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In Teampall Bán
I took my granddaughters, Aisling and Cora to soak up a piece of history at Teampall Bán
The little chapel has the history of some of the worst statistics from The Famine on its door.
Listowel Tidy Towns have recently placed a commemorative plaque remembering one of its’ volunteers, Eileen Worths, who loved the little cemetery.
Across the road from the entrance to Teampall Bán I saw that great progress has been made in the construction of the bypass.
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Barbara Heads North
A brief summary of the 2nd tour: Places we visited:
Listoke Distillery-story of the distillery and the Gin School.
Belfast City: Panoramic Tour of the Fall and Shankill Roads to learn of the effects The Troubles had on the city and the entire island. Titanic Quarter-learning everything about the legendary RMS Titanic, from standing in the shipyard it was built all the way to its maiden voyage. That evening we went to The Old Inn in Crawfordsburn, a quaint town north of Belfast City. This restaurant was built in 1614. A delicious dinner was had by all. A real treat for us. We got to see how truly beautiful Belfast City really is and how it’s a booming city now. Lots of construction everywhere. Definitely up and becoming for Belfast City.
Giant’s Causeway and Derry CIty all in one day. We headed north along the Antrim Coast for a visit to the famous Giant’s Causeway. We made a stop at the Glenariff Forest Park at the Glenariff Teahouse for some tea and scones. Giant’s Causeway is definitely a sight to behold and one that will leave you in awe when you do. This is my 2nd time seeing them and each time, it definitely leaves you in awe. We headed to Derry City, the historic walled City. This was the last walled city to be built in Ireland and the only city whose walls remain completely intact in the country. We were met by a local tour guide and embarked on a walking tour of the city to learn all about Derry’s turbulent past. We were supposed to stay a night in Derry City, but had to head to Donegal Town instead.
I was delighted with the switch. My room had a view of the Donegal harbor. The next morning, we made our way to Irish House in Donegal where we saw a demonstration of how tweed sweaters were originally made as we watched the threads weave in and out on the old wooden loom. We headed to Sligo Town for lunch. We couldn’t see Ben Bulben because it was covered in clouds. We went to WB Yeats grave and church. Then we headed to Roscommon to Kilronan Castle one of Ireland’s most luxurious castle hotels and stayed the night at the castle. It was a real treat on beautiful grounds. We had a beautiful dinner being our last night with this tour group of 14!
Then the next day, we headed to Arigna Mines where we got to experience a unique perspective into what coal mining life was like in Ireland from the 1700’s all the way to its closure in 1990. Once above ground, we head to the ancient village of Kells. This olden village was where the famous Book of Kells was written and protected for over 800 years before being moved to Trinity College in the 17th Century. I learned that this quaint village is part of the reason Ireland is referred to as the Land of Saints and Scholars. After touring Kells, we made our way back to Dublin to end this amazing tour.
The title of this tour was WILD ATLANTIC EXPERIENCE: 10 DAY TOUR Premium Sightseeing Tour with ROYAL IRISH TOURS. I highly recommend this tour!! We were in a small coach with 14 people on each tour. What better way to see Ireland-you get to sit back, relax and let someone else do the driving. Ireland is simply a beautiful place which I will always come back to visit. 18 days wasn’t enough, but enough to recharge my batteries for the next school year!!!! Hopefully it won’t be another 6 years for my next visit!
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A Gaslight
When street lighting was introduced it was powered by candlelight, gas or oil. Eventually electricity replaced other sources of power and the old lampposts were removed and replaced with less decorative but more functional lamp standards.
The lady who is commemorated on this park bench is the reason that we still have one old street lamp left outside Behan’s. Bibiana lived in The Horseshoe when it was Foran’s and she prevailed on the town council to leave the lamp outside her home.
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A Fact
The African baobab tree can have a circumference as large as 100 feet. One such tree in Zimbabwe is so wide that the hollowed out trunk serves as a bus shelter. It can shelter up to 40 people.
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