On Saturday, we drove north and east to Kylemore Abbey and traveled further into the lovely seatown of Westport. Kylemore was built in 1868 by a wealthy Englishman as a romantic retreat for his wife. It’s an outstanding example of neo-Gothic architecture. In 1920, it was bought for use as an abbey for Benedictine nuns whose abbey in Flanders was destroyed during World War I. As you can see, the abbey is in an extraordinary setting on Kylemore Lake and at the base of a mountain. Today, there was a reunion of alumnae of the abbey school. You can imagine the lilt, lyric and joy of the women greeting each other, friends from long ago. “Is tat yerself Mary O’Toole?” Mary Margaret, Margaret Mary, Elizabet (no “h” sound, thank you), Ann, Bridget, Siobhan? A cacophony of voices high and low, young and old. With a mix of melancholy and regret. The school, girls only of course, is closing after educating generations of young women from the finest families in both Ireland and from the Irish diaspora worldwide. A victim of changing tastes and economic downturn. The final class of ten girls will graduate next year.
The remaining pictures are from our drive to and back. Oh, and yeah - Kay discovering the charms of Bulmer’s Pear Cider in a Westport pub.