29 April
2012
Leenane
to Draperstown
Leenane
Hotel is one of those old Hotels you see in the movies. It has squeaky floors, old furniture, timber
staircase and full of old world charm from the ornate open fireplaces to the deep
bath, old sash timber windows to the mandatory Irish wolfhound in the
corridor. We had spent the previous
night frantically looking for a bed and breakfast in the late evening light and
after looking at several places which were not very nice had practically given
up & had set off for the town of Clifton.
We found ourselves in very hilly country and around a sharp corner we
found this place neatly tucked in with the sheer mountain rising up in the
background
KYLEMORE ABBY VICTORAIN WALLED GARDEN
The next
day From Leenane we circled back to revisit Kylemore Abbey. We had been there the previous evening
however as it had been late in the day were only able to view the walled
garden.
The
garden was simply Stunning and had Sharon simply enchanted. It was like all her dreams were coming in at
the same time.
Kylemore
Abbey for me was simply a magical experience.
Situated in Connemara Co Galway it is nested beneath majestic mountains
and is looking over Pollacappul Lake. It
is a storybook Castle built on 15,000 acres complete with a miniature gothic cathedral,
mausoleum, Victorian walled garden and buildings & a forest of oak
plantations.
Built on a Rock Shelf |
The
fireplaces within the Abbey are all constructed from solid granite and are in
immaculate condition. They look like
they could have been made yesterday
THE FLAG OF RAMILLIES
Inside
the main foyer in the Abbey hangs a very famous old flag (the flag of
Ramillies) which depicts an Irish harp.
It has so much history attached to it I found it amazing to just see it
here in this unmanned hallway. It tells
a story about an Irish brigade made up of soldiers who left Ireland after the
defeat of King James 11 and were fighting the French army with the English
forces in 1706. After a famed battle in
Ramilies Irish soldiers had captured this flag from the British and deposited
it to the abbey at Yves for safe keeping.
The nuns hung the flag in the choir and brought it to Kylemore when they
arrived in 1920
The Flag of Ramillies |
The
Abbey itself tells a love-story about Mitchell Henry who built this magnificent
place as a gift to his beautiful Irish wife.
As the story goes his wife tragically died on a trip to Egypt at the age
of 43 and Mitchell Henry distraught built a miniature gothic church in her honor
which was fitted out with the best stone architecture I have ever seen. He commissioned the finest architect of the
day to design and construct it and wanted it to convey feminity which is
evident from the delicate carved stone flowers along the internal walls.
Delicate stone carvings |
Minature Gothic Church |
Even the
gargoyles are depicted as angles with smiling faces. Inside the structure is supported by granite
columns made from coloured granite imported from the four provinces of
Ireland. Green from Connemara, Rose from
Cork, Black from Kilkenny & Grey from Armagh.
Granite Columns from the four Provinces of Ireland |
A
fantastic stained glass window throws light thoroughout the inside.
Further
along we witnessed the Mausoleum where his wife was buried as he could not
stand the thought of her body in the cold ground
Mausoleum |
As we
left Kylemore I looked over and Sharon was shedding a few tears. I must say I
was feeling a little throaty myself. The
day was now in the afternoon and we had a long way to drive. We drove north through Westport, through Castlebar
and on to Sligo not stopping until we reached Bellek where we parked in the
car park of Beleek pottery and had a look around. There was a pipe band playing in the courtyard
when we emerged and we waited a while to hear them play.
From
Beleek we drove along the shore of Lough Erne and crossed the border into
Northern Ireland near Kesh. This was
a strange moment for me as when I left Ireland in the early 80,s crossing the
border was a big event with lots of check points, cameras and fortified
buildings. No longer the case now as we
did not even see a sign to let us know we were now in the North
Finding
a McDonalds in Omagh we stopped and ordered a coffee and made contact with my
mum on Skype. We got details of my
cousins in Dunnamangah then made our way there for a quick visit. From here we crossed through Plumbridge then
the Sperrin mountains and entered Draperstown (the place of my birth) through
Straw. We stopped in the church at Straw
and I visited my father’s grave (this was the last place I visited almost 18
years before). This was an emotional
time for me as a lot of memories came flooding back from my years growing up
here.
Straw Chapel |
Sharon
managed to snap some pictures of me entering our home in the centre of
Draperstown and meeting up with my Mother.
Tonagh Hill |
St Patricks Street Draperstown |
Big welcome from Mum |
It was
quite late when we arrived however mum managed to get us into the local
restaurant. As we entered the restaurant
the proprietor recognized me (turns out we were at school together) I have been
bumping into people on the street ever since and Sharon is amazed that so many
people know me here as when she grew up in Sydney she could stand in the middle
of the street all day and not see anyone she knows.
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