I was in a bit of a funk after looking at Monica's and Mike's pictures from Sunday and yesterday. I looked half dead - stooped way over - looking like I was about a hundred years old. I never like pictures of myself, but these were the pits! And I was still feeling tired - from jet lag maybe? From the trip to the office on Thursday before we left? From the cleaning after the cat? From all of these? I started wondering what the hell am I working for? I have always had the job with the benefits - Johnny Murphy did landscaping which was dependent on the weather. We moved to the Cape about 11 years ago - we had always rented but bought a house in Falmouth. It was a fixer upper, but I could afford it on my salary and not be scrambling to pay bills. JB was going to help fix it up.
Mike has come and gone a couple of times since we moved here - John Brendan and his wife Tina are here but are planning to move to Florida in January. Mairead is in Seattle for at least a year and has said she will never move to the Cape. Danno and Amanda have their own house now. Johnny Murphy died in April. The house needs repairs that I can't afford without taking a loan. So why am I working? And how long will I keep working? And for what? To pay for a mortgage?! Anyway this is the mood I was in as we left Micheal and Connemara Coast Hotel after another hearty breakfast and a wonderful stay.
We drove down to Oranmore - Clarinbridge - to Dunguaire Castle. We parked and walked back to the Castle for a look. I had been here back in the 1980s with my son Danno. The castle seemed to be as I remembered it, but I didn't remember the gift shop.
Dunguaire Castle is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, near the Clare border.
The name derives from the Dun of King Guaire, the legendary king of Connacht. The castle's 75-foot (23 m) tower and its defensive wall have been restored. In the 1600s the castle passed to Richard Martyn(Martin) who was Mayor of Galway - he lived here. The Mrtyns owned the castle until this century. The Martins also owned Ballynahinch Castle near Roundstone. "Humanity Dick" Martin began the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Mike took some pix of a couple of tourists so they snapped us.
Medieval Banquets are now held in the Banquet Room.
We continued on to Ballyvaughan down through the Burren which they say is like the lunar landscape. It is sheer limestone cliffs, ledges, hills.
For years I have wanted to see the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a megalithic portal tomb. Mike is a very accommodating driver and agreed to make the short detour. I was telling Mike how disappointed I was when I saw Stonehenge - I expected big huge stones - and it seemed small compared to what I was expecting. I was thinking the Poulnabrone Dolmen would be the same - and it was - it was smaller than I expected but impressive at the same time.
I had been to the Aillwee caves in the 1970s or 1980s - Mike had just been there a couple of years ago - so we skipped the caves.
We drove by Caherconnell Fort - an ancient ring fort. Since we were heading to the ferry in Killimer, we drove by the fort. Plus we are spoiled in Sneem with the fabulous Staigue Fort in nearby Castlecove. But this area would be worth a couple of days to tour around and investigate.
Mike walked up close to the dolmen.
Look at the limestone rocks - they are everywhere.
"Poulnabrone is a classic example of a portal tomb with two tall portal stones flanking the entrance to a rectangular stone-lined chamber which is covered by a single large capstone. A low oval-shaped mound (cairn) of loose stone, which helped stabilize the chamber, surrounds the tomb. This cairn would originally have been no higher than it is today, suggesting that the dramatic tomb structure was designed to be the main visual focus."
"Archeological excavations were carried out at Poulnabrone between 1986 and 1988 when the fractured eastern portal needed to be replaced (the original portal stone can be seen lying on the limestone pavement just to the north of the tomb.)
The excavations revealed that at least 33 individuals were buried in the chamber - infants, children, adults, both male and female. It is likely that the bones, which were highly fragmented, were initially buried or allowed (to) decompose elsewhere before being transferred to this tomb sometime around 3000 BC. Personal possessions buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, quartz crystals, chert and flint weapons and implements, and fragments of pottery (many of these artifacts are on display in the Clare County Museum in Ennis.)"
