Connemara

We left Galway and headed west.  Our first stop was Aughnanure Castle, a tower castle built in the 1500s by the O'Flaherty clan.  The castle has an interesting history, as does the O'Flaherty clan.  Suffice it to say, the clan wasn't happy to be conquered by the English and displaced from the land that was historically theirs.  They managed to hold a grudge through many generations, to the chagrin of the citizens of Galway, the mayor and his wife in particular, whose heads rolled in the streets courtesy of the O'Flaherty's. 

We continued our drive through Connemara to our second stop, the Benedictine Abbey at Kylemore.  This is an estate established in the 1870's by the heir of a cotton merchant from Manchester.  While going through his inheritance at an alarming rate he managed to rescue an entire district suffering from the potato famine and cholera epidemic by offering them employment in construction of his 73 room mansion, complete with Turkish baths, glassed in gardens, and even a Gothic cathedral in memory of his wife who died shortly after construction of the mansion was completed.  The gardens alone are amazing.  I hope Tom posts a picture I took of him there shortly after telling him to "get thee to a nuttery!"  After he went through his inheritance the mansion (and its 15,000 acres of land) was first sold to a Duke - who gambled away his money - then foreclosed on and eventually sold to the Benedictine nuns.  The nuns had originally lived in an abbey in Belgium but WWII drove them out so they returned to Ireland and, with the Pope's help, bought the mansion turning it into a private school.  The school closed last year because the nuns had all gotten too old to continue (the oldest is in her 90's) and there are no more nuns joining the order.

Our visit to the abbey took all afternoon and from their we drove to our B&B in Westport.  The area we drove through is also known as Joyce Country.  Scenery is spectacular.  The biggest compliment I have for it is that it looks a lot like Norway - high praise indeed! So far this is my favorite part of Ireland.

I get ready to go.  Tom is always a bit impatient.

The castle was built in the 1500's.  The family eventually turned outlaw after the British

took over their lands.

The scenery is great!  It reminds me of Norway!!

The Abbey sits on 15,000 acres of land!  The nuns do not teach school here anymore but do give

music lessons, private instruction, and make various items to sell.

Mitchell Henry's wife (he was the builder of the house) died on a vacation trip to Egypt leaving him and their nine children (she was 45).  He never remarried and built this cathedral in her memory.

The gardens are great!

Henry would come here in the spring bringing 150 or so of his "close personal friends" to hunt, fish and feast until summer!  King Edward was once here as were many of the British nobles.

At the end of the day Sandy raises a brew while Tom gets a flavored water!

Get Thee to a Nuttery!!!!