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On this particular day, we were driving from County Sligo to County Mayo to visit the Ceide Fields Neolithic site, an award wining heritage site located along the rugged North Mayo coastline ( https://www.outdoorfitnesssligo.com/blog/ceide-fields-neolithic-site ) We decided first to take a quick detour and visit one of Ireland's most spectacular Friaries, Rosserk Abbey. Located on the banks of the River Moy, it was built in the 15th Century by a Chieftain of the Joyces, a powerful family of Welsh origin who settled in Connacht in the 13th Century.
Rosserk Friary is well preserved making it easy to imagine what life along the Moy must have been like during the years the abbey was inhabited by a community of friars from the third order of St Francis. This order existed out of married men and women who wished to lead a Franciscan life but, because of their married status, were unable to join the First Order (Friars) or Second Order (Nuns).
The church, which has an attractive bell tower and a fine four-light east window, stands at the south side of the cloister. On the opposite side is the refectory or dining hall where once freshly caught salmon from the Moy would have been served. On the east side is a sacristy and chapter house with above it the dormitory. In the south-east corner of the chancel is a double piscina used for washing the vessels during the mass ceremony. It features carvings of a round tower, two angels and the instruments of the passion. Many of the large fireplaces are still present to this day.
Rosserk Friary is worth the visit if you find yourself in North Mayo. Where it is one of the lesser visited monuments in ireland, it should be on your itinerary as it is one of the finest examples of a preserved Franciscan friary in Ireland.
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The Plantin Moretus Museum (www.museumplantinmoretus.be) is located at the Vrijdagmarkt (Friday Market) in Antwerp. The museum is the original residence and workshop of the Plantin and Moretus publishing dynasty who were world renowned for their entrepreneurial skills. Plantin moved his family to the residence in 1576 and his family lived and worked there for the next 300 years. Throughout those years, the "Gulden Compass" as the house was named changed and expanded in size to fit the ever growing business. Walking through the museum which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, you are transported back in time by about about 400 years. It is the only museum on the prestigious UNESCO world heritage list mainly because of the uniqueness of the museum. It includes a prestigious mansion, the only fully equipped printing workshop from the 16th century, the world's largest selection of Plantin and Moretus editions,... Walking through the house, you can admire the original wall coverings and creaking oak floors from the 16th century, but also the oldest printing presses in the world . Within the walls of the patrician house is a quiet garden where the noises from the city are blocked by the old buildings surrounding it.
Where the bottom floor is accessible for everybody, wheelchairs won't be able to access the first floor. This floor has many floor level changes. Starting with the ground floor, it is here that you find the impressive workshop that once was the beating heart of the business. With a 56 strong workforce, it was the largest business of its kind in the world at this time. First used in 1580, it contained 16 presses. Two of the presses date back to the 16th century where the others are from the 17th and 18th century. Where the compositors would set the lead type in a composing stick to form a line, these lines would then be assembled on a sturdy board to form the page.
The great library is still organised today like a private humanistic library of the 17th century, with high shelves filled with books arranged according to size, lecterns, globes and busts. The museum now contains the largest selection of Plantin and Moretus editions, many of which are on display. The old shop is another interesting part of the house. With its counter and cabinets still intact, the shop used to sell the books as loose sheets. If a customer wanted a book, then they had to bring the loose sheets to a bookbinder. Within the shop, you can still see the money scale for checking silver and gold coins. Another room that intrigued me was the room where they made the lead letters, copper plates and wooden blocks used during the printing process. Everything was managed in house in those days, although Plantin had set up an international distribution network of booksellers who would help him sell his books.
But the museum offers so much more, you can admire a rich art collection that include portraits by Rubens. the museum's collection of paintings includes 71 portraits. it was Balthasar Moretus who asked his good friend Peter Paul Rubens to make portraits of his grandparents.
