Nora's England/Ireland Travels 2002
Galway, June 16, 2002
Lots of rambling for us. We've never seen much of East Galway. It's known for its history more than its scenery, as it has Connemara in the west to compete with. But I enjoy the look of the long green fields with their stone fences, and the twisty little roads. So I pick a route, more or less.
We head first toward Athenry--famed for the song. It's retained a lot of its medieval flavor, still has the huge north gate and some of its walls. It's still a bustling little market village with streets the width of toothpicks. Big lorries manage to thread their way through somehow or other.
The weather's warmer, and there's some sun, so we park and walk over to the castle that's being restored. Both it and the priory (must look up the difference between friary, priory and monastery one of these days) are largely intact. We have a three story keep, towers, walls, and a guided tour. We're with a family of Brits, and the younger man is interested, but just as concerned that he get out of the tour and into a pub in time for the soccer match. He and our Irish guide rib each other about each country's chances in the World Cup as we get the history of the place. The history's convoluted, and Irish history tends to be, with battles and invasions and politics.
They''ve done an amazing job with the restoration, which gives us a chance to wander around the place, look out through the slot windows, peek into the loo--makes you very glad you live with modern plumbing--and admire some of the carving.
From there we walk to the priory, just across the river. We're alone here, and I'm actually preferring it because of its lonely atmosphere, the high wild grass of its cemetery--found more Sweeneys there--but the clouds are rolling in, and look like they mean business.
We have a brisk walk back to the car, but don't quite make it before the sky opens up on us.
Drive on to Loughrea, while the sky clears again. Another market town, it sits on Lough Derg. It's a good sized town, with complex, twisting streets. We decide to drive south from there, and hit it on the return loop. I want to see Portumna and its castle while the weather holds. It's a bit of a jaunt, but its pretty again. We see some modern houses, then windy ribbons of road with little but fences and sheep. We pass a large, flat building--white with brown trim--and I think how uninspired it looks. Then notice its the School of Irish Architecture. Have to laugh. Except for the occasional house where you can guess the owners have a great deal to spend, the modern Irish house lacks all the charm of the older cottages or old stone farm houses. They're mostly block boxes, stuccoed and painted cream, and distinguished only by their gardens.
Portumna is lovely, a pretty village with a gorgeous slope of a garden at its entrance. Signs request you keep the village tidy, and people must pay attention. It has a forest park beside the entrance to the castle. Restoration there is still underway, but what they've completed is awesome. This is a huge fortified house with an expansive estate. You walk through two arched gates and into a spreading entrance of graveled paths around green islands that front the sprawling stone building.
Through another arch in the wall on the side is the Kitchen Garden, restored. An amazing spread of two or three acres, full of flowers and herbs and vegetables. Beautifully done, and I might have stayed there some time but--haha--starts to rain. We duck into the greenhouse, and I wander among the plants there while the shower passes over.
Inside, up wide stone steps, the first floor is finished, and holds pictures and drawings of the projected work, the history of the house, and a floor plan. We walk through the great hall, the pantry, buttery, the lesser hall. It's a magnificent place, and the English lord who was given the estate by the crown was sympathetic to the Irish--still he fortified it in case the Irish weren't sympathetic to him, but it remained intact until an accidental fire destroyed much of the interior in the 1800's.
The weather's wonderful as we leave, and we're heading back to Loughrea as we want to see the Turoe Stone reputed to be in a field a couple miles north of the village. It's a pillar stone--probably used for fertility rites--and is ornately carved with Celtic designs, dated 100 BC. Can't miss this.
So we drive, following the guide book directions, get turned around and pull over to look at the map again. There's a young dog, Border Collie mix who trots over to the car. When BW looks, he's plopped his forefeet on the back window, and is happily looking in. I roll my window down, and he comes over to stick his head in and let me pet him. He's maybe six months old, and I want to pull him right into the car with us. When we go to drive on, he shows his breeding and works hard to herd the car--barking, dancing in front of us as we inch forward, racing behind, beside us, every way we maneuver. I imagine he'll do well with his sheep or cattle one day.
We head out and find the signs for the stone, as well as one for the Turoe Stone Pet Zoo. Hmmm. Turn onto a skinny ditch of a road, lined by hedges, and BW has to pull into those hedges as a car heads toward us. Then it opens into fields, and a house, and a well-attended playground. Swings, a little football goal, sliding boards, lots of kids running around. They've added a tiny snackbar onto the house, and sell snacks, and tickets to the petting zoo, which seems to consist of a couple of pigs and some chickens. Though I imagine there's at least a donkey somewhere on the premises.
The stone sits, phallically, in the center of the field without fanfare, flanked by the pig on one side and the laughing kids on the other. We go into the snackbar, buy some crisps and a soda and ask if we pay to see the stone. No indeed, just walk on out and have a look.
This amazing thing has stood there for more than two centuries, and the carving, going smooth with weather and time, covers it. For some reason I find it very fitting that it sits as it does, in this little family enterprise of playground and pet zoo, with the working farm producing in the next fields. It's turned into a fine day, so there are many children, a group of young boys running by, their faces rosey, a young mother with her little brood picnicking with the food they brought with them at one of the little tables outside the snackbar, another child petting a large pig through the opening of a wire fence.
No one walks to the ancient stone but us.
We sit at a table in the sun, and BW goes in to ask the young man if he knows who won the day's match. The UK took it, so I know London's celebrating. The young man tells us he had a vision the night before regarding Ireland's match on Sunday. 3-1, Ireland. I ask if he had visions before, or if this was a one-time thing. He grins and says, oh, he has them. We're planning to find a pub and watch the match, so I'm hoping his vision pans out.
We take the long drive back to the hotel, and have a drink, then dinner in the bar. Toying with going into town for music, but the rain comes back, seriously this time, so we just hunker in and read for the evening.
Supposed to rain today, too--vegetable farmers are facing a hard year as it's rained since May 17. Potatoes are rotting in the ground, and carrots can't be sowed. Seems fitting we visited Athenry during such a time.
Nora
ADWOFF > Nora's Travelogues > England/Ireland 2002 > Galway, June 16, 2002 > Pictures from BW!
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