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Published: October 10th 2013
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The days are filled with good conversation and trips to local sights. Mick took us to the Locke Distillery. This is the oldest distillery in the world dating from 1509 and parts of the old factory are still operating. The waterwheel that powered the grinding wheels is still turning and the gears that turn the drive shaft are still doing their job. The display was very well done, providing enough information to understand the process and history but not so much that you get bored or feel overwhelmed.
The "new" distillery is much the same except the power is electric and the stills are new, shiny copper. A woman was there to check the temperature of the still. Upstairs the were four huge mash vats. These are two stories tall and contain the milled grains and hot water. There the sugars are developed and the liquid drains off. The remains are used by local farmers for animal feed. Three of the vats were filled with mash, not a pretty sight that, and the fourth was being hosed down for the next batch.
After the distilling process the whisky is stored in American oak barrels for
at least three years + one day before being bottled and sold. We were given a taste of the end product. I was limited to a thimble full since I was driving and I wish I had a picture of Pat's face when she tasted hers. Mick and the barman had a nice conversation while Pat and I went next door for tea and scones.
One of the main quests on this trip was to get a copy of Mommy's birth certificate and learn more about her grandfather. Dominic had contact with a Dohney in Mountrath and the three of us drove over to visit. Donnel Dohney was a fountain of information about the local area. It is still a questions if there is any family connection but he was intrigued and will continue to research. His wife, Eileen made is tea with scones as we heard about the civil war from Donnel's perspective.
We went to a cemetery that dated from the 1500's. This is where Donnel's grandfather is buried and not far away is a Dohney headstone. It is revealing how the cemetery developed. Monuments from the 1700 and early 1800's are
well carved and elaborate up until the famine. Then there were just stones from the fields, not carved, placed in rows at time when people were dying of starvation in great numbers. Then in the late 1800's the monuments became elaborate again.
When we got home, Pat had some surprising news. Caroline had found Mommies birth certificate. It took a bit of time because ........... the date Pat used was wrong. But not really wrong. We used to celebrate Mommies birthday on August 12. Mommy always insisted she was born in December and so she was. It's that date thing. 8/12/1896 in Ireland and most of the world is December 8. In the US it's August 12. Mommy was right after all.
We headed out to a local Italian restaurant. The food was ok but lacked something. I finally figured out that there was no garlic. Not sure how you cook Italian without garlic but they did, probably to suit the local taste.
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