Honeymoon In Ireland - Carrowmore and Knocknarea

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6 July, 2008

We began the day with a run.  It's a wonderful, quiet place for a run, putting us in a great mood to start the day.  Our breakfast this morning (Seapoint House) was lacking though.  We each got 1 1/2 cups of tea (it was a tiny pot, about the size of a mug) and they never brought us more.  We also got 2 half pieces of toast each.  This was especially a problem because Sarah's "vegetarian" breakfast only had one egg and half of a small tomato included in her cooked breakfast.  We have stayed at countless places in England, Scotland and Ireland that served hot breakfast, many of them in VERY rural places.  Each time she received a full plate of a filling cooked breakfast, but not here.  It also was difficult to get someone to take our money for checkout.  All in all, we found the the house, grounds, and location wonderful, but the service at Seapoint House very disappointing.  This is the only place on our trip that we would not consider for a return visit.

Dolmen inside Stone Circle at Carrowmore

Our first stop of the day was Carrowmore.  Carrowmore is the largest megalithic cemetery in Ireland. It contains 60 tombs in total, including one that is considered to be the oldest man made structure in the world. The drive from Westport took us about 1 3/4 hours.  The weather had been wet the whole morning.  We arrived at 11:40 AM and got the 12 (noon) guided tour, which left us exactly the amount of time it took us to look at the monuments across the road.  Admission is €3, but we used our Heritage Card (which has already paid for itself on this trip). Our tour guide was Austin, and he was great.  The tour lasted 50 minutes and I can't imagine doing the self-guided tour - it must be a lot less interesting.   This is my third visit to this site and I always get a entertaining and informative tour.  This is one of the best attractions in Ireland and should be included on any "must-see" list of Ireland.  This is a kind of one-stop shop for Megalithic Ireland.  This cemetery was used for thousands of years and has just about every type of structure possible.

The largest monument at Carrowmore

The view from another angle

Queen Meabh's cairn seen on top of Knocknarea.  You can see
that is aligned with the Listoghil at Carrowmore.

 After we finished at Carrowmore, we went to lunch in Strandhill at a pub with a nice restaurant called the Venue Bar.  It was packed, but had good food that was reasonably priced.  After lunch we went to tackle Knocknarea.  At the top of Knocknarea is a cairn that is visible from Carrowmore.  Underneath the cairn (the traditional burial site of Queen Meabh) is believed to be a tomb that dates to 3000 BC, but it hasn't been excavated. She is said to be buried standing up in her armor facing her rivals in Ulster to the North.

The weather was on and off, so we got a little wet and the views were obscured some.  But it is really impressive what they built and how commanding a presence this is.  The climb takes about a half an hour and isn't too strenuous.  There are also a handful of other ancient monuments that all appeared to be aligned together.  We looked around for a while before heading back down.    There is small car park with a port-a-john that I was happy to see before we got back in the car.  We were both tired at this point and Sarah is suffering from this throat issue, so we headed to Riverstown and our stop for tonight (Coopershill House).

After you reach the top you see Meabh's mound

It wouldn't be Ireland without great signage

Arriving at Coopershill House is like entering Mount Vernon or Gunston Hall or Monticello must have been in the 1700s.  There is a 1 mile long drive lined by trees, pastures of deer, a river and then you see the house.  There is an opening in the trees that reveals a croquet lawn, a drive and a huge Manor house.  Simon (the owner) came out to help us with our bags.  His family built the house in 1774 and he still lives in it.  The house is amazing!

I'm so glad we decided to stay here!  We checked in about 4 and read, napped and showered.  About 6:30 we went for a walk down grass paths through the woods, next to the deer pastures.  It was like something from a children's story.  The place is absolutely beautiful.  Also, hanging in the hall outside our bedroom door was what I believe is a famous portrait of Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stafford by Van Dyck.  (Though I am not an expert at all!)

Simon upgraded us to a Superior room since there are only three other guests staying.  He has been a really wonderful host.  We opted for the 5 course meal at 8:15.  It was fantastic, most of the items were grown on the grounds or at a nearby farm.  All of the main course were some sort of meat, but the chef prepared special dish for her that she loved.  After the meal they served coffee and tea in the drawing room.  The house is just beautiful, full of portraits of the family, stag heads, pikes, and other pieces of family history.  I'm going to have to try to learn more about the O'Hares!

Coopershill House

Our bedroom

Our bathroom

Obviously, staying at Simon's is expensive when compared to a B&B or Guesthouse.  We stayed here as a treat and to give us a change of pace and are glad that we did.  We loved the peace and stillness that Coopershill provided, plus Simon makes you feel like a guest in his home during your stay (versus a paying guest). The house is deservedly featured in many guidebooks including Karen Brown, Ireland's Blue Book and The Bridgestone Guide.  If you are looking for something upscale this is certain to please you.



One of the reasons we chose to stay on this side of Sligo was the proximity to Carrowkeel.  Carrowkeel is another megalithic cemetery (similar to Carrowmore).  The thing that I love about this place is that the tombs (14 of them) are all accessible for you to crawl into and see on your own.  It's free and easy to get to, though the road is very rough and requires you to leave your car and walk a fair way to the top.  The highlight on my visit was taking shelter from a rain storm in the tomb that has the roofbox.  Only Newgrange is thought to also have this feature included.  The roofbox here is aligned to the midsummer sunset (usually in June) making it a great visit after Newgrange in the summertime.  Carrowkeel is probably best appreciated after seeing Newgrange, but would be impressive even on its own.  We were too worn out by this point to squeeze in a visit this trip (and Sarah was fighting through a nasty cold), but I plan on a visit next time I'm passing by.


