Ireland, 2023 – Walking through an ancient landscape

Sligo Abbey, Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, Strandhill Beach

June 29, 2023

On my full day in Sligo I walked into town from my accommodation and then along a scenic street that followed the Garvoge River.

From there I turned to walk to Sligo Abbey, properly known as the “Holy Cross Dominican Priory”. Founded in 1252, most of the remains on site date from the 13th and 15th centuries. A circular plaque on the wall bluntly summarized the history of the abbey as follows: “Burnt in 1414. Damaged in siege of 1595. Ruined by Hamilton’s army 1641.”

A pamphlet provided a map of the abbey and described various historical and architectural features of note, but today I just wandered about casually taking a few photos of the bell tower, carved memorial stones, archways, and the cloister.

Next I visited the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery located four kilometres out of town. Carrowmore is an amazing site! It is one of the four largest and most important megalithic cemetery complexes in Ireland with over thirty monuments that are the remains of passage tombs. Most of the passage tombs are uncovered “dolmen circles”. The dolmen, or gravesite, would be composed of five upright stones topped with a capstone and then surrounded by an outer circle of large boulders. The first burials here took place 5700 years ago and the monuments have of course been altered over time with stone taken away for use as building materials. For example, the dolmen that is Tomb 4 (left and top right photos below) had 21 stones in its surrounding circle in 1837 when a map was first drawn of the site, but today only one remains. At Tomb 3 (bottom right), a circle of 30 stones surrounds what was once a dolmen in the centre but the dolmen stones there are missing. Excavations in the centre of Tomb 3 uncovered thirty kilos of burnt human bones.

The cemetery complex is spread out over more than one square kilometre of a gently undulating plateau,

and the more than 30 burial sites are considered to be satellite tombs of a large central cairn, known as Listoghil, that dominates a high point in the landscape.

Early written accounts described Listoghil as a “disturbed cairn of loose stones” about 2.5 metres high. The cairn was excavated in 1996-1998 and then was restored to what was believed to have been its original profile, with the inner dolmen surrounded by 101 stones in its outer circle and then covered by a great flat-topped heap of smaller stones. The cairn is aligned East-South-East towards the rising sun at the start and end of winter.

I learned from the self-guided tour map, and the excellent museum on site, that Carrowmore is part of a even larger ceremonial landscape. The entire region is dotted with passage tomb sites. From one viewpoint at Carrowmore, the location of at least 50 sites are visible. For example, to the southwest, the Ballygawley Mountains have passage tombs visible on all four summits, and to the west (photo below) is Knocknarea Mountain which is topped with a large, never-excavated cairn named “Queen Maeve’s Tomb”. Also atop Knocknarea are the remains of several satellite tombs and of Neolithic hut sites. In a valley just visible to the south is the Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery where there are fourteen passage tombs, dated from 3500-2500 BC, as well as twelve more within a radius of six kilometres, and many of the Carrowkeel tombs were built with their entrances and passages oriented towards Knocknarea and Carrowmore.

Needless to say Carrowmore is a very atmospheric place, which poses more questions than it answers. Excavations of some of the tombs have yielded cremated human bones, pottery shards, antler pins, stone pendants, quartz stones, and arrowheads and flint scrapers. There is also evidence here of human activity during the Iron and Bronze Ages and the Roman era.

I loved the curves of the mown paths, the rippling of the wind through the meadow grasses, and the views of mountains all around. It was exciting to travel from tomb to tomb and learn a little about each, but then also just enjoy the shapes of the land, the circles of stones, the trees, and the clouds in the ever-changing sky. I didn’t want to leave!

A light rain eventually made the decision for me so I spent time in the small but excellent museum and then I caught a ride back to Sligo with a couple from Calgary who delivered me right to my accommodation. How kind! I had the entire Airbnb to myself as my host had gone to Dublin for work. I made lunch, did a load of laundry, had a rest, and then in the late afternoon I took a bus to the nearby seaside town of Strandhill which is known for its two magnificent dune-backed beaches and for surfing. A short walk from the bus stop, past Bnbs, pubs, restaurants, and gift shops, led me directly to a seawall with steps down to a fabulous, splashing, wind-driven sea.

