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MY TRIP TO IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND SCOTLAND

Day 3: Abbey, Clifdon and a Dog Go Into Guy's Bar....

The next day started with the breakfast from the previous page (which was when the rest of us figured out Kayt and Emery had the right idea having an omlette when they had the chance).

Our first stop was Aughnanure Castle in Galway. This castle was built by the O'Flaherty's around 1500. While the perimeter structures are in ruins, the main castle and the tower house are in good shape. You can go in the castle, but not the tower house. Unfortunately, the castle roof is also closed to visitors due to a large bat habitat located there.

When we walked to the main gate, we received a most unusual greeting. The dog pictured to the right appears to be the castle sentry since he greeted us as we approached. Once we were inside, another group of people came up the path and out he went again. Click on the thumbnail image to view a video of our greeting. Apparently we were up to snuff - or was it up to sniff?

Once inside, this is what we saw:
Let's take a quick tour from the highest level of the castle we were able to visit (again, the roof area was closed) all the way down to the ground level entrance to the castle. Click on the image to the right to view my trip all the way down. Along the way, you'll see location of some of the areas pictured in the photos above.

You'll see a couple of doorways along the way that the video doesn't focus on. Those are just small passages that lead to small defensive locations that are no larger than closets. Since my digital camera can only record movies up to 1 minute in length, I choose to skip them in order to allow me to make it all the way to the ground level. You'll notice the video ends as soon as the camera settles on the main doorway. I literally just made it as time ran out.

Our next stop was to get lunch in the town of Clifden. While there, we took a walk around since this was so far our best exposure to a typical Irish town. The main thing that struck us was the bright colors of the buildings in many towns.

We saw a couple of intersting things in the town. The first was a pair of businesses: Moran Family Butcher and Moran's Medical Hall just a few doors away from one another.

We wondered which business most families used first...or if one was the result of some kind of catastrophe occuring at the other. I'm hoping a visit to the medical hall wouldn't later result in a visit to the butcher shop - or vice versa.

The second point of interest was a place known as Guy's Bar. This one made us wonder 1) does the name imply it's a men's-only establishment and 2) what did "Off License" mean?

We actually got the answer to the second question a few days later. It turns out businesses that sell alcohol can be "On" or "Off license. On license means the alcohol sold there has to be consumed there. Off license means you can take it with you.

Here's a look at some of the sights:

Following lunch, we headed off Kylemore Abbey and the surrounding gardens. This is one location you have to see to believe.

Kylemore Abbey was built in 1868 as a castle, but became an abbey in 1921. The abbey is inhabitted by Benedictine nuns. It sits at the base of a rather large mountain, which, despite the abbey's large size, dwarfs it in stature.

The Benedictine order of nuns dates back to 1665 and was founded in Belgium. There, they formed a school in the town of Ypres. During World War I, the Ypres abbey was destroyed and the nuns took refuge in England. In 1920, they moved to Kylemore and soon re-opened the school. While the tour inside the abbey is somewhat short (it is a working abbey, so there are only a few public areas), there is plenty to see on the property. In addition to the abbey itself, there is a beautiful chapel and several acres of gardens.

When touring Kylemore property, be prepared to walk in order to get to both the abbey and the chapel. However, there is shuttle service to the gardens. Walking there is not allowed.

There is also a video presentation available if you choose to view it.

On our way to Westport, where we would be staying for the night, we passed some great scenery and encountered a few interesting items worth photographing. You can view those images below.

Once we got to Westport, we checked into the B & B. Remember how I mentioned the lack of window screens on the windows in the Day 1 page? This came into play here. Since it seems common for most places to keep their windows open at even this time of year, this one was no exeption. As a result, I encountered a large number of flies that had taken refuge in the room I would be staying in. Luckily, within a few minutes, I was able to herd every single one of the little critters out the window unharmed. It wasn't fair to swat them for seeking out a warm place to stay.

Once I finished removing the wildlife from the room, it was time for dinner. We found a pub with good food and musical entertainment. It is located in a square that sported a monument St. Patrick. The inscription indicated it wasn't intended to be an honor so much as a reminder that he wasn't well liked in Ireland. If they build something that big for people they don't like, I'd love to see how big monuments are for people they really like.

A few of these photos were taken by Emery since I either liked his versions better or he grabbed a shot I wasn't able to: