Ô Canada - here we come!

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30 June 2011

Reading in the car - Day 1

It's so great to be out of town and officially on vacation.  After leaving Virginia,  we've stopped at the Fairfield Inn in Bedford, PA.  It's nice and new.  There is coffee, tea, hot chocolate, oatmeal, bananas and apples available all day long in the lobby.  Our room is nice and modern.  Our only complaint is that the bedroom and sitting areas don't have a door separating them.  We ate at Long John Silver's because it was in the parking lot and we didn't want to drive anywhere.  It's not the best Long John Silver's ever and not very quick.  Still, the hotel is clean, nice and comfortable.

Our bathroom

The breakfast was really good.  This was a very nice hotel.  The breakfast consisted of: cereal, waffles, Jimmy Dean sandwiches, yogurt, muffins and pastries.  The hotel also has a very nice business center.

Microwave and fridge

The sitting area

The view of the bedroom from the sitting area

The sitting area

Day 1 Itinerary
Depart Virginia
Spent the night in Bedford, PA

The Donovan Castles

The O'Donovan/Donovan Castles

This is an old version of this site.  Click for the newest version.

After growing tired of only finding bits and pieces of information about the castles affiliated with the O'Donovans, I have attempted to compile a unified place to learn about the castles built by and lived in by the O'Donovan clan.  Much of my information comes from the O'Donovan history book that was complied for the Gathering in 2000 as well as from Mainchín Seoighe's  book From Bruree to Corcomohide.

Originally, The Donovans settled near Bruree, Croom and Kilmallock in County Limerick before being forced out.  After leaving Limerick, The Donovans settled between Castlehaven and Rosscarbery inlet on the coast of Cork and inland as far as the Mealagh River.  After the relocation, the Clann Cathail sept established a seat at Castle Donovan.

Castle Donovan/Caisleán Uí Dhonnabháin

Castle Donovan (known as Suagh when in use) is the most well known of the Donovan castles.  Located north of Drimoleague, roughly at 51°41'35,60" N, 9°16'55,44" W (Map reference W113496(1113,0496))– it is signposted from Drimoleague.  Try this link to see a grid reference map.

The castle is believed to have been built by Dónall of the Hides (Domhnall na g-Croiceann), Lord of Clancahill, close to the bank of the River Ilen about 1560 in order to guard the northern border of the sept's lands.  Cathail ruled 67 townlands, mostly near Drimoleague, Drinagh and Myross.

The castle itself is a tower house style castle, typical of the time in Ireland.   The dimensions of the castle are: 61 feet (19 meters) tall, 47 feet (14 m) long, and 26 feet (8 meters) wide with 6 foot thick walls.  The walls are a mixture of lime, sand, gravel, horse hair and animal blood.  The structure is four stories tall plus an attic with a 91 step spiral staircase in the Northwest corner that led from the ground to the top of the castle.  Originally the castle had a bawn (surrounding wall) and outbuildings surrounding the tower.
It was built on a rock outcropping facing to the south of the glen and featured mural chambers (small rooms hollowed out within a wall) in the west wall, fireplaces on the first and third floors, large windows on the second an third floors, bartizans at the Northeast and Southeast corners, and a parapet (or battlement) on the top. The parapets were supported by strong balconies on which sat small cannons.  Beneath the balconies were openings known as machicolations, through which defenders could drop items onto attackers.  The main door was made of heavy oak and located on the western side.  The doorway was decorated with a Gothic limestone arch.  In front of the entrance was a huge flat topped rock, known as Carraig na Mart, which was used to slaughter sheep and cattle for food.  One room (probably the lower rooms) was used for food storage for the garrison at the castle, another room was used for storing gunpowder and cannonballs.
In 1641, Cromwellians attacked Castle Donovan in retaliation for Dónall III siding with the Stuarts and participating in the Rebellion of 1641.  The defenders escaped by night after they had run out of ammunition.  The attack marked the end of the castle as a residence and eventually led to the collapse of the southern wall.

Castle Donovan in 2000

Castle Donovan

A photo of the castle taken some time between 1880 and 1900 can be seen here.

The glen that surrounds Castle Donovan:

According to this the restoration of the castle is complete.  I can't wait to see it!

Castle Rasheen/Raheen/Rathín

Places like this are why tourists come to Ireland. The castle stands largely intact on the eastern bank on Glandore Harbour (the village of Castletownshend is across the Harbour). If you look at this Ordinance Survey map, you can see the castle marked just to the west of Raheen.
After the fall of Castle Donovan, this became the main Donovan castle protecting trade interests in the harbour.  Built in 1584 by Dónall II, this was the principle residence of Donal III.  Placed in Myross parish to guard the southern border of the clan's territory, it is smaller but similar to Castle Donovan.