There were beautiful beaches to either side and I asked a passerby which I should explore. She recommended that I turn left towards the large dune that gives the town its name, Strandhill, so that is what I did.

As I walked along the path, there were excellent views inland of Knocknarea Mountain, though Maeve’s Tomb was not visible from this angle. A trail that starts on the outskirts of the town climbs up through the section of forestry and then onto the mountain and along to the cairn. I decided that I would return the next morning to make the climb before travelling south, but in the end I woke to a rainy day and little energy so that hike will just have to wait for my next visit to Ireland.

I walked out onto the beach and along to where several surf classes were getting started,

and then I decided to explore the dunes but did so only briefly as I didn’t want to contribute to the erosion of the area. What ancient monuments and treasures might have been buried beneath these hills of sand over the millennia?

I returned to the beach, left my boots and socks near the surf school, and walked down the beach a long way, happy with the warm wind and the waves and the distant views of Benbulben Mountain. I was feeling a bit melancholy, knowing that my lovely trip to Ireland was coming to an end, but also profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have visited so many beautiful and historic places. Today alone I had walked through a modern town with medieval roots, explored an ancient site of human pilgrimage, life, death, and ceremony more than 5000 years old, and was now on a timeless shore with the sun and the wind and the forces of Mother Earth and Nature working their magic to constantly change our beautiful planet.

I love the photo above – the sky reflected in a retreat of water on sand – a moment caught, a view remembered, a mix of feelings captured that I can return to time and time again.

Ireland, 2023 – More Donegal Days (and a bit of counties Leitrim and Sligo)

Donegal Town, Derrybeg, Bunbeg Harbour, Creevykell Court Tomb, Benbulben Forest Hike, Mullagmore Head Loop and Harbour, and the Fairy Bridges and Tullan Strand

June 25-28, 2023

I was sad to leave Glencolmcille and I do hope to visit there again one day for a week-long stay. A Local Link bus (thank you Ireland buses!) took me to Donegal Town, a ninety minute journey. Having visited Donegal town on my first trip to Ireland, I had no plans to see or do anything at all. It was basically a necessary stop in order to facilitate the next leg of my journey. I found a very nice cafe, had a proper lunch, and worked on my blog for a while and then I made my way to the Bridges Bed and Breakfast where I had stayed the last time I was in town. The Bridges is close to the very centre of the city, yet quiet and serenely located by the River Eske in a row of houses just past a lovely Methodist Chapel. Happily settled with an afternoon coffee, and yet another scone, I worked on my blog some more in the dining area and then conversed with a lovely older German couple, Wolfgang and Brigitte, who kindly took my photo.

On the way to my Bnb, I had taken photos of the Reel Inn, located just across the bridge, because their blackboard sign had caught my eye. Hmmm, “Award Winning Trad. Pub” and “Pub of the Year”, with music starting at 8:30 p.m. Wolfgang and Brigitte said that they were definitely going to attend and urged me to join them and I said that I might meet them there. By nine p.m., still in my room, I gave myself a good kick. I had regretted not attending the music sessions in Glencolmcille, and on other nights too, so this was the time to go! It was so much fun! The pub was packed and I waved to my German friends who were tucked up in a corner. One chair was available right near the five musicians and my table companions were all as friendly and jolly as can be. The music and singing were fantastic and I stayed until late, so glad that I had made the effort to go out and enjoy a quintessentially Irish kind of evening of great music and good “craic”.

The next morning I headed off on another bus to Derrybeg, a coastal town where I had planned to start my long distance walk on the Sli An Errigal. It had been too late to cancel my accommodation so I had kept the booking and intended to do the first ten kilometres of that hike, a coastal loop around a small peninsula that would begin and end at roughly the location of my accommodation. I had a lovely room with a distant sea view in an old-fashioned hotel and my welcome cup of coffee came with eight biscuits!

I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the hotel, and then I headed out for a walk to nearby Bunbeg and its small and scenic harbour. In the mid to late 1800s, this was a busy fishing port with catches of mackerel, herring, lobster, and crabs. Today, a few fishing boats were moored alongside pleasure crafts, and the harbour also featured a coast guard station and a passenger ferry to Gola Island.