Day 8 Ireland Itinerary

Carrowmore (1 3/4 hrs from Westport)
Knocknarea (15 minutes from Carrowmore)
Coopershill House, Riverstown, Co, Sligo (30-35 minutes from Knocknarea)

Honeymoon In Ireland - Clifden, Croagh Patrick and Westport

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5 July, 2008

We got on the 9:15 flight off the island.  We had not, however, informed the Fear An Tighe (Man of the House) of this.  So, at 8:30 (breakfast) we told him.  He was disappointed that we hadn't informed him and was extremely nice, offering anything he could think of for breakfast (He said he would have cooked us breakfast early if he had known).  We had tea, cereal and toast and then were off.

The flights (to and from the island) were very smooth, in spite of this morning's rain.  We hopped right in the car and headed for Clifden.  Clifden (and the drive to it) are beautiful and have been supplying romantic memories to tourists for ages.  We reached Clifden in about 1 1/2 hours and got some coffee and tea and split a bagel at a nice place on Main Street called Upstairs/Downstairs Cafe.  Then we walked around the city centre for a while before spotting a health food store, An Bhean Feasa.  The lady got us some stuff for Sarah's sore throat and it turns out that she's from California.  She was very friendly and chatty and then sent us on our way.  The weather had been crappy the whole day, but it cleared up just as we reached Clifden.

We drove on toward Westport.  We reached our destination, Croagh Patrick, about 1 hour later.  We were starving, so we ate at the Information Centre (Teach na Miasa).  We both had soup and brown bread and split an order of chips (french fries).  It was really good and warmed us up from the rain.  Then we set off up the Reek.

The bottom of Croagh Patrick looking up

The entire top of the mountain was covered in fog and mist.  It looked like a joke, but we decided to head up.  My memories from my other visit were useless this time.  I had factored in the additional eight years of age, the fact that I might not be as fit (though certainly in fine shape), but I hadn't thought about the weather.  The path was a lot more difficult when it was wet.  It was still beautiful and wonderful, but it was a lot more work!  We ascended into the clouds, but bailed out out just before reaching the first station.

The peaceful base of the mountain

The fog kept coming and so did we

I turned around and couldn't see the foot of the mountain

To be fair, we had passed this sign

After that we thought we'd go for a cup of tea in Westport, but the Fleadh was on.  It was a big party!  People were everywhere, and there were no easy parking spaces.

I didn't film this, but this is the event.

So, we went to our B&B, Seapoint House.  It is AMAZING!  Really incredible views of the ocean and the beds here are comfortable!.  The house is almost in the water.  We hung out here a while and took a shower (the one at Claí Bán left something to be desired) and then headed back in to Westport for supper.

Our room at Seapoint House

Our shower at Seapoint House

Bathroom at Seapoint House

Dusk from our window at Seapoint House

We ate at Sol Rio.  We didn't have a reservation, but they squeezed us in even though it was 7 PM on Saturday night during the Fleadh.  Everyone after us got turned away!  The food was great.  We had a 1/2 bottle of wine, split a pizza and had chocolate cake (we split the cake too) and coffee for desert for €46.

From Sol Rio, we drove through Newport to get a look at Rockfleet Castle.  I love this place.  It's such a dominating building, sticking right out into the water.  The idea of Grace O'Malley's ship docked beside the castle with the rope through the window helps it all to sink in.

Rockfleet at Dusk

Rockfleet with the tide out

Rockfleet from the land side

Rockfleet up close

 Day 7 Ireland Itinerary

Clifden (1 1/2 hour drive from Connemara Airport)

Croagh Patrick (1 hour drive from Clifden)
Westport (15 minutes from Croagh Patrick)
Rockfleet Castle/Carraigahowley Castle (25-30 minutes from Westport)

Westport Area Attractions

An updated version of this site can be found here

June 29, 2000

Today I visited Murrisk Abbey which is at the base of Croagh Patrick.  It is a ruined abbey founded by the O'Malley family in 1456.  It's also the traditional starting point for pilgrims to begin the climb up Croagh Patrick.  For anyone who loves looking at these old abbeys and churches it has some interesting architectural features, including some human heads carved into the outside wall near the eastern window and some battlements amongst other features.  For those who enjoy visiting holy places, it was peaceful and serene.  I'm glad I decided to stop off.

Next I traveled  north toward Newport where I visited Burrrishoole Abbey (or Friary).  There was a lot of this abbey still standing.  I really enjoyed these two stops.  Both of these abbeys were built right on the bay, and are absolutely gorgeous settings.

After that I went up the road a bit to Carrigahooly Castle, where Grace O'Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille) told her husband, "You are dismissed."  after filling all of his castles with her troops.  You are apparently allowed to go inside.  There is a house next to the castle where you are able to borrow the key, but sadly no one was there when I was.  The more castles I see, the more impressed I am with the O'Donovan castles.

Next I headed south to Louisburgh.  I visited the Gráinne O'Malley Interpretive Centre, but I only found it by driving all four streets in the town!  There is a small blue sign post at the crossroads in town.  The exhibition was pretty good (£2.50).

 On the way back to Westport, I stopped at Kilgeever Abbey (also a big pilgrimage site).  There isn't much of the abbey still standing, but I prayed at the holy well (Tobar Rí an Dhomhnaigh or Our Lord’s Well of the Sabbath).  Again I had some trouble finding it.   There is a signpost on the main road.  At the first left you should turn but the sign was missing!

After the abbeys, I returned to the hostel, and then off to the Octagon and Dunning's Cyberpub.  I love the outside tables, not just the computers!  I met a couple from California at Dunning's, we talked for a long time.  It was really great, peaceful day with beautiful weather.