On this map of Ireland, the red square is where we live. The orange area shows where we'd traveled so far - other than our bus ride to Dublin airport. We decided we wanted to venture out a little further! Ireland can be divided into seven regions. The blue line traces the trip we took on Saturday through the Northwest: counties Donegal, Sligo, and Leitrim.
Our first stop was the town of Sligo. I liked this shopfront.
Sligo is the hometown of William Butler Yeats, Ireland's best-known poet. The statue of him here is engraved all over with lines from his own poems.
"Yeats Country" as the area is referred to.
We stopped to see a waterfall that was special to Yeats. Our pony was disappointed that we had to leave her in the car.
"There's the waterfall," I told Aaron, who had been anticipating this for the two hours since we'd left home. I know - I'm not a nice mom.
Here it is, for real. I love the sound of waterfalls!...I thought: "There is a waterfall
Upon Ben Bulben side
That all my childhood counted dear;
Were I to travel far and wide
I could not find a thing so dear."...
(from Towards Break of Day by WB Yeats)
Lots of sheep.
Drumcliff or St. Columba Church. Yeats' Great Grandfather was rector here.Under bare Ben Bulben's head
In Drumcliffe churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago; a church stands near.
By the road an ancient cross,
No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot.
By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death,
Horseman, pass by!
(WB Yeats - a poem he wrote late in life with wishes for his burial)
His wishes were honored a few years after he died and was buried in France. He was exumed and brought to Drumcliff. His wife, George, is buried with him.
The "ancient cross" referred to by Yeats. It is a beautiful high cross dating from the 11th century when this site was a monastery founded by St. Columba (6th cent). The carvings on both sides of the cross depict several Bible stories.
Referred to in both of Yeats' poems above, this is Ben Bulben - a large rock formation of limestone and shale. It was neat, but would look more impressive after things here turn green. Then it would be cool to see against a clear, blue sky!- We left Yeats Country, driving further north -
Classiebawn Castle on Mullaghmore Head was completed in 1874 by the first Lord Mount Temple - what a title!
We pulled over for a "bathroom" break and came across a church and cemetery ruins. You can barely see the church now covered in ivy.
I think these are fish traps, given they are in the water just off Killybegs, Ireland's premier commercial fishing port and center for sea anglers. Although we don't fish, it is interesting to note that the various wrecks from the Spanish Armada and WWII create an ideal environment here for large pollock and conger.
The docks at Killybegs. The smell of fresh fish and salt water fill the air!
This isn't the first boat named Fiona that I've seen in Ireland...I just can't help thinking of Shreck...
The village of Killybegs is also famous for it's craft, Donegal carpets and area rugs, which have been handweaved for over a hundred years and can be found in places like Buckingham Palace, the Vatican, and the White House, to name a few.
We saw a house here - the backside of the sea cliffs - with at least six little go-carts in the driveway. I imagine that living here would be a little boy's dream and a mother's nightmare!! You'll see why in the next few pictures.
Aaron asked, "Why are we driving carefully?" He may have overheard my plea to Daniel!
Sleive League, the highest cliff face in Europe, rising 1,972ft. (There is a technical difference between sea cliff and cliff face for you Norwegian relatives who are about to get up-in-arms about this claim. Hornelen, Norway is the highest sea cliff in Europe.)
It was awesome, even if we couldn't see the very top on account of the cloud.
Sheep roam freely around the cliffs.
Going through Glengesh Pass looking down at the town of Ardara.
"Look at the pretty windmills," I said. "Most people would call that an eyesore," said Daniel.
Ahh, snow.
???
Maghery Bay- our first time at a beach in Ireland. In the car when we told the boys that a beach was our next stop, Silas asked, "Can we bring our blue buckets!?" He hasn't seen nor heard of them since puting them away in October, and, no, I didn't bring them. oops. No toys at the beach today, but we promised the boys a shovel & pail when the weather warms up.
Silas was extremely cautious, taking a long time to get down that tiny dune.
The dog just wanted to play with him, but Silas was a bit scared.
I was not standing close by just allowing this dog to pounce on my child; I was far away and this picture is zoomed in.
Oh no, not again...
There's no fun like sand!