In the upstairs rooms, you find room upon room with original books, manuscripts and original prints. Within the extensive collection are atlases, science books, almanac's and many more publications. And this extensive collection is available online.
And last but not least, there is the fabulous courtyard garden. Already famous during Pantin's own time, it was frequently visited by kings, princes and prominent figures. The garden you see nowadays was created in 1992 using plants that were popular during the 16th and 17th centuries. Being a close friend to some of the greatest botanists of his day must have helped him in designing the garden. Botanists like Rembert Dodoens had their books publicized through Plantin, many which can still be admired in the museum.
The Gallarus Oratory is located on the Dingle Peninsula, one of the most stunning parts of Ireland. This ancient church which is believed to be about 1300 years old is one of Ireland's most iconic buildings. Arriving at the visitor centre, we started the tour with an introductory video about Gallarus Oratory before we took the short walk towards the Church. The building itself is the perfect specimen of dry rubble masonary. The roof is formed by the gradual rise of the side walls from the base upwards. The last stone placed on top forms the top of the roof and surprisingly makes the building fully watertight.
In the west gable is a square-headed doorway nearly 2 meters high and in the opposing wall is a window. Inside above the round-headed window are three projecting stones, which may have been used for hanging a lamp or book, or maybe were part of a canopy over a now-missing altar. Gallarus Oratory is situated within a monastic enclosure where once early Christians lived and worked. At the side of the Northern wall is a leact and Cross-slab. The upper part of the slab is inscribed with a cross within a circle and the lower part bears the following inscription COLUM MAC DINET. Over the many years, successive invaders like the Vikings and Normans burned, robbed and destroyed the settlements around Gallarus.
Rain, driven almost horizontal by the strong winds, made driving from Sligo to Cong difficult enough on the narrow backroads. Cong is a beautiful village on the border of County Galway and County Mayo. On this particular cold morning, Cong was still bustling with tourists who were there to visit the Quiet Man cottage, Ashford castle and the fabulous Cong abbey.
Myself and Dolores had planned this trip to Connemara for a while, and although we had decided to sample the beauty of the fabulous landscape on offer, we would only be spending 10 hours in Connemara. Cong was our entry point into Co.Galway, a fabulous county marked by desolate landscapes, a place where you can find yourself hiking the Twelve Bens in the morning, have a refreshing dip in the Wild Atlantic in the afternoon and finish off an active day in bustling Galway. The first thing we noticed was the amount of foreign cars, especially French ones. Connemara has always been popular with French tourists, especially after Michel Sardou sang about Les Lacs du Connemara. By lunchtime, we had reached Roundstone, and while we drove into the little fishing town, the rain decided that enough was enough, and grinded to a halt. It was only just gone noon, but we were on the road since early morning, so we decided we were going to grab a quick hearty lunch. Our choice was quickly made, O'Dowd's seafood bar and restaurant had some interesting dishes on their menu, and they didn't disappoint. Mussels, seafood chowder and seaweed hummus was our selection, and all was as tasty as each other.
2 fighting seagulls made us look up while walking back to our car, and to our delight we noticed that the rain had gone and the low hanging clouds were disappearing making way for a few patches of blue sky. And that is Ireland, during our 10 hours in Connemara, we got exposed to rain, sunshine, witnessed rainbows,... , we changed from jumpers to rain jackets back to Tshirts,.... the only thing which doesn't change is the amazing landscape. Our next stop was Dogs Bay, a white beach surrounded by the clearest water. And the weather didn't put a damper on the people visiting this amazing strech of coastline, some of them jumping into the chilly Atlantic only to re-emerge screaming with happiness, or should we say shock caused by the freezing water.
The area around Roundstone is marked by bogs, small lakes and a fairly flat landscape. But in the distance, you always see the Twelve bens which stand there tall and impressive. Next stop was one of the Atlantic Way Discovery Points, Derrigimlagh Bog. It was here that the worlds first commercial transatlantic wireless station was opened , but it is also here where the first non-stop transatlantic flight landed. The walk is worthwhile doing, it is very educational and explains all that there is to know about the wireless station.
