Anne's Ireland Saga: May 2007

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Fleadh Nua Ennis

We are spending some time at the Music festival in Ennis, Fleadh Nua... Brian Prior is heading up the festivities, they had me up on their main stage for the Noon concert in the center of town. Great fun sessions everywhere, I met Dr Mick Maloney, famous Irish Folklore professor, and friend, he invited mom to attend his special show tonight while I played in town. You may have seen him on TV, he is a regular in every Irish History PBS special. His tour is staying in our hotel.

A trip to Ennis has to include the Franciscan Friary and abbey, this is a highlight of down town Ennis. The whole town is full of music, and I surprisingly know quite a few people, I got an introduction before the concert , Brian still thought I was in Atlanta, but having come the farthest got an applause from the crowd when introduced anyway... A note to those viewing if you click on the pictures they will load up bigger and you can get a better look. Mom went to the story telling session,

Tomorrow is a gaelic mass in the cathedral, and after is the Clare vs Cork Hurling regional championship, Hurling is a 3000 + year old Irish sport that looks like field hockey, rugby and a bar fight all at once. Great fun I played in my youth (40) and did well Atlanta's team won the Junior North American Championship. I couldn't walk after wards.... and certainly didnt atempt another year, Wish I had discovered it in my 20's .... My Irish born friends decided I was Irish only after I came off the field with blood running down my arm and leg... Brilliant fun..If I cant get to the actual game, we will sit in a pub, and watch, Ennis is the capitol of Clare so the crowd should be as much fun as the game....

Friday, May 25, 2007

Kylmore Abbey

Run By the Irish Benedictines it is a girls school, and former 19th century victorian wannabe castle. The grounds and Gardens are beautiful, The gothic church abbey and garden are worth visiting, it resides north of clifden.

Clifden

My favorite Connamara town clifden, fresh seafood, music, greta farmhouse cheeses, nice people, no or small crowds. We went to Kylmore Abbey for the day, mom bought potterry from the Nuns. A bit Rainy but I will post later, Clifden we went to the Mannions Pub, and I played with the locals, A good way to spend a Birthday. I also caught 2 episodes of sponge bob in gaelic, This is not dubbed the titles and everything are redone in Irish... Weird but fun.

Innis Mor The largest Aran Island

Kennys Books was no more , a big loss, So we spent the next day traveling by ferry to the largest of the Aran Islands. Inis Mor... I put ma on an Irish taxi cart and we went to Dun Aeogus built 2000bc by the celts it is a three wall fort overlooking 300 ft cliffs over the Atlantic.

I particularly like the casual pose on the cairn near the edge, Anne didnt know she was 4 ft from the drop off, There is no fence because of the antiquity of the site. The next picture i took holding my arm out over the edge. Great view ...

Monday, May 21, 2007

Galway

Galway is a stop off for two days atleast, we are staying in historic salthill district. The Corribh River flows into Galway bay near the Claddagh district, Claddagh means pebble or gravel and is built on a wash of stones from the river. Galway is great for shopping and just walking which we will do some bit of. We met with a friend Michael Vignolles, a Bodhran maker this morning and will meet him tomorrow for some music playing in one of the local pubs.

Clonmacnoise

St Kiarans monestary on the banks of the Shannon, date back from 540's AD. This is one of the best preserved abbey compounds in the Republic. Well worth a visit, The round tower is one of the oldest dating from the early 12th century. And there are many churches the smaller the older. St cieran is buried in teh 8 x 10 ft chapel shown above. In the 19th century it became fahionable to be buried here so the grounds are full of graves.

Glen of Atherlow

In South Tipperary is the Glen of Atherlow, we stayed here for the night. This is a view from the forest over looking the glen with the slieve broom mountains in the background.

Bru Boru Cultural Center

At the base of the Rock of Cashel is the CCE Bru Boru Cultural center. This is run by CCE Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann (Irish Musicians Association) We caught up with an acquaintance Una O' Murchu who is the director, and her husband Senator Leabhras O Murchu, who was in the area campaigning for the up coming elections. He was just back from a visit with teh Prime minister, Bertie Ahearn, and we got a private tour of the facility as it was closed. at the time. We will be meeting them again later in Ennis Co. Clare for the Fleadh Nua music festival. The latter picture is of the town of Cashel in Co Tipperary

Rock of Cashel, St Patricks Rock

Too much to say about Cashel for this post, Brian Boru used this site as a center of government. Later in the 11th century, it was given over to the church and an abbey was built on the norman battlements. This was confiscated by the British during the reformation, and the protestants have a varied history as well. Now it is an Heritage site and being restored, still interesting and worth a visit.

Kilkenny Castle

We finished the day touring Kilkenny Castle, home of the Butlers, No Cameras so we will look up more info online.

St Brigid Abbey. Kildare

On this site is St Brigid's Abbey, This is a 12th century church built on the same sight as her community, the original would have been made of wood beams and rotted by now. Outside is a Round Tower built to protect from Viking raids and a square pit thought to be Brigid's fire. Her original burial spot before being dug up and moved in the 13th century supposedly to Armagh, but later to Portugal and beyond. As she was important to sailors. The nuns kept a fire going for some 800 years after her death on this pit location.

St Brigid's Well, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare

St Brigid, had an Abbey in Kildare, In Irish Cill Dara, which means the Church of the Oak. Outside of Kildare Town were her Abbey Cathedral is, is the small town of Kilcullen, a spring associated with the druids was later used by here around AD 545 as a place she would baptize new converts, This is a different sight than the one in the guide books which is nearer the Abbey, but archeologist in Ireland believe it is the original and more likey to be the actual site.

Visiting the Graveyards

St Corbins Cemetery, is where Anne's Grandmother , Grandfather , Great grand Parents on the Whytes are buried. Also two of her uncles, Billy and Ned Whyte. And a few aunts , they stacked the sites anyway. I have details of who's buried here so I wont go into much listing here.

Later we found GGrand parent Lynces in the Two mile Church Yard near Flemingston. More names to research. There was now doubt the gentle men in the photo earlier were related they came up with details we hadnt mentioned as they were though to obscure..

Meeting the Lynches of Flemingston

Our B&B host lived near flemingston outside of Naas , and knew of Lynches living in the area. G'Grandma Whytes maiden name was Lynch and they were from Flemingston, so they called for us ,and Jimmy Lynch remembered Uncle Paddy Whyte visiting from Nebraska. They also were a wealth of information about cousins, who were nuns and others. We had a nice visit and saw the school, church and house (whats left anyway) on the Lynch farm This is were Anne's Grandmother grew up,.