An Adventure

After we left Strangford Lough, things got very busy. Blogging was hard, because we were tired enough every night that I couldn’t think!  Now we’re sitting, waiting to board our flight home!  But I wanted to tell you about One Irish Adventure.

We were enjoying a whiskey one evening with one of our hosts. I mentioned  I wanted a sheep stick as a souvenir. Because Molly and I herd, I do have a stick which I use, but, like most utilitarian sticks, its a golf club shaft adapted for herding. I wanted something special.

Next thing I knew, we were in the car, heading across Donegal, to meet an elderly gentleman who makes them.

They were all beautiful. Before I could even think to take pictures, we had negotiated a lovely purchase and were listening to him play on his guitar. It was really lovely, and, now, I have a stick !

 

Strangford Lough, Carrowdore, and Ballywalter

We came to Ireland for a vacation, of course. To relax, have fun, learn about another part of the world.  But one of the things we also came here for, one of the things we wanted to learn about, was John's family.  We spent a nice day and a bit exploring this part of Ireland.  This is the neck of the woods his family came from.

We started out at the Carrowdore Presbyterian Church.  Presbyterians are not a huge part of the Irish population, but they've been there since the late 1500s, and have pretty much stayed Presbyterian since that time. Our drive into Carrowdore, and some houses of the era.

We met Herbie (?) Robinson at the Church, and he let us in, talked to us for a bit, showed us around, and basically told us that that was all he could do.  The minister was not available, and he had all the church records.  But Mr Robinson was willing to take us to Dunover, and to the Whitechurch Cemetery.

The church in Carrowdore.

Dunover is a townland, a land division of Ireland.  John's great-grandfather, Hugh Hamilton, was born in Ballywalter, Dunover, and seeing the farmland around there was pretty amazing.  Hugh's wife, Great-grandmother Jane Robinson, was born in Carrowdore, Ballyrawr, only a few miles away, and we were able to see that, also.  Hugh's brother, Patrick, had a gravestone erected for their mother, Mary Ann Boyd, and we searched high and low for that stone, finally resorting to bothering one of the town workers on the site. He led us right to it.

Driving through Dunover.

 This school building is of that era.

Great-great Grandmother Mary Ann's headstone.

When Herbie left us, he pointed out the home of the minister for the Ballywalter church, and told us to tell him Herbie Robinson sent us.

Minister Graham had no idea who Herbie Robinson was, but gladly spent about an hour with us, showing us around the Ballywalter Presbyterian Church, combing through old records for names we recognized, and razzing us about our Lutheran faith.  In the end, we found nothing about Hugh and Jane, per se.  We did find a marriage registry for Patrick, and it showed that Hugh and Jane were witnesses at his wedding.  We also found a plaque that needs investigating, listing Hugh as a member of the congregation who served in WWI.  We had not heard that about him, yet, and will be checking into it.

A scene from Ballyrawr.

Aaand...the obligatory Irish sheep.

History...Prehistory...

Although, technically...

Wednesday, we left Dublin.  We headed to the Ards Peninsula, NW of Dublin, in Down county.  It's where John's family comes from, and we wanted to check it out.  But, along the way...

We stopped at Newgrange.  It was built 5200 years ago by Stone Age Irish farmers, making it older than the pyramids or Stonehenge.  Its a passage tomb, with unique art and characteristics.  Maybe not so unique; there are two other sites in the area; Knowth, and Dowth.  We visited Knowth just before Newgrange. 

The mounds "sit" on a circle of kerb stones, decorated with geometric patterns and swirls.  We see some of this in the Southwest.  But the difference here is that, unlike the Southwest, no images of humans or of animals appear in this art.  All of it is geometric, or swirling.

 This one has the appearance of a sundial.  Our guide told us that they have experimented with holding sticks in the center, to see if it is one.

 A view down the passage of Knowth.  We weren't allowed into the center of the tomb.

There was also a woodhenge in ancient times, which the archaeologists have rebuilt.

After Knowth, we headed over to Newgrange.  This tomb has been more reconstructed, although the interior is as it was 5200 years ago.  In all that time, the roof has never leaked.  Amazing construction.  We were allowed inside, but no photographs were allowed.  The passage opens into 3 chambers, arranged so that the passage and the chambers form a cross.  In each chamber, a basin was found, which held cremated remains.

