someone had placed a pot plant containing a small flowering plant. It's visible in the bottom left of the pic. There was no sign of any attempt to identify its
purpose but it's likely that it's someone's anonymous attempt to create a memorial.

We're staying somewhere in Co Donegal tonight and will move on to Buncrana, Donegal for four nights tomorrow.

Regards and thanks for the news, etc.

Kev & Mary Long

Westport, Co Mayo, 16Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Westport, Co Mayo
Date: Tuesday, 16 September 2008 7:46 PM

Hi all

Yesterday morning we opened the curtains to a sunny morning in Clifden. What a relief, as we were beginning to wonder if the sun ever emerged here. So we packed up and headed north, over yet another mountainous scenic road toward Westport, with no fixed plan as to where we'd stay.

The sunlight added a new perspective to our views and we thoroughly enjoyed the drive through vales and rural landscapes, everywhere sprinkled with views of salty bays and fresh water streams, the latter sparkling and frothy as they tumbled toward the sea creating egg laying sites for salmon as they progressed.

As mentioned earlier, our target in Westport was Matt Molloy's Pub. Having found a parking spot in busy Westport we took off on foot and very shortly were drinking a Guinness in the very place. Matt Molloy is a famous musician whose main claim to fame is membership of The Chieftains, an Irish band of the mid 70s (I think).

Deciding that we liked Westport, we checked in to a B&B to find that it was partly occupied with some members of the Irish Guards Choir. The Guards is a British regiment and our fellow B&B-ers were engaged in a singing tour of Ireland. So naturally we went along with their invitation to join all 40 of them in practising at the local pub, The Helm. A great night followed, as far as we can recall and we'll tell you the details when we've sorted out our story.

Sunny again, today so we decided we'd head north again, it being really easy to find accommodation. We'll let you know how we go...

Some pics again...


Mary outside the pub in Westport. Josie, in particular should enjoy this one.


Seaweed collector at low tide at Westport Quay, with local pub, The Shebeen, in background.


Mary and our car on roadside between Clifden and Westport, sheep prominent in background.


Magnificent salmon water not far from above pic. Wouldn't I have liked to have had a go...

Thanks for reading.. On to somewhere else.

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Clifden, Connemara, Rep of Ireland, 14Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Clifden, Connemara, Rep of Ireland
Date: Sunday, 14 September 2008 10:38 PM

It's raining again -- in fact it's bucketing down, but not freezing and not windy. You see, I'm already thinking like an Irishman -- making the best of things. Who was it said "If winter's here can spring be far behind?". We feel a bit like that, the sunny weather surely can't be far away.

Clifden is a pretty little bayside town and here we have the best B&B so far -- great view and a couple of minutes' stroll through the drizzle to our choice of pubs and restaurants. And only 60 euros per couple per night, the usual being 70 euros; and we're here for two nights, or more if the road is cut by flooding.

We've just spent a couple of hours driving VERY slowly through the rain on twisty, narrow wet-sheep-lined roads viewing the Connemara peninsula. There are some spectacular views and it's very rugged country, scattered with rocks, incredibly so. In fact we were talking briefly to a farmer yesterday who was sharing a coffee break with us in a small roadside cafe and he
explained that he had a 'rock farm', and grinned widely at our reaction. We slowed down even more when we came across a crashed car which had taken out a power pole after jumping the rock wall which typically lines most roads in this part of Ireland. The airbag had blown and there was no sign of anyone in the car so we concluded that there was no one in immediate need of assistance and proceeded on our way.

Last night in Guy's Pub we caught our first taste of traditional Irish music in the shape of a couple of middle aged guys, one on a guitar and the other on a banjo, who serenaded us and many others, during our evening meal of pub grub. We've found most traditional music offerings start after 2130hrs, way past the bedtime of us weary sightseers, but this one started at 1900 -- much more in tune with our capabilities.

Tomorrow we intend to move on to County Mayo for a night or two, hopefully catching a music session at Matt Molloy's Pub (probably related to Josie Thompson, nee Molloy) in Westport.

Anyway, some pics...


Fly fisherman plying his art in a roadside stream nearby. We pulled up in the middle of a traffic free road and watched for a few minutes but he didn't get any strikes while we watched. There are salmon and sea trout in these waters most of which have a strict Catch and Release policy.


