Friday, August 8

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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 family chapel for the O'Rourkes of Breffni. It was the last Franciscan friary to be built before the suppression of the monasteries by English king Henry VIII in the middle of the 16th century.

Like many of the O'Rourke sites we have visited in our time here, it is an Irish national monument. Nearby are the ruins of what is believed to be a fifth century church founded by St. Patrick himself. Within the main chapel structure of the friary are the graves of the great Irish noble, Hugh O'Rourke and his wife, Catherine McTernan (see photo). This was an amazing place in a beautiful, serene setting overlooking the River Bonet.

After touring this beautiful site, we headed back to Lough Gill to the area of the other O'Rourke castle (the one now known as "Parke's Castle"). Our goal was to find a way to get out to a small island just a short distance off the north bank of the lake called Church Island. It is so named because of the ruins of a very old church building that still exist. We cruised by during our boat tour on the Rose Of Innisfree earlier in the week, and it looks like a lovely little place. The church there was used by the O'Rourke chieftains as a place to safely store all the family records. Unfortunately for all the O'Rourke descendants, a fire destroyed much of the structure and many of the records inside. Anyhow, we did find out that the captain of the Rose Of Innisfree takes groups out there from time to time for camp-outs. Needless to say this will be on our list of things to do next time we're in these parts.

In other interesting news, we found out there is a DNA project based in County Leitrim that can establish from which line of the O'Rourkes one descended. Ryan will be participating in that study in the near future. It will be fascinating to know his precise lineage to learn about family members in centuries past as well as those still living in this area.

Well, we'd better be turning in for the evening now...big day tomorrow. Seamus McCabe paid us a visit from up the road earlier this evening and said, "To bed early this evening." Who are we to turn down advice from an Irish sage with 88 years of experience? We're hoping our hotel in Dublin has free internet access, but if not, our next blog entry will be after we are back home in the states. So in either case, we thank you again for taking an interest in our adventures here in the Kingdom Of Breffni, home of the mighty O'Rourke clan!

-- Ryan & Kelly

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