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Published: August 8th 2008
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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 amazing stuff, including a large tank in which they held their live catch of fish until they were ready to cook it up. It seems nobody knows exactly where Brian's body is buried, but one of the O'Rourkes from Rhode Island has carved a makeshift memorial into a wooden shamrock that gives a brief history of Brian's brief but valiant life.
From there, we headed down to Galway city. With a population of just 72,000, it feels more like 720,000. Perhaps it is simply due to all the tourists (stinkin' tourists!), but both foot traffic and vehicle traffic were heavy. Galway seems
Ryan @ Ross Errilly Friary
Yes...that's what it looks like.to be a nice city with plenty of culture and history, but we both agreed we prefer the Irish countryside to the cities. In comparing the larger towns / cities we've been to, we ranked them as follows:
1) Belfast
2) Galway
3) Donegal
4) Sligo
We'll be experiencing the "rat race" that is Dublin over the weekend, so that should be quite an experience.
Anyhow, after spending the equivalent of about $13 for three hours of parking, we drove west from the city to the famed hills of Connemara. Many great Irish bands have their own versions of this
old beloved song which, unfortunately, is about the bootlegging industry in this gorgeous region of the country. Still a catchy tune, though.
The drive was narrow and curvy (surprise!). The only difficult part is getting stuck behind the vehicles that are traveling at about 30 km/hr in a 100 km/hr zone. Unless you pass them, they will single-handedly double or triple your drive time (which would pretty much take all day). So Ryan did a lot of passing while Kelly did a lot of gasping and bracing. Again, Mama Roark would have fainted very early on.
After
Fish Tank
Here's the tank in which the friars kept their live catch until they were ready to cook it. seeing the hills, we headed back into Galway city for a traditional Irish dinner (Kelly had excellent shepherd's pie, Ryan had roast pork and potatoes). Obviously, the Irish have been known for their potatoes for a long time, and rightly so. They have just a little different texture here, and a natural taste that sets them apart from any other. A very good traditional dinner, followed by a traditional Irish music session with a casual gathering of local Galway musicians in the Western Hotel & Pub. There were nine musicians in all (guitar, lute, penny whistles, bodhran, accordian, Irish flute, and spoons), and they were wonderful. This was the real deal -- very authentic gathering of the locals. They were speaking the Irish language to one another between numbers, so that was very neat. Check out the video we've posted, and just keep in mind the audio leaves a lot to be desired -- they were a lot better than the video sounds.
We've put a bit over 1,200 miles on the rental car in six days, so we've seen a lot of the country already. One more full day here in the west, then its off to Dublin
for our final two days. Thanks for keeping up with us!
-- Ryan & Kelly
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