Although today was – according to the weatherman – going to be party sunny, partly cloudy, some shower and some rain… I decided to brave the elements and go exploring.

First stop was Donegal Castle.

From Wikipedia:

Donegal Castle (Irish: Caisleán Dhún na nGall) is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal Town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost fully restored in the early 1990s.

The castle consists of a 15th-century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing. The complex is sited on a bend in the River Eske, near the mouth of Donegal Bay, and is surrounded by a 17th-century boundary wall. There is a small gatehouse at its entrance mirroring the design of the keep. Most of the stonework was constructed from locally sourced limestone with some sandstone. The castle was the stronghold of the O’Donnell clan, Lords of Tír Conaill and one of the most powerful Gaelic families in Ireland from the 5th to the 16th centuries.

These stone stairs were amazing!!!  Just to feel the parts that were rough and the other parts that were word ever so smooth by centuries of people traipsing up and down…

…and while I was in this room (below) the wind gusted so hard, the window slammed shut…

Next stop was to give Boswell (trusty rental car) some go-go juice – and I observed a strange element…

From there it was off and gallivanting along small, relatively unmarked roads, just to see what we might find…

I think this (below) is what they call a “renovator’s dream” – or nightmare as the case may be!

…and the road was even skinnier than it looks here…

…and yes, as Murphy’s Law would have it, I did encounter a car coming the opposite direction a little later along this road, but with some mutual reversing, and a lot of breathing in, we both went safely on our respective ways…

Now back home and getting stuck into some more work…

Oh, and very excited – about to send Bridgit’s Book Three off to the printer!!!  YAY!  It will be live on Amazon by next week.

Happy Friday to you!

~ Bella

The beautiful Lough Gill / Loch Gile / Loch Gill was my destination today for a boat ride, departing from Parke’s Castle.  If you look to the far left of the photo below, you will see Parke’s Castle with the white tower, and our boat moored slightly to the right.

While Robert Parke’s fortified manor house dates from 1610, it was built on the site of the earlier 15th century O’Rourke Castle.

According to Wikipedia:

“The Metrical Dinnsenchus tells the following story of how the lake came to be and how it got its name.

“Bright Gile, Romra’s daughter, to whom every harbour was known, the broad lake bears her name to denote its outbreak of yore. The maiden went, on an errand of pride that has hushed the noble hosts, to bathe in the spray by the clear sand-strewn spring. While the modest maiden was washing in the unruffled water of the pool, she sees on the plain tall Omra as it were an oak, lusty and rude. Seeing her lover draw near, the noble maid was stricken with shame: she plunged her head under the spring yonder: the nimble maid was drowned. Her nurse came and bent over her body and sat her down yonder in the spring: as she keened for Gile vehemently, she fell in a frenzy for the girl. As flowed the tears in sore grief for the maiden, the mighty spring rose over her, till it was a vast and stormy lake. Loch Gile is named from that encounter after Gile, daughter of Romra: there Omra got his death from stout and lusty Romra. Romra died outright of his sorrow on the fair hill-side: from him is lordly Carn Romra called, and Carn Omra from Omra, the shame-faced [gap: extent: two lines] Loch Gile here is named from Gile, Romra’s daughter.””

While cruising on the lake, we listened to Irish ballads, and poems written by W. B. Yeats.  Yeats was passionately fond of County Sligo and it influenced many of his works.  Although he died in France, his wishes were that his body be brought back to his beloved Sligo – he is now buried in Drumcliff, County Sligo.

For lovers of old and classic movies, you might remember the movie, “The Quiet Man” starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

You might also remember that John Wayne’s character travels to Ireland to reclaim his family’s farm and his birthplace in Inisfree.

Well…  This is (below) Innisfree!

The stone wall you can see peeking through the trees was once a medieval church.

The Castle was basically closed for renovations, but it looks fascinating from the little that could be seen.

From there it was back home to one of my watering holes to upload the photos (the wifi in the apartment I am leasing is extraordinarily slow at the best of times) so that I could post this when I arrived home…

(to put the next comment into perspective, today I was wearing a long skirt (as usual), an off-the-shoulder top, and one of my absolutely glorious Downton-esque hats…)

…and if my day wasn’t already lovely enough, as I was leaving, an elderly gentleman stopped me and said, “excuse me lassie, but you looking like that all dressed proper like, you remind me of the pretty girls back when I was a wee lad” …and I’m guessing he was in import from Scotland, but not being sure, I didn’t say anything other than to thank him and tell him his comment made my day!

Well, although it is going on for 5:00pm, my work day is just starting so I had best get to it…

Sending love and smiles to all…

~ Bella

After a lovely sleep-in, Boswell (trusty rental car) and I went in search of a particular medieval abbey that dates back to 1508 – Creevelea Friary.

…and I thought yesterday’s excursion was skinny and windy?  It had nothing on these roads – and I must admit, it was fun!  …although none of these photos show just how skinny nor how windy they were in parts – as the thought of taking a photo while barrelling around a corner wasn’t exactly enticing…

…and again, we took some roads less travelled…

…and blonde moment – when I say the sign below, I wondered why they called it a Tabbey?

…and down a track, the Abbey comes into view…

While there, I had the place pretty much to myself with the exception of a lovely couple I met – Raymond and Vera.  While they live on the east coast, Raymond’s family is from the western side of Ireland and they are frequent visitors to the Friary.

Vera took me to a particular spot that has quite the history…

Father Bernard Peter Magauran was a Franciscan priest who, in 1826 became parish priest of Killanummery and Killery, and Titular Guardian of Creevelea Friary.

After his death on 17^thDecember 1837 aged 65 years, he was buried at the Friary, but there was such a strong belief that the clay of his burial site had miraculous healing powers that people to this day come and take a small spoonful of the clay.