Speaking of wet sheep. Arty pic taken by Mary of a couple of very damp bleaters challenging our right to use the road. I bravely managed to call their bluff and we got away scot free.


View from our room window at high tide yesterday as we sipped on a red wine, seated in comfortable easy chairs. The local stream flows into a bay right in front of our B&B and across the bay is this beautiful patch of woodland which is tenanted with a couple of white Connemara ponies which were grazing at the water's edge while we watched.


A beach nearby at low tide, replete with seaweed. I checked out the notice board at our local beach and found a small notice placed by the local council which contained a warning that faecal coliform contamination was such that swimming couldn't be recommended. It didn't affect me as I didn't intend jumping in, dressed as I was in four layers of clothing.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. We'd appreciate an update on local Noosa news if there's anything of worth.

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Portumna, Co Galway, Ireland, 13Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Portumna, Co Galway, Ireland
Date: Saturday, 13 September 2008 5:09 AM

Hello all

At last the weather seems to have changed. Sitting here in a shop in the main (only?) street of Portumna I am looking at a relatively clear sky and we have great hopes that the rain has disappeared for a few days at least.

Mary and I have just had a great meal in a small restaurant here. The owner is a young Bangladeshi who is married to a Malaysian lady (from KL) who took our orders of Roast of the Day (Irish Lamb). The chef is an old-ish Irish guy and the meal was perfect, right down to the mint sauce which the Malaysian lady suggested should go with the lamb. To cap it all off, the chef produced perfect pappadums and Indian food for the Irish family at the next table and we washed our meal down with a pint of Smithwick's (Irish beer) for me and a glass of Chilean red for Mary. Ireland is truly becoming multi-cultural.

Portumna is is not a tourist place. We picked it off the map as a possible convenient overnight stop between Dingle and Clifden and, having checked in to the local B&B, operated by a Canadian guy, we first visited the local tourist hot spot, a stately castle, then decided that it was time for a Guinness at the Fisherman's Rest, just down the street from our B&B. What followed was a memorable session with the locals (all Irish) as we were welcomed and included in the conversation which switched rapidly between local and international affairs and was studded with bursts of laughter. At one stage the barman indicated to me that one of the group which whom we were engaged in conversation had bought a round of drinks for us. We had no opportunity to reciprocate as our benefactor was the designated driver of a small group and refused all offers of drinks. We've encountered this before in Ireland and it goes to show how convivial the locals are, especially when not overawed by hordes of tourists.

A few pics:


On the Dingle Peninsula we visited an Iron-age defensive position (about 2000 yrs old). The above pic is of the local land owner who sits in his tiny wooden shed collecting €3 per visitor for the privilege of crossing his land to see the fortification.


A view of me peeking through the entrance of the above structure.


Mary at the same location, which is right on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean


Our car on the narrow road on the pass leading from Dingle to the north


Waterfall next to the road north of the pass in the previous pic. That's me in the bottom left corner

Thanks for reading...

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Dingle, Rep of Ireland, 11Sep2008

From: "kevin long"
Subject: greetings from Dingle, Rep of Ireland
Date: Thursday, 11 September 2008 8:26 PM

Hi all again

It's warm and dry here in the internet cafe and so a good place to be today (can't spend all of my time and money in Murphy's Pub). The weather continues to be appalling. Yesterday we relocated from the Ring of Kerry area to here, the Dingle Peninsula, a little further north, in the midst of a southerly gale with driving rain. I felt very sorry for two fellow guests at our B&B, Hans and Hans, two guys from Germany about our age who had arrived on bikes and had opted to leave (on their bikes) when we did owing to the foul weather. I only hope they didn't get blown over the cliff and managed to at least stay upright.

Dingle was once a fishing village, and a very picturesque one at that. It has now been transformed into a tourist town with a sideline as a semi-permanent base for large fishing vessels from other EU countries, mainly Spain. Its setting remains spectacular, however, and the people retain their Irish friendliness, if not optimism for the future. Mary and I found a good room in a B&B built on to Murphy's (who else) Bar and our bedroom window provides a view, through the driving rain, of the pier and its fishing fleet. Our host, Michael, a keen fisherman who assured me that he'd have taken me fishing in his boat if the weather had been better, has been filling us in on the details of the local economy (a brief discourse) while lamenting his personal lack of education which restricts him to operating a B&B and occasional fishing trips.