I headed back to my hotel and for the rest of the evening I was very tempted to go out for another walk, this time down to the beach where the sky had cleared and the lighting was so beautiful on the sea, the beach, and the off-shore islands. But, I thought, “No, I’ll save it for tomorrow”.

Except, when I woke up the next day, this was now the “sea view” from my room.

The heavy rain and clouds were socked in and stayed that way for almost the entire day. Why hadn’t I check the weather?! Oh well! Part of me was quite happy to spend much of the day doing absolutely nothing, but I was relieved when the rain finally eased up to a light drizzle in the late afternoon. I headed out in my rain jacket and pants, down to the enticing bay with its golden sand and blue-green water. The tide was receding and I walked out to a wreck, Eddie’s Boat, marooned here since 1977. Later, I saw a marooned jellyfish that was as big as a Christmas platter!

The trail left the beach and travelled through a gorgeous sea of dunes and then back down to another beach.

Then, the trail headed back into dunes again where I had to be careful to not step on any of the land snails that seemed to be enjoying the cool wet weather.

I got a bit lost in the dunes as the Sli An Earagail way markers were few, far between, and somewhat confusing. But it wasn’t a worry as I could see the houses of Derrybeg up on the ridge to my right so after a while I just decided to follow my own path and headed for a hilltop cluster of large granite stones and boulders and from there I had great views out to sea (or, at least the best views that the weather would allow!).

The rain started up again and I decided to shorten the loop and return to my hotel. I still had hopes of one day doing the entire Sli An Errigail so it was okay to not complete the first stage today. Also, I had had a few lazy days, and I was more than happy to continue that trend!

The following day I was up early to catch a 7:30 a.m. bus back down the coast to Ballyshannon where Marius picked me up for a hike, the Benbulben Forest Loop. On the way, we made a stop at the Creevykeel Court Cairn which is one of the best preserved court cairns in Ireland. Dated between 4000-2500 BC the wedge-shaped cairn is 50 metres long and features an oval-shaped court at its eastern end. It was so impressive! I have found an internet image, a birds-eye view, which really helps one appreciate the shape and size of this incredible monument (photo from archaeology.ie). Excavations at the site uncovered four cremation burials, pottery, polished stone axes, and flint knives and scrapers.

Then we continued towards our Benbulben Forest hike. This is a photo of Benbulben Mountain taken from the moving car!

It is a very distinctive mountain and can be seen and recognized from miles around. The hike began beneath the prow of the mountain,

and continued on a road that paralleled the northern face of Benbulben.

Then the road cut through a section of forest and emerged from the trees to this view of the coast!

It was a spectacular walk on a spectacular day.

Before looping back towards Benbulben, the trail passed the remains of a ring fort (dated 400-1000 AD), with the circle of stones just barely discernible among the grasses. Views from the ring fort included down over the valley towards Sligo Bay and back towards Benbulben.

After our hike, Marius drove us back home on a scenic route that included a drive around Mullaghmore Head. This viewpoint featured distant views of the 19th century Castle Classiebawn which was once owned by Lord Mountbatten.

We stopped for a look at Mullaghmore’s Harbour, and had a quick walk around the lovely Peace Garden that faces the harbour.

We continued our drive north along the coast to the seaside resort town of Bundoran and past Bundoran to the Fairy Bridges and the amazing beach of Tullan Strand.

What a view! The water on the horizon was an amazing shade of dark cobalt that I had never before seen on the sea. It was so beautiful!

The Fairy Bridges are a series of four blowholes, or puffing holes as they are known here, and when the tides and wave conditions are right sea water will shoot up through the holes. There was also a “wishing chair”, a natural formation of rock much like an armchair with a sign that gave strict instructions as to how make a wish while sitting in the chair in order to have it come true. One rule was that you had to sit and look at the ocean for at least fifteen seconds before making your wish. I thought that was a good rule, and I hope that my wish comes true!

