Moving on to SligoSunday May 12th As expected the rain moved in during the night. We went to mass at the local church, bumping into our neighbors at the B&B. A nice chat after church made us feel a little like locals. The rain had then let up so we explored around Carrick a little. It is a very nice village with a lovely river walk and a couple of cool bridges.
And I thought this tree made a good pic. Looks like a fairy garden.
As we drove towards our quarters in Sligo the drizzle started spitting on the windshield. All hope for a good sunset was melting away in the rain. So what is there to do on a soft drizzly night in Ireland?
Over to SligoSat May 11 The clear skies held into Saturday so we decided to burn one of our days over in Co Sligo. The places we had in mind would be much better in good weather and rain was forecast for the coming week. And of course it was quite close. First stop was the Benbulbin Forest walk. This was a six kilometer loop that went went across the front of Benbulbin and then doubled back to get a good look at Donegal Bay.
After turning the corner of the loop we got grand vistas of Donegal Bay. Below is Cassiebawn Castle and right above and to the left is Killybegs harbor complete with cruise ship. And to the left of that is St. John's Point Lighthouse.
We then drove around to the east and south side of Benbulbin. We found this cool waterfall back there.
Coming back we got this view of Cassiebawn silhouetted against the Slieve Leauge cliffs.
The blueish light was due to a high overcast moving in. No epic sunset tonight so back we went to Carrick. Donegal Town and Slieve LeagueFriday, May 10th The pattern of alternating cloudy and sunny days continued. The morning was crystal clear and would remain so all day and evening. Our objective for the morning was Donegal Castle in Donegal town. The route took us past a few points of interest. The first was Killybegs, which gets the prize for the biggest place in Ireland I'd never heard of. I had read somewhere that it is the main fishing port in Ireland but otherwise I don't think it ever crossed my radar. Well goodness. What a place! It is the home port to LOTS of ocean going fishing boats/ships. And the harbor can accommodate large cruise ships, one of which was docked there and would shortly unleash 1500 people into the town. Quiet little fishing village? Yeah, no.
We would stop here for lunch later in the week. For now, on to Donegal town and the castle. The O'Donnell clan had a fortress on this site since the 5th century. The one here now was built by Red Hugh O'Donnell in about 1460. It changed hands several times during the various rebellions. It is in good repair and gives at least a vague clue how the richest guy in the province actually lived. In the picture below the great hall on the left was added in the 1630s.
Like all circular staircases in these castles this one turns to the right as you ascend. That's so a right handed defender will have his sword directly over an attacker's head while the right handed attacker's sword is in an awkward position.
We also went over to the nearby Franciscan Friary, at the mouth of the river Eske.
Below is old Red O'Donnell himself.
On the way back to Carrick we stopped at the Secret Waterfall. In fact we timed the whole day trip to be there at that time, low tide. The waterfall drops into a cave and then flows into the sea.
We then headed up to the main attraction of this part of Co. Donegal, Slieve League. They are billed as the highest sea cliffs in Ireland and I've seen the claim they are the highest in Europe. It all depends on your definition of the term "cliff". Achill Island in County Mayo has a higher mountain that drops directly into the sea but Donegal says it's not a cliff. In any case, at 1972 feet they are close to three times the height of the Cliffs of Moher and a very impressive stretch of scenery.
When everyone had soaked up enough of this natural beauty we headed back down to The Rusty Mackerel for dinner. I would be heading back up for sunset.
When I got back up to the cliffs I realized that the sun would set too far north to light up the cliff face. But I had another composition in my hip pocket for a backup.
But there's more. When all the color was gone I drove back to Carrick. It had been a long day. There was however, one more light show in store for us. This was May 10th. All over the northern hemisphere the aurora borealis was putting on a spectacular display. Boo & Rollie went out to scout for it and did they ever find it! We were farther north than any city in Canada and had very dark skies. At times it stretched from horizon to horizon. To the naked eye these colors were not this vivid. But the sensor on my camera sees more than our eyes, especially on a long exposure. The images below are as they came from the camera. They are not pumped up in post processing.
Carrick and Irish TweedsMay 9th First was the Kilclooney Dolmen, a very ancient tomb, actually a cluster of tombs. On the walk up to see it we encountered these two fellas who wanted their noses rubbed.
We also came through the village of Ardara and stopped in at a shop selling hand woven Irish tweed. County Donegal has long been the center of Irish tweed and as recently as the 1980's there were hundreds of weavers turning out hand woven cloth and garments. Their children had better opportunities in other fields so the craft was dying. But improvements in design and marketing (mainly the internet) allowed them to sell directly to their customers so the younger generation is picking it up again. We visited, and bought from, three shops on this trip so I will report on all three now. The first was Triona Tweed Center in Ardara and it was the most "professional" looking showroom of the three. We spoke with the owner/foundress who comes from a long line of weavers. She is now passing the craft on to her daughters. They also have a store in Donegal town.
Next we have Cyndi Graham. We first met Cyndi in 2016 when my sister Kathleen asked to stop in her shop to see if she had sweaters. She had no sweaters but she was so welcoming and generous with her time it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. She had found the loom in her uncle's shed and restored it herself. After eight years and one pandemic we were not sure if she would still be there but, oh yes! She and her sister sell everything they can make. Cyndi weaves the fabric and her sister sews the garments.
The third was Studio Donegal in Kilcar. Their showroom was also impressive and they have three full time weavers working on the premises every weekday. To really see how this craft is done this would be the best of the three places to visit.
Getting back on our timeline we proceeded to the village of Carrick where we would stay three nights. There are several "A list" subjects along this part of the coast so we wanted plenty of time. After dropping our luggage we drove down to Muckross Head to have a look around. It is one of several peninsulas that stick out into the Atlantic so it might make a good sunset picture.
We then settled into our quarters in Carrick for the next three days. Lots to see along this stretch of coast. Ireland DunlewyWednesday May 8th I'd been studying this little valley on maps for over a year, trying to get my bearings on where everything is in relation to everything else, particularly Mt. Errigal. The picture in my head had everything much more spread out. But it was all quite compact and intimate with the mountain or The Glen as a background in just about every scene. It was just a stretch of the legs from one photo op to another. If only the light gods would give me favor. The first morning the sky was pretty flat so I went over to the abandoned village of Glenthornan, just across the lough.
Then I grabbed a shot of The Church of The Sacred Heart, an active Catholic Church.
Then I drove (I wasn't in need of a stretch of the legs) back over to The Glen where there is an abandoned church which needed its picture taken. I could at least check out some compositions. The gorse was in full riot so that helped.
After lunch we continued down the coast road and this was some seriously spectacular scenery. The one lane road hugs the cliffs making it a great scenic drive. This was typical of Ireland's coast from Galway all the way around to Derry. Not many people, empty beaches, heart stopping scenery, just waiting patiently for us to come and see it. The rain came and went and I didn't want to stop for mediocre light so I don't have much to show you
And this out the car window.
And on the way back we had to stop for this little cottage.
Thursday May 9th As usual I got up and out early. The sky showed promise but the sun would be rising behind the mountain, not the most desirable arrangement. But you won't know if you don't try so I went down across Lough Dunlewy hoping to get some reflections of the mountain. But there was too much wind on the water for that. Here's what I wound up with.
Then I tried to smooth out the water with a long exposure. This one was 60 seconds.
One more shot of The Glen before we headed west. Rumors that I had to be dragged kicking and screaming out of Dunlewy have been greatly exaggerated. I assure you it was nothing worse than the usual whining and sniveling.
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© Patrick K. Kelly
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