Day 3, A Travelogue of Christmas in Ireland, December 2005

Christmas in Ireland Tour, 2005

Day 3 - Marble mines and Abbey castles

Saturday, December 3, 2005

Itinerary: Visited Aughnanure Castle. Stopped at the Quiet Man Bridge outside Oughterard, visited the Connemara Statue in Recess, gathered Connemara marble in the rain, got soaked at Kylemore Abbey, rushed through the rain for our appointment at the Connemara Heritage and History Centre 3:00 p.m. and got lost, when we arrived at the Centre it was being remodeled, so we drove into Clifden and shopped. Dinner: E.J. King's, Clifden. Went to a traditional music session that night at the Corrib House in Oughterard.

We drove west into Connemara. Along the way we stopped to look at the bridge featured in the opening scene of the John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man." Our next stop was a stop at a statue of Conn, son of the sea, in Recess, built there for no particular reason according to the sign. From Recess it was a short drive into the Twelve Bens to an abandoned Connemara marble quarry on the southern shore of Derryclare Lough. These mountains were created from the same seafloor bed that composed the Burren. However, the limestone seabed floor was metamorphosed under great pressure to create marble.

It was about a one-half mile hike to marble mine. Our host Pat said the ground would be dry but the bog ground was spongy and wet. (Everything is relative.) It was a beautiful walk along the lake shore which looked like high mountain lakes in Colorado. There was a piece of abandoned mining equipment left on the lake bank. We picked up small pieces of Connemara marble along the edge of the lake. It was drizzling; but we all had our rain gear, so we stayed dry.

After hiking back to the van, we drove north and west through the Maumturk Mountains. Our next stop was Kylemore Abbey. It is a huge castle located at the edge of a lake. It was a private residence in the 1800's owned by the Henry family. The Henry's had 600 acres and that was a huge estate for the time. The house was huge filled with very nice and fancy molding, large mirrors, big fireplaces and intricate wood working. The Abbey and grounds now are a Catholic girls school owned and run by the Benedictine Order. In addition to the main house, the sisters have restored the Gothic chapel, which is located at the end of a shaded, treed walk a short distance from the castle.

We drove to Clifden, a charming seaside village, at the western end of Connemara. There we shopped, sent emails, and had supper in an Irish pub. Vivian tried the Irish stew made with lamb. Ken had fish and chips (thick French fries). The rest of the group sampled pub specials. We went back to the house to rest before attending a traditional music session at an Irish Pub. The band did not start until 10:00pm. We got there about 9:30 and stayed to almost 11:00.

Rising Road Tours
828-648-8893 (Tel) ~ 888-648-8893 (Toll-free) ~ 828-648-8895 (Fax)
sam@risingroadtours.com

28 Newfound Street, Canton, North Carolina 28716 USA