Monday 28^th July        DRUMDONEY  -  BOYLE  -  DRUMSHANBO  -  CARRICK-ON-SHANNON

Another full, very enjoyable day here in north-western Ireland, covering three counties, no less! We all slept in a bit, which was lovely, and had a slower start to our morning. It was overcast (as usual) and had rained overnight, but wasn’t too cold, so we gathered all our layers, and headed off on the N4, which runs right outside our place, towards the little town of Boyle.

                            Ireland is full of picturesque ruins - this is just up the road from us.

Our navigator seemed worried that Boyle Abbey, where we were heading, wouldn’t be open yet when we arrived, so we filled in time very nicely by diverting to see the two lochs which are nearby. Loch Arrow, which is just nearby, also had a ruined castle, Ballinafad Castle, the ‘Castle of the Curlews’. (Named after the Curlew Mountains nearby.) Loch Key is smaller, but the lookout at Curlew Pass had a stunning sculpture of a Gaelic Chieftain from the Battle of the Curlews in 1599. The Irish actually smashed the British in that particular battle (spoiler alert: they lost the war, unfortunately.)

                                        The remains of the Castle of the Curlews, Loch Arrow

                                                           Loch Arrow

                                               Loch Key Gaelic Chieftain  

We arrived in Boyle, in Roscommon County, just after ten, and were the first visitors at the abbey. It was built by the Cistercian Monks 850 years ago, after they were invited in by one of the Irish kings. It’s one of the most complete abbeys still remaining in Ireland; most, of course, were trashed by the English. This one was given to a rich English family, the Kings, by Elizabeth 1, and they owned it for a century or two, built a rich mansion in the middle of it (now gone) and eventually moved up the road and built a bigger mansion. The ex-abbey fell into disrepair and some of the stone was robbed out to build the new houses, but you can see and imagine what it would have looked like in its heyday. We had a lovely time wandering around it, and the rain held off.

                    Jo in the centre of the abbey, where there was a rich mansion at one stage.

                                        The gatehouse has been restored and is the visitor centre.

                                  The original abbey church is huge and in good condition.

By eleven o’clock, we were ready for morning tea, so we headed up the road to King House, the magnificent Georgian mansion the King family had built. It’s now owned by the council, and used for all types of community events. They have a tea house there, so we enjoyed a lovely morning tea, with home-cooked cakes and scones, then looked around the craft shop next door. (Jo did a little gift shopping.)

                                                              King House and Tea rooms

Well fed, we travelled on, through Carrick-on-Shannon to Drumshanbo, the little town in County Leitrim where Lex’s McQueeny (McWhinney etc) ancestors came from. We’d visited in 2014 but hadn’t looked in the cemetery there, so we now did – not a single family member there. They even helpfully had a full list of the 3 town cemeteries and all gravestones, and only one McWhinney who died recently in his 80s. Looks like the Kiltoghert Cemetery we visited last time is definitely where they were.

                                                         Drumshanbo is a pretty little town

We headed back towards Carrick-on-Shannon for lunch, and went to the coffee shop/bakery which was our favourite in 2014. The lunch rush was definitely on, but we eventually got our lunch. I was a bit over the big lunches we’ve been having lately, so I asked for just a plain cheese sandwich, no salad etc. The girl seemed a bit bewildered, but said okay….and my sandwich duly arrived with crisps on the side! Of course. Anyway, I now have to admit that plain cheese sandwiches with crisps are totally delicious – who knew?

                                                            Lunch with a view over the Shannon

                                                        Amazing culinary delight!

                                                          Coffee's, where we had lunch

After our lovely late lunch, we wandered across the road to the riverside, where a cruise that Lex had found online went from. Our boat, Moon River, took us downriver and around the lochs and islands that form part of the Shannon River. There was an onboard entertainer who sang Irish and other songs, and did requests. Lex got him to sing ‘Galway Girl’ for me! (My favourite.) The cruise went for an hour and was very relaxing after some of the super busy days we’ve been having.

                                                     Our boat, the Moon River

                                      This family of swans had 5 cygnets nearly full-grown

          1846 bridge across the Shannon. It was built as part of a famine relief programme.

Then we headed back home along the N4 once more. Jo and I have been glad to wash our hair, and put our feet up and relax, and Lex went off for a drive and hike to Carrowkeel, a cluster of Neolithic passage tombs nearby dating back to the 4^th millennium BC. The weather has really been quite kind to us today – it’s drizzled a few times, but that’s about the worst you can say of it.

                                           One of the Carrowkeel tombs

                                                          As usual in Ireland, lots of sheep!

This is our last day in County Sligo; tomorrow we are heading into Northern Ireland to Derry. Sadly, our Irish holiday is coming to an end, but at least we’ve still got a few days to explore it.