While we were in Korea I checked out the Ryanair website as we had heard so much about the cheap airfares. We were quite surprised - we booked fares from Frankfurt to Dublin for 1 cent per ticket! Including all taxes, baggage and fare the total cost of each fare was $38 Australian - what a bargain! Quite unbelievable really.
We left Frankfurt-Hahn airport and flew direct to Dublin - with all our delays in airports etc we arrived at the Dublin train station with 5 minutes to spare to catch our train. We checked onto the train and headed for Carrick-on-Shannon to begin our trip north on Mick & Diana's barge Papillon. It was great to see a familiar face at the train station - Mick took us through Boyle to Knockvicar where Diana was waiting to welcome us on board. Mick took the barge out for a quick trip where we saw ruins on Castle Island. We had dinner and a good night's sleep ready to head out next day.
It is possible to see the Irish countryside from this different perspective as there are over 1,500 klm of navigational waterways in Ireland. The evenings are very different to what we are used to - it is still light at 10:30pm and getting darker at 11:oopm. The only problem with this is that we now tend to have very late nights and get up later in the morning.
The riveted steel barge Papillon (French for butterfly) is over 100 years old and came from Holland. Mick did a lot of modifications to the barge and has turned it into a very comfortable floating home complete with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, kitchen, dining and living areas. The wheelhouse is fully enclosed with clear roll down blinds - which we certainly put to good use for our trip. Pat and I both took over the wheel for a short trip on a lough - a good experience.
We left Carrick-on-Shannon and headed out to Leitrum Village for lunch. Thus began our adventures along the Shannon, Boyle and Woodford Rivers where in total we spent 8 days on the waterways and went through 16 locks. As Mick would say "Invaluable experience for boating in the Pacific!" On our trip we learnt to play Gin Rummy, we were however no threat to Mick & Diana. The week prior to our arrival was a particularly warm spell but as soon as we arrived the weather took a turn for the worst and we had to buy warm jackets and raincoats! We have had rain every day we have been in Ireland for the past three weeks. It has not bothered us - as I say if we wanted great weather we'd stay at home. Ireland's countryside is absolutly glorious so needless to say the rain is part and parcel of it all.
Our overnight stays were at Lisconnor, Keshkerrigan, Ballinamore, Swan Island, Ballyconnell, Crom Castle and Enniskillen. Each place was different and held yet another experience. My favourite was our mooring at Crom Castle where we walked around the countryside and explored old Crom Castle. We walked along the little roadways and through the green fields and trees. We looked across at new Crom Castle which is privately owned and currently tenanted.
Pat was able to carry out a few maintenance jobs while we were on the barge - Diana was over the moon at having hot water to the galley sink!
We took a break at Carrybridge and went ashore for Guinness and a cup of coffee. A little verse on the wall of the pub took my eye:
With graceful pride the waters glide and never seem to hurry,
Tis well tis so, flow waters flow, beneath the bridge of Carry.
We met many of Mick & Diana's friends along the way - sometimes they'd catch up with us at the next mooring. At the end of the trip Mick said "We took 8 days to get from Carrick to Enniskillen but could have done it in an hour and a half by car!!!" Pat made himself a bit of a goal along the way - to have a Guinness in every port! It is quite strange cruising along the waterway and looking across the fields to see cars whizzing by. We travelled along in the barge at about 4 to 5 knots and had lots of time to take in the beautiful scenery and green fields along the way. It is lovely to see the sheep and cattle grazing at the water's edge. White swans and their babies abound in these waterways.
Our trip on the barge was a great experience - we'll never forget Diana's fabulous meals - the Port and chocolate every night - and the beautiful rolling green hills which seem to go on forever. We said goodbye to Mick and Diana and boarded a bus to Belfast to see my rellies.
My cousin Kevin met us at the bus station and took us home to his place where we moved into the same room we had on our last visit 10 years ago. It was good to see Eileen again and the children, Conor, Lauren and Kirsty - the only difference is they are all now 10 years older. Sadly my Uncle Patrick passed away last September but his memory is everywhere.
We headed up to Roddy McGorley's Club for a little while to say hello to Uncle Pat's friend John Dorris and my cousin Maggie - well that was the end of that! We left about 6 hours and 6 pints of Guinness later - we arrived home and Pat went straight to bed. The next day Kevin took us on a tour of Milltown cemetery where we searched out all the family graves including my Grandfathers and Great Grandfather. In the afternoon Eileen took us to Hannastown Cemetery to visit Uncle Patrick's grave and my Granny's.
In the afternoon we headed up to see the latest addition to the family Grace Crawford and saw Brian & Trisha, Ryan, Pearse and Grace. We checked out Majorca Street off the Grosvenor Road where my Mum grew up and where my parents lived when I was born - it is an old area beside the Royal Victoria Hospital and it is now a parking lot. This parking lot carries a lot of memories and could tell many stories! We headed up the Falls Road and visited Rockmount Street where my Dad & his brother and sisters grew up - his house seems unchanged and looks as it does in our photos taken 55 years ago.