“The last Friar of Creevelea

Bernard Peter Magauran was born in Ballintogher, Co Sligo in around 1772 in the Killery section of Killanummery and Killery parish. To circumvent the penal laws then in force, he travelled to St. Anthony’s College in Louvain, Belgium for his education, was ordained a Franciscan priest there, and also taught there for some time.

On returning to Ireland he served initially in Merchants’ Quay Franciscan church which was commonly know as Adam and Eve’s. In penal times the Franciscan chapel was hidden away in nearby Cook Street, behind a tavern with the sign “Adam and Eve” hung over it. To reach the chapel Catholics had to mingle with the sailors who frequented the tavern and walk through it to the rear. The chapel was demolished several times and the friars arrested, but they kept returning to rebuild the chapel and minister to their flock.

Whilst there a gilt lined silver chalice was commissioned with an inscription around the base that read: “Reverendus B Petrus Magaurane Adam & Eve Conventus Anno Domine 1820”. It remained with him for the remainder of his days, and then as was personal property, was passed on between friends and family, finally arriving some one hundred years later to the care of Canon Hugh Lynch, PP of Killanummery and Killery. In 1932 Canon Lynch presented the chalice to Cloonclare parish in Manorhamilton where it remains to this day as the alter centrepiece at St Clare’s church.

Father Magauran in 1826 returned home as parish priest of Killanummery and Killery, and Titular Guardian of Creevelea Friary. He was a very devout man, generous to the poor and caring of the sick and dying and was known by all as the last Friar of Creevelea. He was often seen praying before a carving of “St. Francis preaching to the birds” on one of the pillars in the cloister of the Friary. He died at his residence in Rathmoney, Ballintogher on 17th December 1837 aged 65 years, and was interred in the cloisters of Creevelea Friary.

After his death, his grave became a site of veneration for people of the parish and many beyond who heard of his good works, and to this day, people still leave offerings and the soil from his grave is believed by some to have curative properties.”]

Indeed, a section has been cut away and edged to assist those who come to pay their respects and to obtain a spoonful of the curative clay.

Vera was so lovely that she found a silk flower and put a spoonful of clay in it for me…  I was very touched at the gesture.

Actually, Raymond and Vera are off to America in November for the beatification ceremony of Father Solanus Casey, to whom they are related.  (Btw, here is a terrific link that gives you more information on Father Casey: http://www.themichigancatholic.org/2017/05/pope-francis-announces-fr-solanus-to-be-declared-blessed/)

Not knowing a great deal about the practices of the Catholic religion, it was wonderful to spend time listening to Vera and learning more about a subject that is quite foreign to me.

When Vera and I were looking up at the tree that is growing so precariously yet so strongly on the side of the wall (in the photo below), she was reminded of a poem of which she could only remember the last line – but I promised to go hunting for it:

“Trees”, by Joyce Kilmer

…and finally we head home…

Wishing you a most glorious day, my dear Friends!

~ Bella

We have had rain here for the past few days and while I do actually love the rain, I am not particularly partial to going exploring and sightseeing in it…

Although, yesterday evening, the sun began to peek through (these photos below from last night around 8:00pm), so I decided that today would be a road trip!

I left home around 10:00am-ish and the skies were still overcast but Boswell (trusty rental car) and I decided to press on…

We were heading north toward Donnegal…

…and if it you think you see fluffies sitting on the seats, you would be correct!  They are hot-glued to them!  I don’t know why, but I think it’s cute…

You’ve heard of a bird’s eye view – well, this is a bear’s eye view!

I also loved this road trip for several other reasons…  It was a real ‘driving’ road trip day.

While much of it is dual carriage-way, the challenge here is that it often is 100km/hr, and you round a bend, straight into a 50km/hr zone!

…or, you are doing 100km/hr and suddenly find yourself on a bend that is best taken at 45km/hr tops – without warning!

…and this was the first time in over a decade that I have driven a manual – and on these bending roads, I loved it!  I have done some rally driving a gazillion years ago, and while I wouldn’t tackle such an adventure again, it was ever so cool to be able to relive itty bitty bits of it…

On my trip, I was listening to a station playing Irish music – and in the breaks, they were doing a live feed from a local agricultural show.

At one point, they invited a five-year-old boy to join the presenter at the microphone and when he was asked about his favourite part of the show, he replied, “the tractors”.

“What other things did you see that the fair?” asked the presenter.

“Diggers!” responded the boy.

Laughing, the presenter then asked, “so, apart from tractors and diggers, was there another thing you saw at the fair – maybe the cows?”

“The loaders were grand,” said the lad.

…a little later the radio announcer said, “and we have a report that a black cow has gone missing from (forget the name) Farm.  If anyone has seen her, please call the station.”

Boswell and I took several ‘detours’ – as in road off to the right or left that just looked interesting… and this was one of them…

What this road trip also achieved was to allow me to totally overcome my apprehension of driving on ultra skinny, skinny, skinny windy roads!

…and finally we arrived at Slieve League…

According to Wikipedia:  Slieve League, sometimes Slieve Leag or Slieve Liag (Irish: Sliabh Liag), is a mountain on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, Ireland.  At 601 metres (1,972 ft), it has some of the highest sea cliffs on the island of Ireland.  Although less famous than the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Slieve League’s cliffs reach almost three times higher.

Lunch doesn’t get much better than this…  Fresh lobster roll, made on the spot for me by the same man who caught the lobster, and cooked it this morning!

…and around 4:00pm, back into Sligo County…

..and now I am home, sitting with my bedroom balcony door open, looking out over the same images you saw at the beginning of this post, and listening to a live concert in Sligo, just along the river (so the sound carries wonderfully!)

What a fabulous day!

~ Bella