Presuming the weather clears later today, M and I intend to visit some of the Iron-Age sites which abound on this peninsula. If it doesn't clear, there's always Murphy's Pub, where the Guinness is only €€3.75, the hot soup the same and the company of other tourists, mainly from US, Canada and Australia, guaranteed.

Some pics:


A windswept Mary on the pier, taken an hour ago. Our B&B is somewhere in the backgound, not on one of the boats, I hasten to add.


Reloading the tuna catch on the pier. Tuna, apparently netted in quantity about 80km offshore, is unloaded in plastic boxes from a Spanish vessel and reloaded by this guy into smaller plastic boxes. The tuna I saw were very badly damaged, presumably from net-abrasion.


An EU-registered semi waits on the pier to receive the tuna from the pic above before transporting it to Spain for processing. The fishing vessel to the right is flying a Spanish flag. The upshot is that there's very little commercial spinoff for Dingle in this activity.


Surfing is popular here and so what better place for Europe's most westerly surf shop. Cool name too.


Roman Catholicism still has a tenuous hold here and now you can get the services on TV. This poster was prominently displayed in the foyer of the local church.

Thanks for reading -- off to Murphy's for a Guinness.

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Caherdaniel, Co Kerry, Ireland, 09Sep2008

From: "kevin long"
Subject: greetings from Caherdaniel, Co Kerry, Ireland
Date: Tuesday, 9 September 2008 7:18 PM

G'day guys

The rain continues but the Guinness is just as good as ever. We're having an admin morning, having found a place to get the washing done (a laundrette in a Caravan Park nearby).

Travelling has been easy although the roads are a little below par (see pics later). We're in a B&B overlooking the sea -- fantastic views of the Beare Peninsula from our breakfast seats and from the upstairs bedroom window. Unfortunately the edge is taken off by the rain showers which come in periodically from the south.

Our encounters with the locals continue to be cordial and interesting, including an ernest discussion in a pub in Bandon with a local who could understand us perfectly but whose accent made it possible for us to understand one word in five or six only. We were discussing the national sport, hurling, we think.

Plugging on toward Dingle tomorrow, after visiting Killarney today and circulating anti-clockwise around the Ring of Kerry, as that is the way the tour buses travel and it's better to be going in the same direction than to meet one unexpectedly on a blind bend. Then it'll be down to the Blind Piper for a Guinness and a meal next to the open (coal briquette) fire.

Some pics:


Mary and I at breakfast this morning


Fantastic view of green Irish countryside from Rock of Cashel, a famous 2000 yr old defended site, in Tipperary. Ruined 12th century abbey in foreground.


Not so good view of discarded car bodies and rubbish overlooking the beautiful O'Carroll's Cove, Ring of Kerry. We won't let this happen at Noosa, will we?


Driving in Ireland. Pics taken from inside car. Many roads are very, very narrow -- even the "main" roads. If you look closely at the one above, you'll see an old gent on a pushbike at the top of the rise on our side of the road.


Typical entry into a village. Usually prominent is a pub, and another one or two over the road.

Regards
Kev & Mary Long

Glendalough, Eire, 06Sep2008

Subject: Greetings from Glendalough, Eire
Date: Saturday, 6 September 2008 1:45 AM

Hi all

It's been bucketing down here most of the day and Mary and I decided to drive over to Kilkenny, about 70km away, to get the windscreen wipers serviced and our umbrellas fatally damaged. We're at a marvellous family run B&B at Glendalough, overlooking the Lower Lake (of two) which nestles in a tiny valley with steep hills either side. We arrived yesterday -- very scenic. And the breakfasts are superb -- just as well as we need to be able to generate plenty of heat internally.

This is where the famous Irishman Saint Kevin set up his monastic centre about 1400 years ago, so "Kevin" is a really popular name here, just as it is becoming in Australia, a little late for me, unfortunately.

Anyway, this Saint Kevin, aside from being very holy was a bit of a loner and probably pretty tough for he is believed to have lived for several years in a cave overlooking the Upper Lake. This cave can be seen from a footpath on the opposite side of the lake. I hope the drainage in the cave was pretty good because they get heaps of rain here.

