Ireland, 2023 – Athlone, and a cruise down the Shannon River to Clonmacnoise

June 20-21, 2023

I slept fairly well on my second night on Inish Meain, up in the loft of my Irish cottage, but grew distressed again when my illness continued with three bathroom visits in the morning and two emergency stops on my 3 km walk to the pier to catch the ferry to Rossaveal! This was the ninth day since symptoms began! The boat ride to Rossaveel, bus to Galway, and train to Athlone all went well and were restful, but I was feeling worried and upset about my continuing tummy troubles. I had obviously overdone my sightseeing on Inis Oirr and Inis Meain, and what I really needed to do was rest. After calling Brent and having a good cry to relieve some anxiety I decided to book a second night in Athlone and basically do nothing for two days except my Shannon River Cruise to Clonmacnoise. And I sadly decided that it was best to cancel my second long-distance walk of 77 km in County Donegal and fly home a week early. Long story short, my tummy finally started to settle but I am only now (over a week later as I write this post) starting to regain my appetite and eat proper meals. So, I’m better! Thank you to everyone for your messages of concern and support (heart emoji).

Now, with my woes and worries behind me, my posts will focus again on sharing photo images and snippets of information about the beautiful landscapes, historical sites, and magical places that I have continued to see and experience here on the Emerald Isle. Thank you for joining me on the journey!

The pretty city of Athlone is near the exact geographic centre of Ireland and is situated along the Shannon River which is Ireland’s and Europe’s longest river. My wonderful accommodation at the Bastion B&B was the perfect place to recuperate with its kind hosts, eclectic decor, restful room, and comfortable lounge and dining area.

It was located on the left bank of the Shannon very near to Athlone Castle, the massive St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral, and Ireland’s (and Europe’s) oldest pub “Sean’s Bar.”

It was also very near to where I would board a Viking-themed ship to travel down the Shannon to the monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise.

The ninety minute journey was truly magical and I was so lucky to be favoured, yet again, by a perfect day of sun and wind and beautiful clouds in the sky. Here is only one of the amazing views looking forward as we travelled downriver,

and one view looking back.

But I have to show several views looking towards the shore as the lines, shapes, and colours of the reeds, grasses, flowers, and other riverside vegetation were truly beautiful!

We passed many water birds including swans, ducks, coots, and grey herons,

but one of my favourite sights was of a group of black and white spotted cows who were running across a grassy field. And another group of cows, cream, brown, and tan, were running towards the black and white cows from the opposite direction. They stopped at an invisible line (which was probably a fence line that I could not see) and just looked at each other but it was obvious that they were happy to see each other!

I loved my journey down the Shannon and was excited as we neared Clonmacnoise which was founded around the year 548 by a young monk, later St. Ciaran, in the centre of Ireland at an important crossroads of north/south travel on the river and east/west land routes. Over the centuries, Clonmacnoise became a major centre of religion, learning, trade, craftsmanship, and political influence, and as the burial place of St. Ciaran, it has attracted pilgrims for nearly 1,500 years.

An unexpected sight beside Clonmacnoise was the ruins of an Anglo Norman motte and bailey castle that was built in 1214 to help secure control of central Ireland and to guard a bridge that was here over the River Shannon.

I exited the Viking ship and watched it begin its journey back up the Shannon. Its passengers would have ninety minutes of time to explore Clonmacnoise and then we would be returned to Athlone by a shuttle bus. I was sad to see it go – I had loved my trip downriver.

But I was also excited to explore Clonmacnoise. The large site contains a number of churches that date from the 10th to the 17th century, as well as two round towers, and a large collection of stone crosses and early grave-slabs. Between the 6th and 12th centuries, Clonmacnoise benefited from the patronage of the kings of Connacht and of Meath, but it was also attacked and plundered numerous times by the enemies of those kings as well as by Vikings and the Anglo-Normans. By the 13th century, Clonmacnoise was in decline, and in 1552 it was plundered again and reduced to a ruin by an English garrison from Athlone. It was recorded at the time that, “Not a bell large or small, an image or an altar, or a book or a gem, or even glass in a window left was not carried away.”

I first made a quick tour of the site and then I visited the interpretive centre and museum to watch an excellent film on the history and importance of Clonmacnoise. Inside the museum were three large crosses that are now housed indoors for protection from the elements (replicas have have been placed on their original sites). On the left is the Cross of the Scriptures, carved with biblical scenes on each of its four sides from one piece of sandstone around 900 AD. To the right is the South Cross which is believed to date from the early 800s.

The North Cross, below, is possibly pre-Christian in origin and features animal and abstract interwoven designs as well as an image of the Celtic god Cernunnos who is the god of hunting, fertility, health, and the underworld. It is carved of limestone and its base is a used millstone.

Also on exhibit were some very beautiful finely carved stone slabs that would have been used as horizontal grave markers. Over 700 grave-slabs, dating from the 8th to the 12th centuries, were found at Clonmacnoise and are now stored indoors for conservation. The inscription on the leftmost slab reads, “A prayer for Odra who had knowledge”, and the centre slab reads, “A prayer for servant of Michael”.

The following images are of the Cathedral which is the largest of the churches at Clonmacnoise. Originally built in 909 by the King of Tara and the Abbot of Clonmacnoise, much of the stonework visible today dates from around 1200, and the north doorway (top right) dates from the 1450s.

The photo to the right below is of Temple Finghin, a small Romanesque church with a round-tower belfry attached. It is the closest church to the Shannon and is thought to date from around 1160-70. The modern glassed structure (bottom left) commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II to Clonmacnoise in 1979.

The last photo is of Temple Ciaran. Built in the early 10th century, it is the oldest and smallest of all the churches at Clonmacnoise and is the reputed burial place of St. Ciaran. It is falling inwards due to farmers, over the centuries, coming and scooping up handfuls of soil from around its foundation because legend has it that if a farmer spreads a bit of soil from St. Ciaran’s church in each of the four corners of his land he will have plentiful crops for the entire year.

Clonmacnoise was a very special place to visit, full of historical significance and beautifully situated beside the river, and I was very glad that I had been able to arrive there via a cruise down the Shannon. I returned to Athlone and rested in my B&B for the rest of the day until early evening when I was drawn outside by the feeling that the Summer Solstice needed to be marked and celebrated somehow. I planned to walk for a kilometre or two on the riverside trail but it was closed so I took just a few photos of the river and my B&B’s trio of businesses, the Bastion Gallery, Kitchen, and B&B. I also passed by the rear entrance of Sean’s Bar and read that an inn has been on the site since 900 AD. It was called Luain’s Inn and the innkeeper, Luain, also guided people across a river ford here. The ford became known as the Ford of Luain, or Atha Luain, which is were Athlone got its name. I considered having a drink in the oldest pub in Ireland (verified by the Guinness Book of World Records) to celebrate the solstice, but decided instead to return to my room to read, rest, and email family back home to wish them a happy Summer Solstice.

Thank you, Athlone, for a restful stay, and thank you to the Shannon River and Clonmacnoise for a magical Summer Solstice day.