During our visit we toured the docks of Belfast and visited the construction site of "The Titanic" and went on board the tender for the Titanic - the Nomadic. Each night we visited Roddys club and over the next few days caught up with all my cousins and their families, as well as some of my Mum's cousins. We attended a surprise 50th birthday at Roddy's for a family friend and had a great night. Ireland has the no smoking laws well in place which makes pubs a lot more pleasant to visit.
We hired a car for 3 days and headed out of Belfast to tour around the north coast and the Antrim coast. We headed down to Armagh, Monaghan and then north to Omagh, Strabane, Claudy, Limavady, Downhill and then into Coleraine. We visited Mum's cousin Vincent and his wife Mary - their daughter Ayelish was married the following day. Another daughter, Catroina is hoping to visit Australia later this year before she settles into university to study medicine.
We visited Portstewart and Portrush and Bushmills distillery where we did a bit of shopping. We stayed at a beautiful old pub The Smugglers Inn near the Giant's Causeway. We travelled down the Antrim Coast through Ballintoy and hugged the coast to Ballycastle, Cushendun, Cushendall and onto Waterfoot. We travelled through Glenariffe Forest Park and spent the night in Brian & Trisha's caravan at Waterfoot - Maggie and Eileen came up from Belfast to spend the evening with us as well.
County Antrim forms the north-east corner of Ireland where a channel only 13 miles wide separates Torr Head from the Scottish coast. Lough Neach (the largest lake in the British Isles) and the fertile valley of the Bann occupy the western part of Antrim. To the east, a magnificent coast road runs north from Larne and curves around the base of steep headlands, through which the beautiful glens of Antrim open to the sea. On the northern coast the Giant's Causeway, a striking hexagonal basalt rock formation, is truly awe inspiring.
Maggie took us out on Saturday to Casement Park to see our first Hurling match - Antrim vs Clare - Clare won on the day but Antrim put in a great effort on their home ground. It is a very fast game and very enjoyable to watch - hurling sticks seem to be flying in every direction - however protective head gear is optional.
Grace Crawford was christened at St Joseph's at Hannastown after Mass on Sunday - followed by a party at the Glenowen Pub. Gerard sang "Grace" - a song Uncle Patrick would often sing. I guess needless to say, we had a great day once again and met yet more generations of cousins. The Guinness was flowing freely - there is never a minute to go thirsty over here! Tonight anyone who is available is heading out for dinner - tomorrow we get the early morning ferry to Scotland. We've had a brilliant time in Ireland once again - so until next time we're here we'll say Slan abhile.
We left Frankfurt-Hahn airport and flew direct to Dublin - with all our delays in airports etc we arrived at the Dublin train station with 5 minutes to spare to catch our train. We checked onto the train and headed for Carrick-on-Shannon to begin our trip north on Mick & Diana's barge Papillon. It was great to see a familiar face at the train station - Mick took us through Boyle to Knockvicar where Diana was waiting to welcome us on board. Mick took the barge out for a quick trip where we saw ruins on Castle Island. We had dinner and a good night's sleep ready to head out next day.
It is possible to see the Irish countryside from this different perspective as there are over 1,500 klm of navigational waterways in Ireland. The evenings are very different to what we are used to - it is still light at 10:30pm and getting darker at 11:oopm. The only problem with this is that we now tend to have very late nights and get up later in the morning.
The riveted steel barge Papillon (French for butterfly) is over 100 years old and came from Holland. Mick did a lot of modifications to the barge and has turned it into a very comfortable floating home complete with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, toilet, kitchen, dining and living areas. The wheelhouse is fully enclosed with clear roll down blinds - which we certainly put to good use for our trip. Pat and I both took over the wheel for a short trip on a lough - a good experience.
We left Carrick-on-Shannon and headed out to Leitrum Village for lunch. Thus began our adventures along the Shannon, Boyle and Woodford Rivers where in total we spent 8 days on the waterways and went through 16 locks. As Mick would say "Invaluable experience for boating in the Pacific!" On our trip we learnt to play Gin Rummy, we were however no threat to Mick & Diana. The week prior to our arrival was a particularly warm spell but as soon as we arrived the weather took a turn for the worst and we had to buy warm jackets and raincoats! We have had rain every day we have been in Ireland for the past three weeks. It has not bothered us - as I say if we wanted great weather we'd stay at home. Ireland's countryside is absolutly glorious so needless to say the rain is part and parcel of it all.
Our overnight stays were at Lisconnor, Keshkerrigan, Ballinamore, Swan Island, Ballyconnell, Crom Castle and Enniskillen. Each place was different and held yet another experience. My favourite was our mooring at Crom Castle where we walked around the countryside and explored old Crom Castle. We walked along the little roadways and through the green fields and trees. We looked across at new Crom Castle which is privately owned and currently tenanted.
Pat was able to carry out a few maintenance jobs while we were on the barge - Diana was over the moon at having hot water to the galley sink!
We took a break at Carrybridge and went ashore for Guinness and a cup of coffee. A little verse on the wall of the pub took my eye:
With graceful pride the waters glide and never seem to hurry,
Tis well tis so, flow waters flow, beneath the bridge of Carry.