The walls were damaged by Cromwell's Naval attack (in the 1640s) and the eastern wall has completely collapsed.  The castle was lost when Donal IV backed the Spanish (who lost) at Kinsale in 1691.

The view of the castle from the water (the west)

 

This is one of many cannonballs that Cromwell left lodged in the side of the castle during his invasion of Ireland. Many others are still in the side of the tower.

The eastern wall of the castle (away from the water)

A panoramic view of the castle and the harbour

Castle Ivor/Eyre

Located near Union Hall village (in the townland of Listarkin) on a rocky mound overlooking Lough Cluhir (Clubir), the north and west walls are all that remain of Castle Ivor (Castle Eyre).  You can see the castle marked on this Ordinance Survey map.  Built in 1251 (some sources say 1220), this was the seat of the Sliocht Íomhair sept of the O'Donovans.  Ivor's family resided in the castle until the mid 16th century, when it was lost to Dónall of Castle Donovan.   Legend has it that Ivor was a magician and still is seen to this day.  There are two versions of the story:  Version 1...  Every seven years Ivor's ship briefly appears on Lough Cluhir then disappears.  Version 2... If any O'Donovan is about to die, Ivor's ship appears on the lough.

Bawnlahan/Banlahan

Map Ref: W1973234046
Latitude: 51.553888N Longitude: 9.15799W
Try this link to see a grid reference map.

Located near Castle Ivor in Mryoss, Banlahan was built in the early 17th century (most likely) by Dònall III.  After Castle Raheen was damaged, this became the "seat" of the O'Donovans.  This site is reported to be currently enclosed by an inner and outer wall, but I have not visited the site.  It was later known as Castle Jane.

Clocha’tStráidbhaile

The Clann Lochlainn sept ruled 67 townlands between the river Roury and Glandore Harbour.  This castle served as the seat of the sept in the hamlet overlooking Glandore Harbour.  It was originally built by the Barrets but was lost to Clan Lochlainn in or around 1261.  This is another site that I have not visited.

Bruree, Co. Limerick

Is this Cathair Cuan?

Donnabhán had a fortress at Bruree named Cathair Cuan.  The fact that “Cathair” is used in the name suggests that it was a ring fort.  All of the existing ringforts in the Bruree area today are earthen.  It is thought that the bawn (the stone wall upon which the De Lacy Castle now stands) that runs alongside of the River Maigue in Lotteragh Upper is the remains of the fort.

It is located very near to the old royal earthen forts (on the same farm) and made of pre-Norman sandstone bricks that were clearly made by a different mason than the Norman tower house.  According to T.J. Westropp, the wall was part of a D-shaped fort made of better construction than the De Lacy Tower.

To find the site, head west of the village (I believe you can find it west of the village off of R518 - the first right after you leave the village).  It is on private property, so you will have to ask permission to go on the farm.

Ocean City, The Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Riviera

An updated version of this site is here

July 2012

We are off to the beach!  Or, if you're local, WE'RE GOING DOWNY OCEAN!  Our drive from Ballston, Arlington to Salisbury, MD took 2 1/2 hours.  Traffic was easy and the weather and kids were cooperative.  We checked into the Residence Inn in Salisbury.  When we reached our room it was a clean, two room suite with a nice kitchen area and TVs in both the sitting area and bedroom.
Once we unloaded, we headed grocery shopping.  Our goal was to hit Health Food and More, but we arrived to find that it is closed on Sundays.  So, we went to the Giant instead.  It was a nice, large store with a fairly large natural foods section.

By the time we finished with our shopping, we were hungry.  So, Sarah picked a place nearby and order pizza.  She chose Zia's Italian Grill which is across the street from the hotel.  I picked up the pizza and brought it back to the room, and was delighted to learn that it was delicious ($15 for the pizza).

UPDATE: Zia's is now closed.

On Monday, we began the day with Ocean City, about a 40 minute drive from our hotel.  We parked at the city lot all the way to the south of town next to the pier.  It was $5.50 for about 2 1/2 hours.  The beach was pretty much empty when we arrived just after 9 AM.  After we finished on the beach, we hit Polock Johnny's for a funnel cake ($6).  It was hot and delicious.  The kids were tired, so we returned to the hotel for naps, lunch, some laundry and by the time we were finished it was time to think about supper.  It was Taco night at the Residence Inn, and that was enough for our 3 year old (we snacked on some things from the store after the kids went down).

