Friday was another slower-paced day in anticipation of our busy Saturday. We head out early tomorrow morning toward Dublin with as many as four stops along the way to see and experience a few more stellar Irish sights. We decided to head back into deep O'Rourke country today to find one or two things we overlooked when we visited earlier in the week. We learned that just across the River Bonet (pronounced "Bonnet") from the ruins of the Breffni castle in Dormahair lies the Creevelea Abbey. Founded in 1508 by Margaret O'Brien, the wife of Owen O'Rourke, this served as the [View Full Entry]

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A jam-packed day with plenty of driving today. We set out early to the southwest headed for County Galway. We decided it was worth the two hours to check out what seems to be the favorite spot in all of Ireland for many. We learned that Brian Og O'Rourke had been buried in a Ross Errilly Firary, about 30 km north of the city of Galway. This great warrior requested burial here (after he being mortally wounded in The Nine Years War) in what has been the most well-preserved of the abbeys and friaries we have visited. Some pretty ama [View Full Entry]

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After four straight days of touring at break-neck pace, we decided it was wise to take it a bit easier for one day. Wednesday was deemed the day to take a more leisurely pace. We slept in to a very Irish-like 9:00 a.m. We lounged around the cottage past lunchtime, then headed out to Drumshanbo for some horseback riding! Kelly had a horse named Caesar (who she named "Little Caesar" because of his smaller size), and Ryan had Rusty, a big, strong and more insubordinate beast. Both were just as pretty as can be. After 30-minutes of instruction on the English-style [View Full Entry]

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We experienced a very typical wet Irish day today. It was raining from the time we stepped out of the cottage in the morning until the time we returned (past midnight). A lot of that was nothing more than a mist, but it was just a very wet day. But when you're in a place that gets as much rain as Ireland, there's no way you can let that deter you from seeing what you want to see. We set this day aside as our time to see some of County Donegal (the northernmost county in the Republic Of Ireland). Donegal [View Full Entry]

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We spent an amazing day in the former kingdom of the O'Rourke clan (Ryan's ancestors). Everywhere we went there were sites named after the O'Rourkes! We started in Dromahair (The Ridge of the Two Demons) where we could only see the ruins of the first O'Rourke castle through a gate (which Ryan tried unsuccessfully to break down). We did manage to climb around in the ruins of O'Rourke's Hall, an attached building, which was built by later inhabitants. From Dromahair we headed out to the other O'Rourke castle site which is now called Parke's Castle. Tiernan O'Rourke, King of Breifne, built [View Full Entry]

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We arose this Lord's day morning and spent about 30 minutes in worship -- just the two of us. It is unknown just how far the nearest meeting place of the church of Christ lies from where we are (probably well over 150 miles), so with some planning ahead, we were equipped with even the emblems of the Lord's supper (thanks to the Grahams!). We headed out to County Leitrim's capital city, Carrick-On-Shannon. The beautiful River Shannon meanders through this quaint little town known for its many noted boating activities. From there, it was on to the town of Sligo in [View Full Entry]

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We have arrived in the storied land of the mighty O'Rourke clan! And since you're reading this, you can probably deduce that we do indeed have internet access....high speed wireless even!! After a few hours of driving from Belfast where we picked up our rental car, we pulled into our self-catering cottage -- which sits on a real working dairy farm. This will be our home for the next seven days, and we couldn't be happier! We stopped along the way in the resort town of Enniskillen (right on the Northern Ireland / Republic of Ireland border. We had lunch and [View Full Entry]

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Today was our last full day here in Northern Ireland. We caught the bus to downtown Bangor for one last breakfast at Ward's. We didn't order the "Ulster Fry," though, as we felt two of these in one week might result in immediate cardiac arrest. We opted for tea & scones. Ryan ate one Treacle & Ginger scone and one date & walnut scone (delicious). Treacle is like molasses. Kelly ate one of the treacle & ginger scones as well. We walked around the streets of dowtown Bangor for a couple of hours. The highlight was the marina on Bangor Harbor. [View Full Entry]

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Today was the day we selected to head to the town of Carrickfergus, home of the famous Carrickfergus Castle. Like Grey Abbey, the original structure of this castle dates to the 1100's. There were some ideas that were quite revolutionary...including the very brutal "Murder Hole," and the three latrines that emptied right into the sea (see photo)! After returning home, we had a special evening of classes. The ladies class was taught by Kelly, and Bill taught the guys in one final session on personal evangelism. There were 24 people packed into the Grahams' house...the most they can ever r [View Full Entry]

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Wednesday evening was our final night of the gospel meeting, and it turned out to be the high point of the week. It was very well attended with several hearing the gospel for perhaps the first time. It was our most well-attended session of the week, and it was just a great way to end the meeting! Everyone was in agreement that the meeting was an excellent success. Earlier in the day, we had brunch at Ward's in dowtown Bangor. We both had an "Ulster Fry." It consisted of a fried egg on top of potato bread along with some fried [View Full Entry]

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