Another observation myself and Dolores made while driving towards Kylemore abbey is the amount of sheep which wander around Connemara. And they seem to prefer walking along the few roads which meander between the impressive mountains of connemara, or just laying on the road enjoying their afternoon nap passing no heat of the many tourists driving by them.
Next stop was Kylemore abbey, one of Irelands main tourist attractions. The amazing Abbey and it's walled gardens is flanked by a pretty lake, at the back of the Abbey is the imposing mountains of Connemara. The Abbey has been home to the Benedictine community since the 1920's , and it is mainly the last years which has seen the restauration of the victorian walled gardens,... Kylemore Abbey is not to far from another impressive location, Killary fjord , Ireland's only fjord. Killary harbour is approx. 16km in lenght, and at it's deepest point it is 45m deep. And we ended our Connemara trip with an unexpected find. Along the road overlooking Killary fjord in the Misunderstood Herron, a roadside cafe selling the freshest of food like mussels, smoked salmon,...all of which can be finished off with one of the tastiest of cakes available,... So, Connemara is a must visit location in Ireland, one where it really doesn't matter if it rains or not, one where you can discover all that Ireland has to offer.
I has visited the Cliffs of Moher before, I had proposed on top of the Cliffs of Moher to my other half, so decided to pay them a visit again. So what are the main facts about the Cliffs: a) They are designated as a special protected area (SPA) under the EU Birds Directive 1979. b) The cliffs are the home to Ireland's largest mainland seabird nesting colony. c) They rise up to 214m at the highest point d) They cover a range of 8km e) Beneath the cliffs if the famous Aileen's wave, producing up to 30ft waves f) One of the sea caves at the bottom of the cliffs was used in Harry potter & the half blood prince My first walk was towards o'Brien's tower. This tower was built in 1835 by Cornelius O'Brien as a viewing point for tourists. And on the day i visited the Cliffs of Moher, the sun was beaming down on the 100's of tourists visiting these majestic cliffs although it was only mid February.
After o'brien's tower, I decided to walk towards the South platform and beyond so i would get great views of An Branan Mor (Sea Stack). This seastack stands at 67 m tall and was once part of the cliffs, but coastal erosion slowly removed the layers of rock joining it to the mainland. After my walk, I decided to head into the visitor centre building which opened it's doors in 2007. The centre is set into the hill minimizing the visual impact. Within the centre, you can enjoy the cliff exhibition or watch the 2 short movies " The Clare Journey" or the " ledge experience". There is also a restaurant and a tourist souvenir shop.  Halfway between the villages of Sneem and Caherdaniel is Staigue Stone Fort. Located 3 km from the Ring of Kerry up the flanks of one of the mountains, this stone fort commands the perfect view towards Kenmare bay. The 2500 year old Staigue fort is one of Ireland's finest examples of a stone fort which was built around the first century BC. The fort itself is built on top of a small hill and is surrounded by an 8 meter wide ditch.
It must have been tough labour to built the fort based on the size and dimensions of it. With its 4 meter tick walls which taper to 2 meter width at the top, it must have taken a lot of stones to built the entire fort which has a diameter of 27 meters. And to make it even more remarkable, the walls are built using the dry-stone technique, so no mortar or any other material was used to keep the stones in place. Within the walls are 2 chambers and along the interior of the walls are many stairwells which give access to the ramparts. The purpose of the fort isn't really known, but is is thought it used to be a place of worship, an observatory and a place of defence.
At the fort is ample car park and even a coffee cart where you can enjoy some coffee and cake. There is no entry fee at the fort, but there is a box where you can pay a trespass fee of €1.
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About the AuthorWe are Peter & Dolores De Bie. We love the great outdoors, discovering new parts of the world and writing about our adventures along the Wild Atlantic Way and further afield Categories
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