On Tuesday, we began the day with a drive to Chincoteague, it took us about 1 hour to get there.  The entry to the Wildlife Refuge is $8.  The refuge connects to the southern tip of Assateague Island (our ultimate goal), called Tom's Cove.  The beach there is great!  The dunes I had pictured in my head were washed away (along with the buildings) in a hurricane not too long ago.  Now, it's just wide flat beach surrounding a parking area.  You can park right next to the beach, and they have put out picnic tables, trashcans, grills, as well as toilets, changing rooms and rinsing shower in the parking lot.  This is the spot if you are looking for a more "natural beach" without the stores, restaurants and other assorted hoopla.  Though, all of that can be found in Chincoteague if you want it.  When we returned to our room at 2 PM, the room had been cleaned and we were able to relax.  The staff very very friendly throughout our stay.

Tuesday night we ate at Zia's again.  It was so good the first time, and so close that we couldn't resist.  This time we ordered a pizza and (from the kid's menu) chicken fingers and french fries.  The total was $26, but the chicken fingers and french fries were very small portions (only 3 chicken fingers) for about $10.

The Residence Inn breakfast was pretty good as well.  It's laid out buffet style and consisted of eggs, sausage, biscuits, potatoes, corn beef hash, yogurt, orange juice, milk, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, bagels, fruit salad, bananas, apples, cereal, oatmeal, and waffles.

Scotland Trip - Windsor and Windsor Castle

An updated version of this site can be found here

July 3, 2006

Today we drove to Windsor from Walton.  We had to split up again as nobody had room for four people.  It was 30° C when we arrived, which is pretty stinkin' hot with no A/C.  We got our rooms, Sarah and I stayed at the Langton House (Mom and Dad stayed down the road on the next corner).  The house is just out of the Town Centre.
After we got settled in, we walked into town hoping to purchase tickets to see the castle for the next morning.  We got there before the last tour should have started but the ticket office was closed.  So, we walked for a bit with the intention of walking around the town until it was time to eat.  Finally, the heat got the best of us.  Our walk became an evaluation of potential restaurants based on how well the A/C worked.  We found a nice place just outside the castle wall - near the Burger King and Pizza Hut (which incidentally have the two best A/C systems in town).  It was a very nice meal and then on the way home we stopped at Francesco's for desert.  A breeze was blowing as the night cooled and we even had coffees with our desserts!  Really a great end to the day.
 We returned to our houses just after 8 PM.  Sarah and my room was really hot!  The air outside the window wasn't that bad, but inside our room it was terrible.  We took cold showers and washed our bodies with cold towels to cool down.  Finally, Sarah had the wonderful idea of getting rid of the covers and sleeping under cold wet towels.  It worked, I fell asleep and stayed asleep!
When I was awakened by the alarm, it was still hot.  We ate breakfast - including tea that tasted like dirt (not sure what the deal was), packed our things and prepared for a tour of the castle. 
We arrived at Windsor Castle a few minutes before opening and were able to see large parts of the castle with hardly any crowds.  We saw as much as we could - then we ate lunch and drove to the airport.

Ye olde ladies outside Windsor Castle

Walls of Windsor Castle

The Keep

The view from the gate

The family's apartments

The changing of the guard

St. George's Chapel

Scotland Trip - Rossyln Chapel and Jedburgh Abbey

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Sunday, July 2, 2006

We intended to begin the day at Holyrood Palace.  It took us 45 minutes to figure out all of the roads to the Palace were closed (the Queen is coming this week).  So after a frustrating hour, we headed to Roslin.  We arrived in Roslin about 11:15 and had to wait for the church service to end before we could see Rosslyn Chapel (it opens at noon on Sundays).  This 15th century church is well worth the trip - the ornamentation is stunning.  To think that this was only intended to be the TIP of a crucifix shaped cathedral!  The place was packed, as I'm sure it is everyday in the summer thanks to The Da Vinci Code.  The book might have brought the people here, but the building will send them away impressed.

The crypt in Rosslyn Chapel

Grave of a Templar Knight in Rosslyn Chapel

From Roslin we headed to Jedburgh to see the Abbey.  We encountered some really heavy thunderstorms which did cut the visit to the Abbey short.  Funny enough it might have made for some nicer photography.  I'd really like a chance to see this again on a nicer day so that I could have a more extensive view.

Jedburgh Abbey

From Jedburgh we headed across the border into England.  We stopped in the village of Walton outside of Carlisle.  We're staying at the Town Head B&B.  It's a nice village.  The Hadrian's Wall footpath runs right through the village. Today is our last day and we head to Windsor to get ready to leave.  It should be a long day of driving tomorrow (about 6 hours).