Visitors
Candee's sister Laura and her husband Bill, along with their grandson Hunter, came up to visit us on Tuesday afternoon/Wednesday morning. It was a bit of a drive up from where they've rented a place for three weeks - Co Limerick. They've been in country for a week and a half already and have seen Bunratty Castle, Blarney Castle, the Rock of Cashel, the Mitchellstown Castle, and a number of the towns and villages in the area. Later in their trip they'll head to Dublin and to the areas in Ireland's Ancient East, areas with sophisticated construction works that pre-date the great pyramids - the national treasures of Newgrange, Knowth, and the Hill of Tara.
We drove them around the beautiful, somewhat rugged, landscapes by us here in Co Mayo, quite different from the area in which they're staying - rolling hills and well-tended farms, stone walls and fat, healthy dairy animals, smaller villages and less tourist traffic. Westport can be congested; its recent selection by The Irish Times as the "Best Place to Live in Ireland" along with north Co Mayo's more recent selection as "The Best Place to Go Wild in Ireland" has led to an uptick in popularity among both Irish people seeking a stay-cation, and international travelers drawn to the many hillwalking, biking, water-oriented activities. Another view of Ireland though, and Hunter seemed especially intrigued by Croagh Patrick (saying he'd return with his father to "climb the Reek").
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| At the foot of Croagh Patrick |
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| Climbing the holy mountain |
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| Laura and Hunter in Doolough valley |
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| Hunter by the Doolough famine memorial |
As always, Marion and Padraic extended their extraordinary hospitality to our visitors and invited us all up for "coffee" - which, of course, meant croissants, scones, chocolate-covered cookies, fresh sliced bread, etc. We had a very nice visit with them before sending the Scovilles up the road to the National Museum of Ireland's Museum of Country Life, which documents life in rural Ireland from the time of the Great Hunger (~1845) until the 1950's. It's a museum rich with artifacts - dress, tools, home objects, period photographs - well curated and very well presented. Laura teaches history and social studies, Hunter's a curious young fellow, and Bill's a curious old guy, so I'm sure they enjoyed the museum.
BTW, thanks to Laura and Bill for buying dinner.
Taisteal sábháilte. Go n-éirí an bothar leat.