Thursday throwback

April 24, 2024 

After returning from the knitting tour in Ireland last October, I finished the headbands from the Inis Mór workshop with Una McDonagh. In the morning before our workshop, we bussed to the visitor center and then hiked to Dún Aonghasa, an ancient stone fort, which is over 3,000 years old. On the way to the fort we stopped at Teampall Mac Duach (the Church of St. Mac Duach), an early 9th century (?) church dedicated to St Colmán Mac Duach.

 It was appropriately foggy and misty on the hike to Dún Aonghasa.

Teampall Mac Duach

After our hike, we took time to do some shopping in the village shops.

Knitting workshop after lunch.

Aran Headband with Chain Link Cable Stitch by Mairéad Sharry and Una McDonagh

Inis Oírr Stone Walled Garden Ear Warmer  (snail's trail cable) by Úna McDonagh

Ireland

Ireland is one of our favorite places to visit and this year Jim and Ben did a bike ride, the Steven Roche Atlantic Challenge.  They were fortunate to have a beautiful day for the ride, with sun and low wind.  Andi and I walked to "downtown" Doolin from the cottage after we cheered our guys on from the intersection up the hill.

We stayed in Doolin, a small town in County Clare on the west coast.  Home base was a cottage overlooking the ocean and in the distance are the Aran Islands.  Inishere (Inis Oírr, and also spelled Inisheer) is the smallest and closest to the mainland.  On the days we had other plans the weather was beautiful and the days we were available to take the ferry found the sea to be rough.

Here are a few of the highlights from our visit, in no particular order...

Quin Abbey in County Clare, Ireland

Across the street from the abbey was a tea room and we enjoyed coffee, tea, and cake while sitting by the fire.  

We had a lovely day for a hike on one of the Burren National Park's trails.

It was a treat to visit McKernan Woollen Mills and watch the antique loom (late 1800s) in action weaving one of their beautiful scarves

We met Andi in Galway at the bus station and popped into a tea shop so she could buy a gift for her friend.  

We stayed in Doolin and the daffodils were in bloom this trip.

Jim and Ben on the ride.  And and I met them as they rode through the intersection above where we stayed.  We were wearing our t-shirts and waving an Irish flag.  The fellows directing traffic knew who we were cheering for, our guys were famous!

We stayed cozy and warm in the cottage by the fire.

It was a rainy, windy, and very cold day at the Cliffs of Moher.  I think they are so beautiful in the mist.

St. Brigid's Well, Liscannor, County Clare

 Inside St. Brigid's Well

Boots make nice flower pots

Every morning and evening I enjoyed the sunrise 

and the sunset

Our last full day we visited and hiked around the cliffs of Kilkee, County Clare 

Valentine's Day in Ireland

On Valentine's day we were fortunate with the weather, as the sun came out and although it was windy and chilly it was just beautiful for our drive around the Connemara Loop and Wild Atlantic Way.  

Kyle more Abbey 

The roads are very narrow making stops difficult for sheep encounters.  This was a perfect spot to snap a photo.  Across the road was the rest of the flock.  When Jim approached them they scattered.

Sunshine, snow on the mountain, wearing a favorite jumper, and a lovely walk on the beach.  Life is good.

The rocks sparked in the sun.

We did a short hike in the Connemara National Park.

Driving along the Wild Atlantic Way back to Galway.

The sunset was so beautiful as we made our way to Barna and enjoyed a Valentine's supper at O'Grady's on the Pier.

Back to Ireland

Jim and I returned last night from a week in Ireland.  We stayed in B&Bs  this trip as we did so many years ago on our first trip.  This time we spent most of our time in and around Galway and then in Dublin.
We spent the first day and night in Drogheda.  We drove around to see a few sights, a battlefield in County Meath (Battle of the Boyne, 1690) and then Newgrange to see the stone age passage tomb.

We took a short walk near the battlefield and it was nice to see lots of green!

To see the large passage tomb at Newgrange was impressive.  It was constructed around
3,200 B.C., which makes it over 5,000 years old.  

The mound is ringed by 97 massive kerbstones

 

The decorated kerbstone at the entrance is beautiful with the tri-spiral design.

The white stones gleam in the sunshine.

A second highly decorated stone is at the back of the tomb on the outside.

Our weather the next day was not as sunny, but the drive to Galway was beautiful nonetheless.  We stopped at the Kilbeggan Distillery for a self-tour and a taste at the end.  Very smooth whiskey, a good thing for a chilly day.

Looking for the entrance to the distillery.

The waterwheel no longer runs, but is still there.  The river beside the distillery was rushing by right up to the building.

The patina on the tanks against the brickwork is quite striking.

We made our way to the B&B in Galway in Bushy Park and seeing the little cottage at the bottom of the hill by the road was a treat.  The owner's husband, Martin, was born there.  He was the youngest of twelve children and said that only eight were there at any one time.  I cannot imagine that because it was very tiny and still was beautiful at over 200 years old.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Revisiting the Rock of Cashel--St. Patrick's Cross and the Round Tower.

St. Patrick's Cross (front) in the museum.

St. Patrick's Cross (back) looking out over the landscape.  

The Round Tower is the oldest surviving building and is thought to date from the 1100s.

Graceful carvings with a touch of green.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day here are some more photos of the Emerald Isle...

This was our first sheep encounter of the trip.  We ended up turning around because it started to sleet.  The road was very narrow, steep and no room to turn around easily.  

Kerry Woolen Mill

Millie and I made friends while waiting for the mill to open.

Tweed!

Pretty wool on the carding machine.

Debbie explains how everything worked.  Jim enjoyed the machines.

This is the wool before it went through the carding machine.

A very windy day--Jim is leaning into the wind. (Ring of Kerry)

The waves were crashing on the rocks.  It was a great day!

There is so much beauty in the rock formations.

A pretty church window.

We saw lots of bike shops and places to rent them.

A brief break in the weather allowed us to see the distant rocks. 

A tuft of sheep's wool caught on the grass.  (No sheep jumped off the cliff.)

A variety of green.

Yes, that is snow.  

I was so happy I brought my (Aranmor) sweater, as I wore it every day!