3 July, 2008
The meal last night was good and a real bargain. We got a very nice (and extremely quiet) room, a nice two course meal and breakfast for
€50 each. Breakfast was very good! The girl and woman running the place were very eager to please. This place was a welcome evening of relaxation that was greatly needed. They also provided us with a nice local map and two postcards of the place.
After we left Keane's we headed to Dysert O'Dea. We elected to try the less traveled route by taking the first road to Corofin from Ennistymon (R470?). It looked like a great idea as "An Dísert" was signposted, then again, then one more time. I was feeling quite proud that we had found a back way. Sarah was doing well driving on a bothairín - well, bothairín is a generous description - and then it happened. A crossroad with no signs! We went to the right. It made sense, we were headed north, our destination was to the east, but the track just kept going and going. We finally turned around, went to Corofin and got on the R476. There were HUGE signs for it the whole way.
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| Castle O'Dea at Dysert O'Dea |
The site was great (€4 per person). Dysert O'Dea is a great one stop tourist attraction. There is a tower house style castle that is in good condition. Inside the castle is a tea room and an exhibition of the Irish War for Independence and Civil War. Also on the grounds is the remains of an abbey with a very unique High Cross and round tower. St. Tola's cross, shows the Crucifixion and Daniel in the lion's den as well as a likeness believed to be St. Tola himself. This used to be a very busy pilgrimage site until a previous land owner tired of the traffic and glued what was, until then, a removable head of Christ permanently into the cross.
We went in the castle first. It's nice for roaming around and we even got to go on the roof.
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| St. Tola's High Cross at Dysert O'Dea |
After that, we went to the High Cross and decided to go to town for some food. We picked up some really good cheese and apples at the Spar in Corofin. The woman at Dysert O'Dea showed us a road into The Burren, where she thought we would get a nicer view than the main road.
It was a right turn immediately after Kilfenora. If that name sounds familiar, it might be because Father Ted was filmed here. I believe Carron was signposted, so was the Burren Way. It was a small, but well maintained road. After not too long we saw a wedge tomb (Parknabinnia)and stopped. We decided to sit on the wall there and eat our lunch.
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| Parknabinnia Wedge Tomb in The Burren |
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| Parknabinnia Wedge Tomb Close-up |
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| Carron Church, The Burren |
It was a beautiful day and just as the woman at Dysert O'Dea had said, no walls to spoil the views on the drive. We stopped at an old ruined church named Carron Church and looked around.
Next, we headed up the road and stumbled across Caherconnell Stone Fort. It was very well presented and cost €5 to get in. They did a great job, but the fort itself was not in as good shape as a lot of others (like the Staigue Fort). Sarah and I had been feeling a bit disappointed by the Burren - we expected more dominant stone cover as we accidentally went zooming past the car park for the Poulnabronne Dolmen. Poulnabronne is considered one of Ireland' s "must sees" and frankly is an iconic site. We saw it from the car - people everywhere - and decided to carry on. From here the views of the Burren became the stunning views we had hoped for and we got them all the way to Galway.
Here's a video of the Burren not long after we had passed
Poulnabronne
SIDENOTE: I had hoped that we might get to visit Kilmihil and maybe take a peek at Kiltumper. I have read most of Niall Williams' books including the whole series about he and his wife moving from Manhattan to rural Clare and thought it might be nice to see the village, but it didn't fit well into our schedule.
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| Ard Eoinin, Spiddal |
We are staying in Spiddal (another Gaeltacht) at Ard Eoinin B&B. It's really lovely! However, as I sit here I have been listening to the women next door have a phone conversation. We ate at Boluisce restaurant for supper, You could hear the conversations around us happening in Irish - it was nice. Our meals were superb! 2 entrees, 1 starter, 2 beers, 1 coffee for €52. We also stopped by the ATM at the Texaco to stock up on money for our trip to the Islands tomorrow and took a walk around the village.
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| Flowers outside Ard Eoinin |
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| Inside Boluisce |
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| The seaside in Spiddal |
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| The seaview during our walk |
What a wonderful day. I think not running this morning helped refresh us a little bit. All in all a great day. The B&B is nice and a good price (€32.50 per person). The breakfast was very good too, and Kevin (the owner) who had already been very nice, really perked up when we told him we were leaving in Irish!
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| Our bed at Ard Eoinin |
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| Our bathroom at Ard Eoinin |
Day 6 Ireland Itinerary
Dysert O'Dea (about 1:15 from Keane's Oyster Bar)
The Burren ( about 15 minutes from Dysert O'Dea)
Spiddal (about 2 hours drive with no stopping from Dysert O'Dea)
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