As we were heading back to the car, after taking one last photo of that incredible sea, I noticed a rather jaunty way marker that tickled my fancy. The light-hearted, happy, and excited fellow on the post, surrounded by bright blue, mirrored my feelings exactly and I laughed with delight when I saw it.

It had been a marvellous hike and coastal tour and I was very grateful to Marius for taking the time to show me some of the wonderful sights along the coast where the three counties of Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo meet. We returned to the house where Mary had made a delicious meal for us and then we drove to Sligo town where Mary and Marius were attending a concert and I was moving on to my next accommodation. There was less than a week left to my Ireland trip, and all travel would now be southward. I will just have to come back to Ireland again if I want to have any more wonderful Donegal Days.

Ireland, 2023 – North to beautiful Donegal

June 22- 24, 2023

From Athlone I travelled north to Donegal, a rugged coastal county characterized by hills, mountains, and magnificent beaches. My first stop was Ballyshannon where I was warmly welcomed by Marius and Mary, relatives of a friend and former teaching colleague, Moira. Marius is a big hiker and had planned a wonderful hike for me along Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Ireland, with his friend and hiking guide Michael, but because of my tummy troubles and late arrival we had to cancel that and instead Marius and I did an easy but still very scenic walk near his home through a wood, past fields, and along a very picturesque lake.

The next day, Marius drove me to Glencolmcille and we did the marvellous six kilometre Tower Trail hike up onto Glen Head. We started off in the valley and passed this amazing view of a river curving its way towards the sea.

From there the trail climbed quickly up a curving old road with great views back down over Glencolmcille.

It didn’t take long to arrive up at the top of the headland and we approached the signal tower that was built by the British in 1805 to keep watch against a possible invasion during the Napoleonic era. The wind was blowing fiercely, and light sweeps of rain came and went.

A short walk further along the cliffs brought more fantastic views and I know that another trail continues along the coast to a scenic cove, old port, and small abandoned village.

The descent on the Tower Trail loop was just as fabulous as the hike up, with outstanding views of the valley below as we walked, and it was fun to come across a trail marker with two hikers on it – the first of its kind that I had seen, and coincidentally on a day when I had a hiking partner. The tall one is Marius!

As we reached the valley bottom the rain started in earnest but luckily we were only five minutes from the car. Marius drove me to my B&B and we said, “See you next Wednesday,” when I would be lucky enough to visit with Mary and Marius again.

That evening I could smell woodsmoke through my open window and remembered that it was June 23rd, St. John’s Eve, which is traditionally celebrated by the burning of bonfires. The tradition dates from pre-Christian times as a midsummer celebration held to ensure fertile fields and abundant crops. I headed out for a walk to see the fires and chatted with a fellow on his way to one of the village pubs. Like many of the visitors to Glencolmcille he was attending a week-long session of study at the Irish language school. He invited me in for a pint, and the sound of the music was tempting, but my day had been full enough so I strolled back to my accommodation, happy to be in Glencolmcille.

The next morning I woke early and it was another beautiful day in Ireland! I headed towards the meandering river that I had seen the day before that leads to a large sand beach. The sky and the views across the valley towards Glen Head were very inspiring and there was a spring in my step.

I found my way down to the river,

and followed its curving course across a wide expanse of sand.

It was a good distance to the beach but I was in no hurry, happy to be barefoot walking along,

and stopping often for the equally gorgeous views back.

Then I came out onto the beach where the river met the sea. A young mom was installed on her beach blanket, with her book open, while the dad, daughter and dog ran and played happily along the shore. Glencolmcille would definitely be a great place to spend a whole week or more as there are many trails to hike as well as beaches and coves to explore and enjoy.

I walked away from the river across the soft sand,

with views out across the bay,

and views back towards Glen Head.

Here is a zoomed in view of Glen Head with its signal tower where Marius and I had hiked the day before.