We met many of Mick & Diana's friends along the way - sometimes they'd catch up with us at the next mooring. At the end of the trip Mick said "We took 8 days to get from Carrick to Enniskillen but could have done it in an hour and a half by car!!!" Pat made himself a bit of a goal along the way - to have a Guinness in every port! It is quite strange cruising along the waterway and looking across the fields to see cars whizzing by. We travelled along in the barge at about 4 to 5 knots and had lots of time to take in the beautiful scenery and green fields along the way. It is lovely to see the sheep and cattle grazing at the water's edge. White swans and their babies abound in these waterways.
Our trip on the barge was a great experience - we'll never forget Diana's fabulous meals - the Port and chocolate every night - and the beautiful rolling green hills which seem to go on forever. We said goodbye to Mick and Diana and boarded a bus to Belfast to see my rellies.
My cousin Kevin met us at the bus station and took us home to his place where we moved into the same room we had on our last visit 10 years ago. It was good to see Eileen again and the children, Conor, Lauren and Kirsty - the only difference is they are all now 10 years older. Sadly my Uncle Patrick passed away last September but his memory is everywhere.
We headed up to Roddy McGorley's Club for a little while to say hello to Uncle Pat's friend John Dorris and my cousin Maggie - well that was the end of that! We left about 6 hours and 6 pints of Guinness later - we arrived home and Pat went straight to bed. The next day Kevin took us on a tour of Milltown cemetery where we searched out all the family graves including my Grandfathers and Great Grandfather. In the afternoon Eileen took us to Hannastown Cemetery to visit Uncle Patrick's grave and my Granny's.
In the afternoon we headed up to see the latest addition to the family Grace Crawford and saw Brian & Trisha, Ryan, Pearse and Grace. We checked out Majorca Street off the Grosvenor Road where my Mum grew up and where my parents lived when I was born - it is an old area beside the Royal Victoria Hospital and it is now a parking lot. This parking lot carries a lot of memories and could tell many stories! We headed up the Falls Road and visited Rockmount Street where my Dad & his brother and sisters grew up - his house seems unchanged and looks as it does in our photos taken 55 years ago.
During our visit we toured the docks of Belfast and visited the construction site of "The Titanic" and went on board the tender for the Titanic - the Nomadic. Each night we visited Roddys club and over the next few days caught up with all my cousins and their families, as well as some of my Mum's cousins. We attended a surprise 50th birthday at Roddy's for a family friend and had a great night. Ireland has the no smoking laws well in place which makes pubs a lot more pleasant to visit.
We hired a car for 3 days and headed out of Belfast to tour around the north coast and the Antrim coast. We headed down to Armagh, Monaghan and then north to Omagh, Strabane, Claudy, Limavady, Downhill and then into Coleraine. We visited Mum's cousin Vincent and his wife Mary - their daughter Ayelish was married the following day. Another daughter, Catroina is hoping to visit Australia later this year before she settles into university to study medicine.
We visited Portstewart and Portrush and Bushmills distillery where we did a bit of shopping. We stayed at a beautiful old pub The Smugglers Inn near the Giant's Causeway. We travelled down the Antrim Coast through Ballintoy and hugged the coast to Ballycastle, Cushendun, Cushendall and onto Waterfoot. We travelled through Glenariffe Forest Park and spent the night in Brian & Trisha's caravan at Waterfoot - Maggie and Eileen came up from Belfast to spend the evening with us as well.
County Antrim forms the north-east corner of Ireland where a channel only 13 miles wide separates Torr Head from the Scottish coast. Lough Neach (the largest lake in the British Isles) and the fertile valley of the Bann occupy the western part of Antrim. To the east, a magnificent coast road runs north from Larne and curves around the base of steep headlands, through which the beautiful glens of Antrim open to the sea. On the northern coast the Giant's Causeway, a striking hexagonal basalt rock formation, is truly awe inspiring.
Maggie took us out on Saturday to Casement Park to see our first Hurling match - Antrim vs Clare - Clare won on the day but Antrim put in a great effort on their home ground. It is a very fast game and very enjoyable to watch - hurling sticks seem to be flying in every direction - however protective head gear is optional.
Grace Crawford was christened at St Joseph's at Hannastown after Mass on Sunday - followed by a party at the Glenowen Pub. Gerard sang "Grace" - a song Uncle Patrick would often sing. I guess needless to say, we had a great day once again and met yet more generations of cousins. The Guinness was flowing freely - there is never a minute to go thirsty over here! Tonight anyone who is available is heading out for dinner - tomorrow we get the early morning ferry to Scotland. We've had a brilliant time in Ireland once again - so until next time we're here we'll say Slan abhile.
2 comments:
Wow, you two sure do get around. Missing you heaps. Robnrose
Hello ! Un grand bonjour depuis la Suisse de vos St-Bernard ! Nous vous envoyons nos meilleurs voeux pour une très belle année 2008. Grosses bises à vous deux ! Marianne & Raymond
Hello! A big hello since Switzerland of your St.-Bernard! We send you our best wishes for a very beautiful year 2008. Kisses to you two! Marianne & Raymond
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