Having a great time

Cheers
Kev & Mary Long

Dublin, Rep of Ireland, 03Sep2008

Text derived from emails by Kev and Mary, pics taken near Dalkey, Dublin, where we stayed

From Kev:
Subject: greetings from Dublin, Rep of Ireland
Date: Wednesday, 3 September 2008 11:50 PM

Hello all

Spending our first full day in Ireland doing the tourist thing in Dublin and we needed a seat so decided to spend some money while sitting (in an Internet cafe). We've just visited the Chester Beatty Library which houses the lifetime collection of Mr Beatty, a Dublin resident before his death at 93 years in 1968. It features mainly ancient manuscripts and state of the art (at the time, going back several thousand years in all cultures) examples of the book builder's art, most of which are not viewable anywhere else.

All going well so far, weather does not disappoint us as we weren't expecting much anyway. It's quite cool with occasional showers but the inside of the pubs is cosy and so I think that we'll find another soon and spend some time talking to the locals over a pint of Guinness.

Had a fun stopover in Singapore, and were as ready as we could be for the 15 hour haul to Manchester/Dublin which inevitably followed. Nevertheless we were very glad to disembark at Dublin and were especially glad to be reunited with our luggage which had miraculously survived being crossloaded at Manchester from Singapore Airlines to Aer Lingus, as were its owners. A trouble-free hire car pick up at Dublin Airport served to further comfort us and an hour or so later we were ensconced in our tiny but adequate room in a B&B at Dalkey (pron: Dolkey), a seaside village on the SE outskirts of Dublin.

It's really great to be able to speak the local language, for once and I've already been complimented on my Irish accent, which I intend to work on in the
next three weeks or so by visiting as many bars as possible.

Off to the Wicklow Mountains area tomorrow. Hope all is well with you.

pics from Dublin area

Mary in bar with bottles: Here they sell wine in 1/4 sized bottles. This pic shows M trying to choose from the red wines available. She chose a South African wine and kept the empty as a souvenir.

Seafront view with bench seat in right foreground: This photo was taken near where we stayed in Dalkey. It's just a shot of the seafront area at low tide.

Plaque: This plaque was affixed to the seat which features in the pic above

Lady in bathers and man changing: On my early morning walk in Dalkey, all rugged up wearing a beanie plus four layers of clothing, I happened on a sea-bathing facility. To me it was freezing, but several locals were in the water, including the lady in the pic, who said to me "You must think we're mad!". "Yep", I replied. Note the sign ref dress requirements. I was told that this was often ignored. The pic was taken at the dressing shed, open to the elements and used by all sexes.

Regards
Kev


From Mary:

Subject: Hi from Mary in Dublin
Date: Thursday, 4 September 2008 12:20 AM

Hi All,

This internet cafe is in the famous Grafton St in Dublin. It's a very trendy shopping street with lots of people busking as well. Very colourful. We came in to get out of the cold, drizzly weather - it's a lot like Melbourne weatherwise I think. We've walked around Temple Bar and Dublin Castle and will go to Trinity College after this. Then we'll look for a pub to sit in I think.

The trip over was very tiring, especially the second leg from Singapore to Dublin via Manchester. Singapore Airlines had Kevin and me sitting separately on either side of the aisle which was OK until the two people next to me wanted to go to the toilet. I don't sleep well on planes but had just got off (Kevin reckons I was snoring) when they tapped me on the shoulder. They did it again later too. Kevin had two young heavily tattooed Welsh men sitting next to him but they turned out to be OK despite their looks.

Anyway, we arrived in Dublin eventually and picked up the little car without any trouble. It's great to be driving on the same side of the road but there's a lot of traffic. We arrived in Dalkey OK but had to call on one of the locals to get us to the B+B. Not many of the streets are named so it was a bit hard to see where we had to go. Anyway, we eventually got there and fell into bed for a couple of hours. Then we ventured out to a funny old pub where we had an early dinner and went back to bed. At the pub these three fat ladies walked in and sat near us. We thought they were locals and imagine our surprise this morning when they walked into the breakfast room at the B+B. They weren't locals at all but were from Manchester. They sounded Irish to us.

No more news.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Cheers,
Mary (Mum)

Ireland, May/June 2008

In 2008 we travelled from our home to Ireland via Singapore and UK. On arrival at Dublin we picked up a hire car and started a journey clockwise around the island, leaving from Dublin and returning there a few weeks later. On this trip we relied on Internet cafés and the like and sent emails to ourselves and friends, rather than blogging, which we hadn't yet discovered.

To view the posts of the Ireland trip, in start to finish order, simply select the "Newer Post" option at the bottom of each post.