Radioactive dating has shown that those buried in the chamber died in the period 4200-2900BC placing them firmly in Neolithic or New Stone Age. Over a thousand years later (1767-1413 BC) during the Bronze Age, a newborn baby was buried in the portico, just outside the entrance to the chamber. This was not just a formal burial place but must also have been a focus for related rituals and ceremonies. The transfer of bones from their initial resting place suggests strong links with the ancestors.
The tomb continued to dominate the landscape of later generations as evidenced by the Bronze Age burial. Today it provides us with the opportunity to imagine and contemplate the past.
We headed for Kilfenora and made a pit stop at the tourist center. Then we continued on to Ennistymon which is a busy little town. I was there once before with my friend GeeGee Rafferty in 1978 - we were in stitches laughing when we saw the sign for Nagles Pub and UNDERTAKER!!! We couldn't imagine such a thing so we stopped in for a drink. Mike and I just passed by, but we were saying that there are some nice little towns - plus Salthill/Galway - that are worth an overnight. We reached the coast at Lahinch which looks like a lot of fun - we stopped for a few minutes overlooking the beautiful beach - there weren't too many waves but there were surfers in the water just waiting to catch a wave! I'd love to come back here for couple of days or a weekend.
We had thought about going to the Trumpster's golf course in Doonbeg but had decided to catch the 4 pm ferry across the Shannon so Mike stepped on the gas. We just made Killimer and rolled onto the ferry. It was lovely topside - sun still shining, light breeze, great views despite the power plants!
We decided in Tarbert to head to the main Killarney road in Abbeyfeale since it was getting late, and we were getting hungry. It was a pleasant drive through Athea. Once on the main road, we were bypassing Castleisland - into Farrnfore - then Killarney. I keep forgetting that Mike isn't used to these roads - he depends on GPS. I've been driving them since 1973 so I am my own GPS!
We hadn't eaten since breakfast - Mike was feeling the need for supper at D. O'Shea's in Sneem. So we stopped at McDonald's in Killarney for a pit stop. I had a cheeseburger - Burger King is sooo much better. Mike had something, and we were on the road again. It was still a beautiful day so Mike made his first drive over the Killarney mountains - my favorite way to go. When I see those rugged peaks, I feel like I am home. We stopped above Ladies View for some pictures. Then it was on to Sneem. Mike did great driving over the mountains - he usually drives too fast for me - but we made it unscathed.
Views from Ladies View on the mountain road from Killarney to Moll's Gap.
We headed for Kenmare at Moll's Gap instead of taking the Sneem road - I wanted to stop at the ATM for some cash. As I was inserting my debit card at the machine outside the AIB bank, someone tapped me on the arm and welcomed me home - Patrick Connor from Sneem had recognized me and came over to welcome me.
We headed on to Sneem and stopped at O'Shea's for supper - which was good as always. Then we headed for the Little House on the Prairie as Johnny Murphy called our house. It felt great walking in the door to a warm house.
As I sat there that first night in our house, I was thinking of all the lovely towns we had passed through. When it is off season, most hotels have special deals to attract customers. If I was living in Sneem, why wouldn't I do that - every month or so take a couple of days and travel to one of these places? Like Joan and Monica staying in Galway. It is not so easy to do it now because I always want to spend time in Sneem to make sure our house is okay, and I have limited vacation time at work.
Johnny Murphy and I had talked about retiring to Sneem - I wasn't sure I could live in Sneem full time. When he died, I initially thought that I could never live there full time. Now I am thinking that if I wasn't paying for that mortgage, I could probably afford to live in Sneem and travel to Boston as I wanted - when I mentioned it, friends and family said I could always stay with them if they could stay with me. And I might get to spend time in those cute little towns I had just passed through!
I think Patrick Connor was a sign - I wasn't even in Sneem, and I met someone I knew. I have lived in Falmouth for over 10 years and know hardly anyone. So why should I stay in a house where I may be living alone and working just to pay it off? Why shouldn't I retire to Sneem where the house is paid off, and I know so many people. So that is what I am going to do next year!
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