Day 2, A Travelogue of Christmas in Ireland, December 2005

Christmas in Ireland Tour, 2005

Day 2 - The Aran Island of Inish Mhor

Friday, December 2, 2005

Itinerary: Traveled to Rossaveal 10:30 a.m. for Aran Ferries to Inish Mhor, largest of the Aran Islands. On the island, we visited the Seven Churches ruin, Dun Aenghus Iron Age cliff fortress. Returned to mainland 1700. Dinner: Corrib House, Oughterard.

We had breakfast at 8:30 at the farm house. Mary had the table set with nice dishes. The first course was fruit, several breads, cold cereal, orange juice, coffee, tea. After that came the "full Irish breakfast," which consists of a rasher of bacon (which resembled thick, long Canadian bacon), link sausages, eggs, and a cooked tomato. There also was porridge (oatmeal). We had a variation of this same breakfast at every B&B.

We drove to Rossaveal in southern Galway to catch the ferry to the Inish Mhor, largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. As we drove we could see the Twelve Bens, famous Connemara mountains, on one side of the van and gorse-covered bog land on the other side. From Rossaveal, we ferried half an hour across Galway Bay to the island. We never lost site of land. The scenery was gorgeous, the sea was calm, and the weather perfect. You could ride outside on the ferry's upper deck or below decks in comfortable seating. We saw some seals and many sea gulls.

Since we had limited time on the island and we weren't certain how long the good weather would hold out, we decided to hire a local tour taxi to take us to the Seven Churches Ruin on the northwestern edge of the island. In this complex were rock remains of old churches and a cemetery. There were some headstones that dated back to about 700 AD.

From the church ruins we walked across to the southern edge of the island along some very narrow but paved roads. The Aran Islands are geologically and geographically the same as the Burren topography we had driven across on our first day. As a matter of fact, we could look eastward and see the Burren shore. We saw many rock fences enclosing very small pastures. We were fascinated by the small corrals, which included one pen, a long alleyway and head gate, all built in a metal panel type construction. All the corrals were the same. We found out later that design was a government-mandated construction requirement.

Our goal was the Iron Age cliff fortress Dun Aenghus. The fort is built in a horseshoe shape on the edge of the cliffs. The outer and inner rock walls are still standing. The open end of the fort is built directly above cliffs that drop to the ocean. The rock walls are about 12 feet tall.

We walked back to the gift shops outside the fort, and our tour bus picked us up and took us back to the pier area. Just as we entered a woolen shop near the pier, the weather let loose and there was a long, cold rain shower. We were grateful that the rain held off until we finished our hiking tour of the island. We stopped for tea and then lingered to wait for the ferry at 1700. As we walked along the pier, it dropped off to the ocean; there were no railings. The ferry looked so much bigger now and was higher up above the pier, as it was high tide. We sat in the bottom enclosed heated part because it was cold, dark and rainy outside. We had dinner that night in a pub in Oughterard.

Pat showed us his cows. They are kept in the barn all winter long. They had about 12 cows, a few yearling, some replacement heifers, and keep bullocks (bulls) to sell for breeding stock. He was very pound of his huge Hereford cow. It weighted at least 1600 pounds. She was the cow show winner recently. The Irish do not brand but identify cattle by ear tags. The government mandates that each farmer keep detailed DNA, immunization, and disease records, which are examined on a regular basis by agricultural inspectors. The cows are fed big round bales that have been wrapped in plastic. Although the bales were large by Irish standards, two or three of them would fit into one of the round bales in the western U.S. The hay turns into haylage, which smells just like silage. They also have a few sheep in the barn that needed special attention. Three of them were due soon (this was the result of an "accident," as they do not lamb until spring). They had been ultra sounded and were carrying triplets, twins, and one single. One ewe was thin because she gave birth to three lambs last year. Their corrals are very limited. Most of them are one small pen, alley way, head gate. Pat's were all concrete and much larger than others. Vivian brought a few pictures to show the terrain of their South Dakota Ranch. Pat and Mary were impressed with all the hay bales and examined the tractor.

Rising Road Tours
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