Thursday, 14th August   ENNISCRONE TO BALLINAMORE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!    :)

Robyn writes: Today was moving day again (it happens a lot on this roadtrip!) I was up at 7 but kept very quiet for an hour or so checking my emails etc while Lex slumbered peacefully, then when he woke up at about 8, we got organised to go down to breakfast. I headed off as I was starving, and Cait called on Skype, so after we got back I called her again for a chat. Then, of course, we tried to call Jim on Skype as well but it didn't work so we rang for his birthday. At least we both got to chat briefly to him and wish him happy 29th birthday before my phone credit ran out!

Then we finally got ourselves organised, packed, and out the door by around 10. Ballinamore, in County Leitrim, is only just over 100 km from Enniscrone so we knew there was no need to rush. We had a nice trip over - the first part we had travelled yesterday, but then we turned away from the sea and headed inland through more mountains and loughs. We stopped in Carrick-on-Shannon, a very pretty town, for morning tea at a cafe just across the road from the river/canal. We had a walk around the river area also which was nice.

Traffic hazard Irish style - stuck behind a peat truck!

Lex in Carrick-on-Shannon

A pair of swans had four nearly grown ugly ducklings, I mean cygnets!

Me and the marina. We were amused to see that people are starting to put locks on this bridge. It's a virus that's spreading!

Then we headed off again in the direction of Drumshanbo. This is the little town that Lex's great-great grandmother Bridget McQueeny came from in Ireland (or the story was that she lived nearby and she and her sister were put in the workhouse there before coming out to Australia on an 'orphan boat' as a result of the famine - even though they won't actually orphans.) But I digress - Drumshanbo is a very nice little town and we went to the library there where the librarian was very helpful and we found some excellent books on Irish names and areas, but nothing about the local history. We then were heading back to the car when we noticed a photo exhibition called "Glimpses of the Past" was open, so we went in to talk to the man in charge. His name was Noel and he was an absolute wealth of information about the area. He told us about Kiltubrid, a local townland, which is full of McQueenies, and lots about the local area, then gave us directions on how to get there.

Hamill's B&B, our home for the next three nights



Lex and the standing stone, inside "The Standing Stone". This has been on this site for approximately 3500 years and they rediscovered it when renovating in 2012. They seem to think that the markings on it (obviously very weathered) are the outlines of a cross added in the Christian era.

We had a lovely lunch in the restaurant across the road, then headed out to Kiltubrid for a look. Sure enough, we found the old cemetery with lots of McWeeneys! All of them spelt the same way. And the local church is St Bridget's, which fits too. This was all very interesting but it was time to head for our B&B in Ballinamore and book in. It was only about a five minute drive so we were soon here and booked in to our very nice room - Hamill's B&B is set back from the main street so it's very central - we just walk out and are on the main street.

We went out for a look at the town and to find the genealogy centre Noel had told us about, where an amazing woman busily looked up heaps of information for us and gave Lex lots of leads and maps. And she wouldn't take any money for it! He is now trawling through old maps and records to see if we can narrow down where the McQueeneys (to keep using the Australian spelling) came from. Difficult, as some of the parish records don't start until after the years we are looking at - however, you never know your luck! We also popped into the library which has a good local collection, so tomorrow will be back into research.

I came back to our room to put my feet up and have a cuppa while Lex went out for a walk, then we went out for tea. Just up the road we found the 'Standing Stone' pub, which has a REAL standing stone in the foyer! We both had a very nice stuffed chicken dish for our main course and a rather bewildering sherry trifle for dessert (no cake, no sherry - it was essentially jelly, fruit and custard! I think the cook forgot something...) Anyway, it was all very nice. The town is having its annual festival so there will be street music tonight. It doesn't even start until 9 so we are hoping the double glazing makes this room soundproof - heaven knows how late it will go!

Postscript: Double glazing not exactly soundproofing the windows. The band is singing "Boney Maroney". Lex is having another wee drink of his whiskey. I may have to develop a taste for it at this rate. They are now singing "Happy Days".