October 25 - Fairy Fort

We only have a few Saturdays left here. We'll miss our 'Saturday drives' around Ireland. We took a relaxed drive through The Burren - one last time.

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Galway City across the Bay.

We had just passed a man who was taking his FOX for a walk on a leash. We regret not asking him if we could take his picture. :)

You can't tell in this picture how big this bull is - it is big!

So is this one.

"Bishop's Quarter"

We turned onto a road I'd been down before. As we passed this - well-hidden, but right on the side of the road - I recalled that, on the bus tour with Anne and the ladies, our driver had stopped to point it out...it's a "Fairy Fort". There are thousands of these earthen mound ring forts in Ireland. They date back to the Bronze Age (4,000 years ago) and Iron Age. Their original use is not known for certain. It has long been believed by the Irish that they are the dwellings of the fairies. The belief in fairies and leprechauns, banshees and changelings was a major part of the way of life here for centuries. We are told that many of the Irish, in keeping with these beliefs or out of superstition, won't enter these forts even now.