Classiebawn Castle on Mullaghmore Head was completed in 1874 by the first Lord Mount Temple - what a title!
We pulled over for a "bathroom" break and came across a church and cemetery ruins. You can barely see the church now covered in ivy.
I think these are fish traps, given they are in the water just off Killybegs, Ireland's premier commercial fishing port and center for sea anglers. Although we don't fish, it is interesting to note that the various wrecks from the Spanish Armada and WWII create an ideal environment here for large pollock and conger.
The docks at Killybegs. The smell of fresh fish and salt water fill the air!
This isn't the first boat named Fiona that I've seen in Ireland...I just can't help thinking of Shreck...
The village of Killybegs is also famous for it's craft, Donegal carpets and area rugs, which have been handweaved for over a hundred years and can be found in places like Buckingham Palace, the Vatican, and the White House, to name a few.- Heading for the cliffs, we drove west to Teelin -
We saw a house here - the backside of the sea cliffs - with at least six little go-carts in the driveway. I imagine that living here would be a little boy's dream and a mother's nightmare!! You'll see why in the next few pictures. 
Aaron asked, "Why are we driving carefully?" He may have overheard my plea to Daniel!
Sleive League, the highest cliff face in Europe, rising 1,972ft. (There is a technical difference between sea cliff and cliff face for you Norwegian relatives who are about to get up-in-arms about this claim. Hornelen, Norway is the highest sea cliff in Europe.)
It was awesome, even if we couldn't see the very top on account of the cloud.
Sheep roam freely around the cliffs.- We drove further north -
Going through Glengesh Pass looking down at the town of Ardara. 
"Look at the pretty windmills," I said. "Most people would call that an eyesore," said Daniel.
Ahh, snow.
???
Maghery Bay- our first time at a beach in Ireland. In the car when we told the boys that a beach was our next stop, Silas asked, "Can we bring our blue buckets!?" He hasn't seen nor heard of them since puting them away in October, and, no, I didn't bring them. oops. No toys at the beach today, but we promised the boys a shovel & pail when the weather warms up.
Silas was extremely cautious, taking a long time to get down that tiny dune.
The dog just wanted to play with him, but Silas was a bit scared.
I was not standing close by just allowing this dog to pounce on my child; I was far away and this picture is zoomed in.
Oh no, not again...
There's no fun like sand!- We headed back inland to start our loop home -
Errigal, the highest of the Derryveagh Mountains. It is somewhat covered in snow now, but it looks like this even in summer because the cone is made of quartz.
There really are sheep everywhere you look in this country.
Closer look at the tiny village of Dunlewy at the base of Errigal Mt.
This old parish church is made of white marble quarried just a couple hundred yards away. Few venture near it, for it is said to be haunted. We didn't have time to stop and find out.
Another "bathroom" stop and the one-and-only snowball of our winter.
Glenveagh National Park - we set out to see a castle on the lake, but turned back since our daylight was running out. At any rate, it was a nice walk and chance for Aaron to do some running. "I need some exercise," he often says now. Silas is pretty content to be stationary.
The Derryveagh Mts from across Lough (lake) Veagh.
Errigal, the highest of the Derryveagh Mountains. It is somewhat covered in snow now, but it looks like this even in summer because the cone is made of quartz.
There really are sheep everywhere you look in this country.
Closer look at the tiny village of Dunlewy at the base of Errigal Mt.
This old parish church is made of white marble quarried just a couple hundred yards away. Few venture near it, for it is said to be haunted. We didn't have time to stop and find out.
Another "bathroom" stop and the one-and-only snowball of our winter.
Glenveagh National Park - we set out to see a castle on the lake, but turned back since our daylight was running out. At any rate, it was a nice walk and chance for Aaron to do some running. "I need some exercise," he often says now. Silas is pretty content to be stationary.
The Derryveagh Mts from across Lough (lake) Veagh. 
Hmm isn't there a bunch of surfers in Sligo? I vaguely remember going there and visiting some surf shops with some coworkers. Good times!
ReplyDeleteWhat great pictures! Sarah - I'm from Park River and got this link from Daniel. You do a great job giving history and info about the places you've gone. What a fun experience!
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