My Recommendations:
Must Do's ...
- Aran Islands - be sure to plan your purchase ferry tickets in advance
- Galway City - enjoy the many pubs, shops, and the nightlife is a must!
- Clonalis - ancestral manor of The O'Connor Clan now a B&B
What You Can Skip ...
- Temple Gate Hotel - Ennis, Ireland
I back-tracked south to the city of Ennis to find a hotel for the evening. Stacey would arrive early in the morning from London so I needed to be at nearby Shannon Airport to pick her up.
My first impression of Ennis was not the best. It was a gray, chilly, rainy evening and the downtown area was dead. With its cobblestone streets, it seemed this was a sleepy little city/big town that may have, at one time, been bustling but the economy had taken its toll. (Later on my trip I would learn just how wrong was my impression.)
I checked into
Temple Gate Hotel in quaint, albeit dead, downtown Ennis. It is a family-owned hotel where the staff is very friendly but the rooms and food are simply adequate.
As soon as I walked into the airport, I saw my dear friend coming towards me. It was so fantastic to see Stacey!! It had been two years since we'd last seen each other. In 2008, I had flown to Bath, UK on a business trip then spent the weekend in London celebrating Stacey's birthday. My relationship with this dear friend is one of those very special friendships which never feel the physical absence once reunited. I'm missing her greatly as I now write. Stacey and I met in Venezuela back in 2000, which is a separate posting for a later day.
Connacht ~ Land of the O'Connor Clan
Galway is on the edge of Connacht (Connaught), which is obviously one of the western provinces of Ireland. Connacht is made up of counties Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo. Connacht is named after the Connacht dynasty, the O'Conor clan. The current senior representative is The O'Conor Don. The holder of The O'Conor Don title since the year 2000 is Desmond O'Conor Don. Forget what I said about the O'Brien Clan rule, the succession of O'Conor descent continues unbroken since 76AD, making it one of the oldest royal families in Europe!
According to the former O'Conor Don's obituary published in the
Irish Times on 7/22/2000, "it is generally acknowledged that the holder of the title would be the foremost claimant to the Irish throne, if one were proposed. Over the last few hundred years, members of the O'Conor family have continued to contribute to the social, political, cultural and religious life of Ireland. The fact that they remained staunchly Catholic during the dark days of the Penal Laws in the eighteenth century, is a source of great pride." This type of ancestral thinking is a bit old-school for Americans, given we're such a new country. But I must admit, I like it.
Here are a few sites for more information on O'Conor, including
Clonalis, the ancestral country manor that is now a B&B (I really must stay here the next time I visit Ireland):
Galway City
 |
| Galway Time! (photo by Stacey) |
Stacey & I had planned to spend the day hiking/cycling on the Aran Islands and then kick up our high heels in Galway that night. Unfortunately, I had received bad information regarding the ferry service to the islands and we were unable to get there. My list of must see's for my return trip to Ireland was getting incredibly long. I felt really bad as Stacey has been to Ireland many, many times, (she has relatives who live there) but had never been to the Islands and was so looking forward to it. But we ended up having a fabulous day anyway!
Upon arrival in Galway, a city of several colleges, we quickly realized it was a national holiday weekend. Unlike the US, on these 3-day weekends the Irish leave the countryside to spend the weekend in the city. (In the US, we flee the city for beaches, country B&B's, et al.) What was quite interesting is that each major city in Ireland had a festival for the weekend each with a different theme. That weekend Dublin and Belfast hosted a Maritime Festival, Cork hosted a Bandon Music Festival, Kilkenny hosted a Comedy Festival, and Galway hosted a .... wait for it ...
LITTLE HAVANA FESTIVAL!! Being that I love to salsa dance, I was BEYOND excited!!
The downtown sea-side area has cobblestone roads and is lined with shops and Irish pubs...not what I typically think of when I think of a latin quarter. There were several bands playing simultaneously at different locations throughout the days and nights. It was such a warm and sunny weekend that the streets were jammed with people, shops were overflowing, and outdoor cafes bustling.
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
We decided the first thing we should do was find a place to stay that night ~ we were a bit concerned we would end up having to stay outside the city. We did, however, find a very clean, basic room above a tavern,
Garvey's Inn, on
Eyre Square (officially renamed John F. Kennedy Memorial Park as he visited just before his assassination). Perfect location as it was still in the main area and walkable to the festival, but far enough away that we would be able to sleep at night. We were both a bit hesitant at first, but we were willing to 'rough it' in order to keep from having to drive to hotel out of the city. And, it was very clean and the staff very friendly.
 |
| Eyre Square (Kennedy Memorial Park) |
 |
| Eyre Square |
 |
| Garvey's Inn |
We settled in our room and headed out to explore. We found an adorable restaurant in the middle of the festival and sat outside to enjoy a glass of wine and some lunch. We ended up spending a couple hours there as we had so much to catch up on. There was a couple next to us who were absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, he was a beautiful as she was. They fell into conversation with the two women sitting on their other side. One thing I had planned to do in Galway was to buy a Claddagh ring at the shop of Thomas Dillon, original designer and official makers of the ring. (See my earlier post entitled
Traveling with Jewelry for the history and meaning of this traditional Irish 'love' ring.) As luck would have it, the shop was across the street from our cafe.
 |
| Thomas Dillon shop |
I purchased what became a much treasured ring.
The funny thing about this is ... all of my life I thought this was such a cheesy-looking ring.
I get it now.
In fact, I'm admitting right here in front of God and the world that I now love the movie
Leap Year which is about unexpected & poorly-timed real love, Ireland, and features the Claddagh ring. Very romantic. (Click the link for the very sweet trailer.)
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
Here is an array of ring applications:
Women's Rings:
Men's Rings:
Stacey and I spent the afternoon strolling through the shops, the festival booths, gazing at the architecture and graffiti (Stacey loves taking photos of graffiti), and the city in general.
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
 |
| A booth at the street fair. |
 |
| (photo by Stacey) |
 |
| Such an incredibly beautiful building that I came back to view it often. |
 |
| (tile inlaid into the 'Wedgewood' building above) |
On the seafront, we came up something that was so funny-looking to me. There was something similar to a giant pool cut out of the concrete. In it, men were in kayaks and playing what looked like water-basketball. It was some sort of tournament and went on all day, all weekend. It just gave me a giggle everytime I saw it.
We also found the very historical and lovely original site of Claddagh, once a fishing village on the western outskirts of Galway. Here is where Claddagh, Ireland used to be:
We rested a while in our room with a cup of lovely tea. I'll never forget the the curtains blowing in the window and chatting with my friend. That night, once we regained our energy, showered, and donned our heels, we headed out on the town for some nightlife. The pubs were full as were the streets. Just inside the doorways of the pubs were tables of stacked plastic cups. Take all the beer you want into the streets, just not glass. We ran into the beautiful couple who sat next to us at the restaurant and spent the evening with them, some old friends of theirs from Cork, and the women they were talking to at the restaurant. One of their friends from Cork is a flight attendant on Aer Lingus. The guy in the couple was originally from Galway, so he knew his way around. Very late that night, we ended up at
Halo Nightclub where we danced until 3:30am. I so needed a dance night that even when my group left the dance floor, I remained. It was simply too much fun and long overdue!
But, sadly, Stacey was scheduled to fly back to London the next day. 36 hours with a dear friend simply isn't enough time.
Next up: Connemara district of County Galway (Clifden, Kylemore Abbey); County Mayo (Matt Malloy's Pub); and, a special farewell evening in Ennis ...
No comments:
Post a Comment