Journeys End - Shannon Airport

 

After a fantastic week and 750km driving we arrive at Shannon Airport. It is sad to be heading home. Ireland is not a holiday destination you go for the weather. It’s a holiday destination to see beautiful scenery, experience the culture, find a warm welcome and have the opportunity to drink some fine Guinness. It’s hard to understand, but without doubt you can’t get the same quality of Guinness anywhere else in the world. They take their Guinness seriously here, unless its near to perfect the publican will soon be told. 

We had an incredibly warm welcome meeting family and friends. The most dangerous part of going to Ireland is being killed with kindness. Food and drink always comes in wholesome qualities, which is fantastic, but it keeps temptation always at hand. When sitting in an Irish pub with a drink listening to music, no one cares what the weather is like outside. 

We had not visited Northern Ireland before. Most of our views came from the news broadcasts over the Irish troubles. Visiting helps you understand how beautiful the north of the Ireland is and they take their Guinness as serious as they do in the south. 

Until the next time Ireland. We had a great time. 

Cliffs of Moher

 

A day trip from Clair Galway to the Cliff of Moher. A car journey south around the rugged coast line, going past parts of Ireland used to film the 1990s comedy program Father Ted. The Cliffs of Moher is a famous tourist site with coaches of tourists arriving daily to walk the path above the cliffs to see the breath taking views.  

Walking the cliffs is hungry work, so time for lunch. We head for Monks bar and restaurant in Ballyvaughan. Their Seafood Chowder is lovely and what was needed. 

From Ballyvaughan, back to Clair Galway. We arrive in time to change and head out from the evening. This nights dinner at Barry Donovans wonderful Trieste Café & Wine Bar in Galway. A great night. 
 

Clare Galway via the Wild Atlantic Coast

 

Next stop Clare Galway to stay with Richard and Paula. The journey took us west along the Wild Atlantic Way, which is a tourist route following the coast.  First stop Berta Beach, which sits below the mountain peak of Croagh Patrick. Its name comes from its association with St Patrick who is said to have spent forty nights fasting on the summit. This is a beautiful area, exposed to the wind from the Atlantic Ocean. The doors of our car were nearly ripped from our hands by the gusting wind as we stepped out of the car to take a few photos.

Continuing along the coast we came across OldHead, a small harbour along the coast. The rain started as we arrived.  We stopped for a very short break to take a few wet wind swept photos before continuing on our journey. 

Doolough Famine memorial. In the Doolough valley is a memorial to the 600 people who walked the valley in the freezing cold to request food from the land owners in 1849 during the famine. They were denied and sent back. Many perished on the walk to and from the inhuman landowners in Delphi. They died where they fell, with no one strong enough to help them. We arrived on a wet, windy and overcast day, so it created a sense of how a difficult a walk it must have been. 

Cong

Then on to Cong, the home of the Quiet Man film starring John Wayne. It is also home to Niamh’s family. We stopped to meet Bernie and Michael who gave us a friendly Irish welcome. They both work in Ashford Castle, so we were treated to a visit around the incredible 5 star hotel, once owned by the Guinness family. Most of the guests were American, who arrive each year to find family and pay pilgrimage to the film. This hotel is the height of luxury, with its own cinema (The Quiet Man is often on the list of films) and an incredible snooker room and many bars and restaurants.

The trip from Cong to Galway is about 40 km. This was our final leg to see Richard and Paula. The last time we were here was in 2007. In that time the population of Galway has expanded. New houses, business parks were clear to see. Most obvious was the traffic jams, which we had not seen during our previous visit. As always fantastic hospitality. Kathy and Luke joined use for a fun evening and a few glasses of wine. 

Next stop Westport

 

Our next stop is Westport in county Mayo, which is 185 km from Harveys point. The plan was to stop at Donegal Castle and Rosses Point just outside Sligo. 

Before leaving we joined a walk around the Harveys Point Hotel. Our guide was Noel Cunningham who works for the hotel and a celebrity on RTE television, presenting on an afternoon show. He leads the walk when he is available, very proud to talk about his home county Donegal. Noel was great fun and full of energy. The walk lasted about 2 hours, stopping for him to tell his tails and history of the area. This is beautiful Donegal and as Noel explained, it typically rains twice each week. The first time for three days and the second time for four days. I think we got caught in the first rain fall. 

Donegal Castle 

Only 6 km from our hotel, the castle is in the centre of this busy town. We decided to walk around and then quickly back to the car to avoid the rain that stated to fall again. It was nice to see, but time to get moving to Westport. 

Rosses Point

Our new friend Noel recommended our stop at Rosses point. A town on the Atlantic, which is both beautiful and exposed to the weather. It is home to the Sligo Golf Club, founded in 1896 and in the top 100 UK and Ireland golf clubs. When the wind blows, which I suspect it does all the time this must be a brutal course to play. 

Westport and Matt Malloys

Westport is a party town, with many restaurants and bars. The most famous bar is Matt Malloys, which is owned and named after its owner (Matt Malloy) who is a member of the Irish band The Chieftains. 

