Day 10
Today we exited Galway and pointed ourselves towards Westport. Galway had been a very vibrant and frenetic stay and it would be fun to come back when it wasn't quite as much of a zoo. It might be a little more subdued than now but I'm sure it's always a fun and active town.
Our first stop today was the town of Cong which is right on the border of County Galway and County Mayo. Cong is a very picturesque little village and is known as the setting for the film "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. Also, the last High King of Ireland, Roderick O'Conor died here in Cong. A distant relation of our own Pat O'Connor I'm sure!
Cong Abbey
We walked from the bus to the ruins of the Cong Abbey, an Augustinian monastery which was destroyed by fire in the early 12th century. The abbey is situated in a beautiful location right on the River Cong. I heard that the River Cong is popular for salmon fishing and in fact the monks of the abbey built a stone fishing house right in the river which allowed them to drop their line in the river through a trap door in the floor while sitting comfortably by the fireplace.
We also walked to the Ashford Castle which is now a five star hotel. It was originally built in 1228 by the de Burgos, an Anglo-Norman family. In 1852 the estate was purchased by Sir Benjamin Guinness and the property extended to 26,000 acres. In 1939 the Guinness family sold the castle and it became a hotel. We weren't able to go inside but if the grounds are any indication, it must be spectacular. The group photo I used on this site was taken here.
Lunch
Sir James next drove us to Leenane where we had some lunch at Hamilton's Pub. Leenane is a tiny town at the head of Killary Fjord, the only fjord in Ireland. There seems to be some argument over whether or not it actually is a fjord, which is formed by a glacier. Regardless....it looks pretty impressive to me and I've seen some fjords in Alaska and Scandinavia.
Cruising along the shore of the fjord we pass what seems like miles of floating structures in the water. They turn out to be mussel farms. I always wondered how they did that. These things go on forever! They must harvest thousands of mussels.
And never want as long as you live.
Peat 101
Looks like another surprise from Pat O! It's time for "slog in the bog". Just about the time we noticed that we were passing through some peat bogs, Sir James pulled the coach off the road so that Pat O. could give us a lesson out in the peat. A peat bog is the accumulation of partially decayed plant material under marshy conditions. Peat is actually the earliest stage in the formation of coal. A special tool is used to dig out slices of the peat, which is then laid out to dry. Once dried, the peat can be stacked and used like firewood. Although the use of peat as a fuel is not very popular any more, we did see a few people cutting and stacking peat as we drove through the bogs.
Kylemore Abbey
Our next stop was at Kylemore Abbey. Although originally built as a baronal castle in the 1860's, it became a monastery in 1920 for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium during World War I. (Note: when we were there in May 2009 there was a girls' boarding school on the premises but I just learned that it is closing in 2010). Although officially this is only a W.C. (water closet, toilet) stop, the castle and grounds are so beautiful we couldn't stop taking pictures. Pat O. had to practically drag us back on the coach.
Not long before reaching Westport, Croagh Patrick came into view. Croagh Patrick is not very large as far as mountains go (2510') but is a very important pilgrimage site. On "Reek Sunday", the last Sunday in July, over 15,000 pilgrims climb it, many of them barefoot. It is believed that Saint Patrick spent 40 days fasting on the summit of Croagh Patrick in the 5th century and at the end of his fast, banished all the snakes from Ireland.
Coffin Ship Memorial
Within sight of Croagh Patrick is the "Coffin Ship". The "Coffin Ship" is a memorial dedicated in 1997, "to honor the memory of all who died, suffered and emigrated due to the Great Famine of 1845 - 1850 and the victims of all famines". During the Great Potato Famine of 1845 to 1850 approximately one million people died and another million emigrated from Ireland. Unscrupulous ship owners packed anything that would float with Irish emigrants trying to escape the famine. These ships were crowded and disease-ridden and mortality rates of 30% or more were common. The memorial itself was quite dramatic. The metal ship is sculpted to resemble many human skeletons. It was pretty quiet in the coach the rest of the way into Westport. I'm sure everyone was thinking about the memorial and what an impact The Great Potato Famine had on Ireland and it's people.
Dinner in Westport was a group function at "J. J. O'Malleys" and was quite boisterous. We had an entire room to ourselves upstairs.......the food was good and so was the company!
