Ireland Trip #3
Even though the sectarian strife referred to as "The Troubles" is largely a thing of the past, the fact that Ireland has two distinct political entities is never far from the surface there. While the citizens of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland share many elements of language, culture, religion, etc; there are noticeable differences between the two. For me the most visible change going from the North to the Republic was in the infrastructure, mainly that the roads seemed just that much more precarious. Others include the bi-lingual signage, the use of Euros as opposed to Pounds, and speed limits and distances posted in kilometers. I had a taste of these features during our Sunday drive around Inishowen, but they truly sunk in on Monday (Labor Day in the states, but in Ireland just the first day of school) as we headed out from Derry. The plan for the day was to reach the ferry landing at Rossaveal, and the drive took us on a southwesterly course through the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway. For a good portion of the first half my time was divided between taking in the scenery and mining our map and guidebook for interesting places to stop along the way.
One of the spots I discovered was Creevykeel an ancient "court tomb". Due to somewhat confusing signage we made a wrong turn and went in a circle before finding the parking lot just off the N17 main road, but it turned out to be an interesting site. Mostly I was struck by the sheer age of the structure, and by the amount of labor that must have gone into creating it in an age long before mechanical power had been harnessed. Continuing on our journey we next stopped in the town of Sligo. Our primary purpose there was lunch, but there was also a historic abbey there that I wanted to see, and we ended up spending almost an hour there looking at the exquisite carvings and learning about life in a medieval cloister. It also proved to be quite photogenic. We got back on the road around 2:30, and since we were under the impression that the last ferry to Inishmor left at 5:45 we decided to cover the distance as quickly as possible. There was not much of interest along the second half of the drive, but we did have to negotiate the Galway rush hour and ended up just barely missing the 5:45. To our great relief, the ferry company's website was incorrect and the last ferry was actually at 6:30, so we had ample time to get our things in order for the journey to the island.
We took only a portion of our total luggage, left our Modus in the lot near the ferry, and embarked upon the ferry to Inishmor, the largest and most populous of the three Aran Islands that mark the entrance to Galway Bay. The ferry ride was smooth and relaxing, and the setting Sun provided a nice backdrop to the coastal landscapes as we cruised into the harbor at Kilronan. Since the tourist ferries do not carry cars, visitors to the island get around mainly by foot, bike, or cab, and with our luggage the third was the only viable option. We chose one basically at random, but as we rode up to our lodgings the cabby let it drop that he had been born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Small world, eh? Having been to Inishmor on many previous occasions, Katie chose the Ard Einne guest house for our home base, a decision that was well made. After checking into our room we headed out for dinner at one of the classier restaurants on the island, where I had an excellent appetizer and dessert, but a somewhat lackluster main course. We then walked over to a nearby pub, where our cabby (who served as our chauffeur for the evening) had indicated there would be live music. In our ignorance we were hoping it would be Irish music, but it turned out to just be an Irish guy singing American covers. At least he was decent enough to be worth nursing a pint to, and in more bits of home cropping up he included a couple Minnesotan artists in his set.
Owing to their isolated location, the Aran Islands were cut off from the main currents of Irish history for significant spans of time. As a result many traditions survived there a good deal longer than they did on the mainland, and the comforts of modern life took a bit longer to arrive. One feature that sets the islands apart is that they are one of the few places where Irish is the first language of the inhabitants, and in recent years this has turned the islands into a mecca for tourists both native and foreign looking for a bit of authentic Irishness. I certainly was keen on taking in what Inishmor had to offer, and therefore after breakfast on Tuesday we signed up for one of the many bus tours available. While on it I became increasingly aware of how inhospitable the island originally was, and the immense efforts that have continued over thousands of years to build up topsoil and clear out the large boulders to create usable pasture, and as we got to the more sparely settled areas we saw how much bare rock still remains. But the highlight of the day was the trip to Dun Aengus, one of the finest examples of a neolithic ring fort you will ever find. The bus dropped us off at the visitor center, and it was about a 20 minute walk up to the fort itself. The weather conditions were not ideal, with light rain making the rocks slippery and a dreary overall atmosphere that muted the views, but the site was still impressive and somewhat intimidating. Built against the edge of 300 ft high cliffs (with no guardrails, watch your step) with some sections at least 3000 years old, it is an imposing structure, but I am skeptical about whether it was ever attacked or could have ever withstood a siege given the lack of any fresh water supply. We spent about an hour exploring the area enclosed by the walls, keeping a safe distance from the cliffs, going back to the visitor center when the rain began to worsen, and then whiled away the rest of the afternoon in the gift shops and cafe.
Dinner was at the island's only bona fide hotel, as there were not enough people at our guest house to warrant them making their own. While there are a good deal of tourists who will come out to Inishmor on a day trip, most of them leave at dusk with the last ferry, and after the summer peak season very few of them stay overnight. Not being a fan of huge crowds, this was much to my liking, and the food was better overall too. Unfortunately the music later on proved to be a less palatable rehashing of the pattern from the previous evening, and Katie and I could only take so much of it before retreating to another pub that was thankfully free of over-synthesized American pop songs. Wednesday brought a welcome change in the weather, and over a lazy morning breakfast we saw a truly beautiful rainbow appear right outside out guest house. We had decided to take the noon ferry back to the mainland, and the owner of the guest house offered to drive us to the landing. Apparently the place is going to be closing soon for major renovations so it can better compete with the new hotel. The ferry ride back was a bit less spectacular, since the boat was enclosed and most of the passengers were a group of unruly teenagers on a school trip. Getting back to our vehicle, we headed back toward Galway, stopping for a while at the Spiddal Craft Village, a collection of unique shops in the town of the same name along the coast of the bay. There were a few of them that piqued my interest, and I was able to cross a couple more people off my gift list. We arrived in the city around 3:00 and had to interpret somewhat imprecise directions to find our B&B for the night. It was only a short walk from the downtown area, and we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring some of the sights. I liked the fact that a good portion of downtown was pedestrian only, something I wish American cities would implement. We had an early dinner at a decent Italian place near our B&B, and after a short stop back there, we headed out again in search of real Irish music. Our first stop was a place called McNaughton's, which was recommended by our guidebook but turned out to be somewhat less than advertised. I found it to be little more than a hole in the wall, and the music, while interesting, was definitely not Irish. Thus we decided to move on, trying to find a place that Katie had been to on a previous visit, but had forgotten the name of. Eventually we ended up at The King's Head (in reference to the unfortunate British monarch Charles I), which while not the place Katie was thinking of, was definitely a step up in terms of decor. Unfortunately the music was nothing to write home about, and once again definitely not Irish. Thankfully the third time was the charm that evening, and when we walked into Tig Coeli we knew our search was over: good beer, good atmosphere, and most of all good Irish music. It was a relaxing and rewarding end to a nice leisurely day, and my only regret is that we had so little time to spend there. Ditto for Galway itself, as we were on our way again early Thursday morning.