Matt bought the bar 34 years ago and turned into an Irish music pub. Musicals turn up with their instruments and join in. Occasionally someone in the audience will break into a traditional song. The Guinness flows and the music plays late into the night. To top the night, Matt turned up in the pub with his wife. Janice managed to get a photo with them to remember the night. 

Donegal

 

After our Irish breakfast, it was time to head towards Donegal and across the boarder. However, before we could leave Portrush we needed to visit the Portrush golf course. The course was closed as the summer season finished over the weekend and the greens were being repaired, so it was very quiet, but nice to visit. Hopefully we can return for The Open in 2025.

From Portrush we headed to Londonderry, everyone shortens to Derry. Most of what we knew of the city came from the events during the Northern Ireland troubles, apart from the more recent comedy program “The Derry Girls”, which is hopefully playing its part in making Derry be seen as a happier place. 

The old city wall built in the early 17th century and still exists. The only complete city wall in Ireland and one of the finest examples in Europe. It allows you to completely walk around the old city centre. The ancient wall has protected the city during the many centuries. Today it overlooks the housing estates built in more modern times. One of these areas is the Bogside, which is where the events of “Bloody Sunday” took place in the 1972. Murals remain painted on the local houses as a reminder of what took place. Hopefully this is now just a reminder, but you sense tensions still remain. It was a fascinating place to visit, but nice to leave and head for the countryside.

From Derry we set off for Donegal. Within 15 minutes we had crossed the boarder, which was extremely uneventful, the only indicator was the road speed limit signs changing from miles to kilometres. The drive was beautiful, although the rain had started to fall. This is Ireland in October, so it seemed appropriate. 

We eventually arrived at our hotel; Harveys Point on Lough Eske. We were welcomed with the opportunity to do some wine tasting, hosted by the head of catering, a little introduction for the evening meal.  I would not have expected wine tasting in Ireland, but as they say over here, we were “very welcome”. 

Harveys point Hotel

An Irish Road Trip

We have been back from South Africa for nearly seven months. The time has just flown by, so we have decided to go on another road trip, but this time closer to home, a mini Irish journey to visit friends and family. The trip started in Belfast Airport on the 30th September and finishes in Shannon on the 8th October. We landed to the pouring rain and hired a car to drive the beautiful Antrim coastline, before heading across the border to Southern Ireland and then down to Clare Galway. 

First stop to meet Gillian, who lives on the Antrim Coast road, close to Waterfoot. On a clear day she can see Scotland. Gillian was originally from Belfast, but we met her while she lived in London. She moved back to Northern Ireland 20 years ago and now runs the Irish Sea weed company. 

As always great fun spending time with Gillian (and her dog Bailey). This is a stunning part of the world and one which is changing fast as tourism arrives in a country which has gone through difficult times. The coastline is rugged, with much of the coastal road squeezed between the hills and sea. All along the coast are bays with golden sands which only the brave would try to sun bath or swim, but perfect to walk. The hills are beautiful, with rivers and waterfalls flowing down to the sea. Close to Waterfoot are the Glanariff waterfalls with many well kept paths to explore the area. 

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While there the Ryder cup was taking place. There is no better place to watch the final hours of the golf than an Irish pub. We headed to MacNaughtons pub in Cushendall which serves a perfect pint of Guinness. 

After spending Saturday and Sunday with Gillian, we set off on the next leg of our trip and headed to Portrush. Following the coastal road, over the coastal hills, our first stop was Carrick-a-Rede, which has an old rope bridge used by fishermen for centuries to access a small island to lay their Atlantic Salmon fishing nets. Unfortunately the Salmon fishing no longer takes place as the Atlantic Salmon are endangered and protected. This is a very popular tourist site. Hundreds of people visit daily, so there is  often a wait to walk across. Fortunately the bridge is regularly maintained.

About 10 miles from Carrick-a-Rede is the Giants Causeway. Another big tourist site, but worth a visit. Formed millions of years ago, this unique rock formation descends into the sea.

 

It’s been a busy day, but while we are in full tourist mode, we head down the road to Bushmills, the famous Irish Whiskey distiller’s first opened in 1604. Unfortunately all the tours had sold out, so we settled for some whiskey tasting. We can certainly recommend. 

Then finally arriving in Portrush, the seaside holiday town of Northern Ireland. It’s also home to its famous links golf course which hosted The British Open in 2019 and will once again host the open in 2025. We checked into our hotel for the night; The Adelphi. Not sure this a World famous hotel, but very nice. 

Then out for the night with Erol and Emer. I used to work with Erol at Juniper. Janice and Emer joined us on a work trip to San Francisco in about 2007, which was last time we met Emer and its nearly 6 years since seeing Erol, so it was great to see them both again.  A quick drink in the Harbour Bar , which is full of golfing memorabilia to Portrush’s famous golfing community, which include Darren Clark and Rory McIlroy. 

Tomorrow we head to Derry and Donegal.