Belfast & Armagh

Belfast & Armagh

3^rd May.

We set off from Draperstown at 8am after a night out, it was a sluggish start. I was glad we were going to Belfast as secretly I was stressed about getting to the airport for our Glasgow flight so this trip gave us an idea of the time needed to get there.

The Hilton loved the fire

An hour & a half later we parked the car in the Hilton car park & desperate for a comfort stop walked into the Hilton foyer like we belonged, heading for the coffee shop & the amenities. Finding coffee, paper & a lovely fireplace settled in to plan the day.

Feeling refreshed I headed for the concierge guests need a map & direction. Map in hand we headed for the Belfast Open Top Tour Bus stop & boarded the bus for a two hour tour. Advertised as the most comprehensive tour of Belfast we were not disappointed. Belfast we found out had recently been voted “Europe’s Friendliest Regional Capital”& we sure had the funniest guide to date. 

City Hall

We visited the city centre or as otherwise known the Cathedral Quarter. It is named after the St Anne’s Cathedral that dominates this section with the largest Celtic cross in the world. The cathedral itself is ornate but Protestant & the spire of hope was erected on the roof in 2007 dedicated on 9/11 as a symbol of Christian Hope. I thought it looked ok inside but outside could not quite work out why you would put such a modern structure on a classic 1932 church.I was impressed by the lovely Titanic quilt, tapestry chairs & kneel pads.

The huge Celtic Cross

Passing City Hall, we came into the Titanic area launched for the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic sinking is Titanic Belfast the world’s largest Titanic themed attraction.  Everywhere you go there seemed to be a reference to the Titanic & the city is sure pinning hopes on tourism returning for this attraction.

Across the road were the shipyards Harland & Wolff where the Titanic was built & still housed the two massive cranes Sampson & Goliath looming over what was once the world’s biggest shipyard. These cranes can be seen from everywhere in the city.

We drove through the roads that divided the town in the “troubles” The Falls & the Shankill. They were covered in political statements in the form of murals & the town remains separated by the peace wall & gates that can be shut in times of tension. I felt rather emotional passing through these areas I could not really fathom this era in Irish history apart from the fact that it was very sad & so many lost their life mostly innocents. The guide being able to make a joke of everything at this point broke my chain of thought with “While the protestants were in the shipyards building the Titanic the Catholic were at the other end of town building the iceberg” typically always able to laugh at themselves & just as we passed a mural of Hurricane Higgins the world champion snooker player.

We drove the great drive up to Parliament House in the Stormont estate the gardens & building were a statement high on a hill overlooking Belfast. Another story flowed from our guide’s mouth about how the air force took over this building in the war & it being white & high on a hill was a definite target so the painted it black with a mixture of tar & manure. After the war this was scrubbed off but the story goes that the manure never left.

After an overload of information the last little bit of facts imparted that was Belfast was also rated as the 2^nd safest city & that Ireland was the safest country for travelers. Everyone laughed after hearing all the stories & seeing the troubled areas but the guide reassured us it was now safe as all the criminals were preoccupied running the country & too busy for committing crime.

After the tour & a quick lunch we discovered Johnnies Cupcakes taking a picture for Crissha the cupcake queen. We also stumbled upon Garfield’s bar Johnny just had to have a photo of this as that is his call sign when 4 wheel driving.

Leaving Belfast we stumbled upon the Lough Neah Discovery centre, this lough is the largest in the British Isles. Lough Neagh is renowned as, the earliest known inland site of pre-historic man, for great fishing, fantastic calm area for water sports & a haven for wildlife. Leaving the car park a VW started up with a roar reminding me of Allicia I took a photo for her it looks nothing but I think there was a good motor under the bonnet from the noise.

 

Moving off from Lough Neah after a lovely walk we headed to Armagh & the Saint Patrick's Trian. Founded by Saint Patrick Armagh is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. We were too late in the day to see the Book of Armagh which is similar to the book of Kell's that was a bit disappointing but the Catholic St Patrick's sure did not disappoint. Perched high on the hill overlooking the whole city it rose like a magnificent beacon. The church was decorated in the most amazing tiny mosaics all over with ornate lights & a beautiful collection of stained glass windows the nicest I thought was The Last Supper

Lastly we rushed to the Protestant St Patrick's too late to go inside but after nearly being locked in by the minister must have been or our sins I managed a single photo. It paled in comparison like the poor cousin of the day. 

Then homeward bound to Draperstown one last stop at Lough Fae for a wake me up walk around the Lough. Johnny spotting some screening machines we took a picture for Mick.

Leenane to Draperstown

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.