A set of stairs at the end of the beach led up to the road and directly across the road was the Glencolmcille Folk Village with its collection of replica cottages and other buildings that showcase life in rural Ireland from the 18th to the early 20th century. There was an excellent and very inspiring film about Father James McDyer who was assigned to this once impoverished parish in 1951. In the seventy years from the Great Famine to 1950, Glencolumncille had lost sixty percent of its population to emigration and that trend was continuing due to a lack of employment in the area. As a child and youth, Father McDyer had attended many “convoys” which were a gathering of neighbours to say goodby to those who were about to emigrate, and he felt that his new parishioners deserved to be able to live and work where they were born.

For a first project, Father McDyer galvanized the local population and a community centre was built with volunteer labour. He petitioned the government to bring improvements to the area that included electricity, piped water, and new housing. He helped organize agricultural shows, sports days, and the Errigal Seafood Factory. Then he and the community created the Folk Village to bring tourism to the area. Four cottages were built initially, all with volunteer labour, and they were furnished and decorated with authentic period pieces donated from members of the community and from the surrounding area. The Folk Village has since grown to include several more cottages, a replica school, a tea house, and a craft shop, and it attracts thousands of visitors to Glencolmcille each year. I’ll share photos from just a few of the cottages.

The Kilaned Cottage represents a typical cottage from the 1850’s to 1900. The grandparents would have slept in the small bed closest to the fire as that would have been the warmest.

This cottage, Teach An Athair represents a medium -sized cottage from the 1900s.

The Dooley Cottage represents a simple two-roomed cottage from the 1700s. The tools include a pitchfork for hay, a sand eel hook, a dipper to make holes for planting potatoes, and a slean which is a special spade used to cut turf for use as fuel.

Also depicted was a Fisherman’s cottage. Many local farmers also fished during the spring and summer months for salmon and lobster to help generate income and feed their families.

This is the Taibhairne Agus Siopa, a combination pub/grocery which was very common in rural Ireland. The larger room had the grocery store on one side and a bar on the other, and the small room at the end was the kitchen where the ladies would get together (three bottom photos).

After viewing all of the cottages, I rose up on the “heritage trail” which included replicas of a lime kiln, a sweat house, and a hedge school. A hedge school was a secret school hidden in dense vegetation during the time of the Penal laws in the late 17th and early 18th centuries when the native Irish were not allowed to be educated, their language was banned, and they were forbidden to practice their Roman Catholic religion. Subjects like math, history and geography were taught in the hedge schools as well as Latin, Irish, and religion.

At the top of the heritage trail was an example of a Mass Rock which was typically a stone slab placed on a stone wall to act as an altar where a Catholic mass could be performed in secret. The top of the heritage trail also provided an excellent view of Glen Head, the beach, and the Folk Village below.

After my educational and enjoyable visit to the Folk Village I caught a bus to the crossroads at Malinmore and then had a four kilometre walk to reach Malin Beg, a fantastic beach that I had seen in photos. It was a pleasant walk on a quiet road with scattered homes, grassy fields, sea views, and a wonderful breeze that kept me alert and energized.

Then I arrived at the beach! Wow!

There was a long steep flight of stairs down,

and here is a view back of those stairs from the beach!

For the second time today I took off my boots and strolled on wonderful soft sand towards the far end of the beach one way,

with views out to the sea,

and then I sat a for a good long while before strolling to the other end of the beach where I took this photo encompassing most of the arc of the beach from one end to the other. Again, wow!

At the top again, I couldn’t resist taking more photos and here is one of my my favourites.

By now I was getting a bit tired and didn’t relish the seven kilometre walk back to Glencolmcille (the next bus from Malinmore wasn’t due for some time in order to transport me three of those kilometres), so I asked a kind-looking couple if they were driving to Glencolmcille and they were happy to give me a ride. Yay! I asked them to drop me off about a kilometre before the Folk Village so that I could walk part of the road that I had missed on the bus. I loved the views towards Glen Head, and I found a perfect little cottage, surrounded by pink and white roses and with direct access to a third lovely sand beach. That’s where I’ll stay for an entire week when I can return to wonderful Glencolmcille in beautiful County Donegal.

Note: Some photos of my Tower Hike in this post (which were taken on my phone), do not seem to be loading on my ipad, though they do load on my phone. Please let me know via the comments if some photos are not loading for you and I’ll try to find a solution. Thanks!