On Thursday we headed into central County Mayo to visit Ballintubber Abbey and enjoy the area around Lough Cara and Lough Mask (you remember from last year that lough means lake). We were blessed with a fine day, filled with blue sky and puffy white clouds.
Ballintubber Abbey was founded in 1216 by Cathal Crovderg O’Connor, the king of Connaught. Connaught is one of the four provinces of Ireland and encompasses the northwest quadrant of the island. Ballintubber is known as “the abbey that refused to die” because it’s one of the few Irish churches that ‘s been in continuous use for almost 800 years. The forces of Oliver Cromwell, the brutal British military commander, took off the church’s roof in 1653 and attempted to suppress services, but the priests surreptitiously continued to hold mass in the damaged church. The Penal Laws, enacted later to outlaw the practice of the Roman Catholic religion, led to the elimination of churches throughout Ireland, but people still managed to worship at the abbey. Ballintubber is the starting point for the “Walk of Patrick,” a pilgrimage of approximately twenty miles that culminates at the top of St. Patrick’s holy mountain, Croagh Patrick. On the way, one would walk past many humble and plain grave markers from the Great Famine of 1847.
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| Lighting a candle for young Michael Joseph Kiernan |
After leaving the abbey, we headed down toward the town of Ballinrobe. On the way, we stopped at the ruins of the Moore estate. Moore was a English landowner with a vast property overlooking Lough Mask. Although known for treating his Irish tenant farmers fairly and with kindness, nevertheless his magnificent home was burned by the IRA during the War of Independence (starting in1916). Padraic lamented such unnecessary excesses and thought it sad that Moore was treated with such brutality. The walk through the forest surrounding the house was just magnificent.
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| In the bower |
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| Outside the walled garden |
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| The lough just below the Moore Estate |
After the Moore estate, we drove into Ballinrobe and had lunch at the Ballinrobe Golf Club. We secured a table by a window overlooking the 18th green and watched as the players in the Connaught junior girls’ match competition finished their last hole and shared their expressions of congratulations and regret. What beautiful swings!
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| The beautiful 18th green |
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| The clubhouse at Ballinrobe GC |
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| Enjoying a cup of cafe americano |
On the way back to Westport, Padraic took us via the high road and we could see for over a hundred miles in some directions. Just magnificent. We could also see the beginning of bonfires throughout the area marking the celebration of St. John’s Eve.
Back at the Duffy's, we turned our back on Marion for just a moment while we were viewing our still photos of the day on Padraic’s TV (the best way to see them), and she soon presented us all with a magnificent salad plate filled with smoked salmon, green leaf, tomatoes, potato salad, pickled beets, carrot salad, bread, ham, turkey, and other things even my food obsessed mind cannot recall.
Lorraine, we have not peeled potatoes and chopped leeks yet, but we have taken to washing the dishes in a feeble attempt to express our thanks for the generosity of this home. Hope the shop is going well. P.S. Grumpy’s been on his best behavior.