The passage at Newgrange is aligned with the rising sun on the  days surrounding the winter solstice, (Dec 19-23) so that, as the sun rises, the absolutely dark chamber is illuminated.  They simulate that as part of the tour; its fascinating.  There is actually a lottery to be able to be in the chamber during that time of year.  We did not apply.

More rock art, from Newgrange, this time.  (Newgrange gets its name from Cisticercian monks, who were given the mound and the land around it.  "Grange" means farm, and this was their New Farm.)

This stone is at the entrance of Newgrange, and the triple swirl to the left is repeated inside, in one of the chambers.  It has become the symbol of the sites. 

And, sheep.  There are sheep everywhere in Ireland, as you will see if you keep reading these pages!

We then headed further north, into Down county.  We wanted to visit Down Cathedral, in the city of Downpatrick.   Downpatrick has been an important site since ancient times, and St Patrick is said to have visited here.  He is also believed to be buried in the cemetery there; at least a stone has been there for many, many years. 

 St Patrick's Cross, reinstalled in 2018

An older cross on the grounds.

And a view to the south of the cathedral.

Glendalough

Wednesday we decided to spend a day in the woods.  We went to Glendalough.

Glendalough is south of Dublin, and its name means "glen of the two lakes."  It is one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland.  It was founded somewhere around 600 by St Kevin, an ascetic who gave up the noble life he was born to for one of prayer and contemplation.  Unfortunately for Kevin, he was so good at what he did that people wanted to come and learn from him, which left him little time for prayer and contemplation.  He established a monastery at Glendalough, and then ran away briefly.

The site has a round tower, several churches, some stone crosses, a site called Kevin's Cell, and another called Kevin's Bed.  Several stories are told about Kevin.  The one I liked best involved a hollowed out stone and a deer.  Seems some ladies showed up at Glendalough, seeking shelter, but had nothing to feed their babies.  A passing deer stood up on the stone and allowed herself to be milked, so that the milk could be fed to the babies. Apparently, the animals also trusted Kevin.

We were sore from hiking Dublin the day before, but it was still a lovely day in a lovely place.  Wanna see some pictures?

This is inside the cathedral.  It was dedicated to SS Peter and Paul, probably started in the 10th century, but ceased being a cathedral by 1214.

A stone cross in the cemetery surrounding the cathedral.  The cemetery is still in use,

St Kevin's church, also called St Kevin's Kitchen, because the tower looked like a chimney, to some.
Probably from the 12th century.

The Round Tower at Glendalough, built between 900 and 1200, was used for a bell, to call monks to prayer.  Its floor is high above the ground, and the tower had several floors.  The thinking is that, if someone were to attack, the monks could climb inside, and pull up the ladder, closing themselves in for safety.

The Reefert Church.  Built around 1100, its name comes from the Irish, and refers to its use; it was where the local kings, from the O'Toole family, were buried.

Guess what this is?

St Kevin's Cell.

The Upper Lake of Glendalough.  Seems I missed out on taking a picture of the Lower Lake, but this one is prettier, anyway.

Heading back to Dublin, we found the Old Military Road, built by the British for use when they were searching for Irish rebels after the Rebellion of 1798.  We went up through Glenmacness and over the Sally Gap.  It was beautiful, reminding us of Skyfall, or the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

These yellow-flowering shrubs were everywhere, used as hedges for animals.  They're called gorse, and they can be as much an aggravation as they are pretty.  And they smell, surprisingly, like coconut!  (I found out today that the flower is poisonous, but, when the seed forms, it is edible, and is like a pea.)

A Little Out of Order

Today's breakfast view.

Today's afternoon coffee view.

These were taken from the windows of our B&B, Shoreline at Mount Stewart.  This is a truly lovely place, probably one of the best B&Bs we've ever stayed in.  We really enjoyed our time there; lovely room, great food, and an amazing view of the Lough, right out our bedroom and breakfast room windows.  We want to come back in a couple of years, and just spend a week, relaxing.