The best day so far. Beautiful weather and Padraic’s good offices as a tour guide. We set out from Westport and headed southeast to Lough Na Fooey, Lough Mask, Lough Corrib, and the village of Cong. Lots of history, lots of gorgeous scenery. And a lovely stopover for lunch at Burke’s Tavern in Clonbur - certainly our favorite place for lunch. Two years ago when we had first met the Duffys, we had an extraordinary experience at Burke’s. As I wrote at the time - “I’d like to thank Steven Spielberg for a lovely day yesterday. Or, perhaps, more appropriately, John Ford or Hollywood Central Casting who could certainly have sent Padraic and Marion to us as the quintessential welcoming, gracious Irish ambassadors. But this is not “The Quiet Man,” they are all too real and so genuine. And our experience in John J. Burke and Sons pub in Clonbur proved the point. It might have been scripted by one of the writers at Paramount Studios. But first things first. We headed out with the Duffys at 10 a.m. for a tour of the Mayo lake country southeast of Westport. We took the high road and were treated to some stunning landscapes. The lakes are just gorgeous and very popular for brown trout and salmon fishing. If you want to pull out your map of Ireland, we motored around Lough (Irish for lake and pronounced “lock”) Corrib, Lough Cara, and Lough Mask. After more touring, we ended up in the village of Clonbur and went in search of a cup of coffee and a bit to eat. We went in Burkes House “ti bhurca” and all ordered the rhubarb crumble - so delicious and covered with a lovely rich custard. Within minutes the screenplay began as people entered the pub and Padraic engaged with the bartender and various customers. Irish was spoken, family lineage was explored, and previously unknown connections were established. Every single person had an easily understood place in the world, in an authentic way, not the superficial “six degrees of separation” sort of way that usually frames our view of the world. Family means something, means something that goes back in time and place. Candee and I sat in Burke’s absolutely bemused and delighted to be part of such an commonplace yet extraordinary experience. We just smiled and shook our heads as the banter and badinage flowed so sweetly and naturally. “ What a great moment and we were very happy to re-visit Burke’s.
Although most of our day was perfect, Padraic’s patience paid off for us mightily when we waited for a shower to pass so we could appreciate the beauty of Lough Na Fooey, nestled beautifully in its own little valley. Just a great day all around. We will be thrilled when Marion can re-join us after the responsibilities of her busy week have passed.
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| And a car actually came from the other direction |
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| The High Road toward Lough Mask |
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| Lough Na Fooey |
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| After the shower |
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| Back at Burke's |
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| Cong River, aside the abbey |
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| Returning to Westport, Croagh Patrick on the left, Clare Island in the distance |
