IRELAND
JUNE, 2001
PAGE 1

These photographs are copyrighted by the photographers and cannot be duplicated in any form without permission of David E. Hancock and/or Darrell S. Richey.

Landed at Shannon Airport, County Clare, Ireland. Here we were processed through customs. A car was rented and special insurance was purchased. (WARNING: Don't drive too close to curbs.) We stopped at an ATM Machine and then headed toward the Cliffs of Moher.

Driving on the left took a bit of mastering for Darrell, but he manuevered with flying colors. The car was small, the roads were narrow and rough in some places, and the large tour buses took more than their side of the very narrow roads. At times one had to stop to let the bus driver do his thing! Thank goodness we were on the road in a slow season!

On the way we stopped for lunch at Ennistymon, a small village in County Clare. Ennistymon is located at the Falls of the River Cullenagh. Darrell parked the car on a hill in front of an old cemetery and church/monastary ruin.

Old Celtic gravestones were intermixed with newer style headstones in this cemetery. In the background one could see vacant cow pastureland. Visitors were cautioned not to trespass beyond certain areas due to the threat of spreading the Hoof and Mouth Disease. Because of this we could not walk within the church's/monastary's interior.

These majestic cliffs run along the coast for about five miles. They consist of 700 ft. drops to the ocean. At one point, one can take a walk along the edge of one of these cliffs. Seabirds (some puffins) flit about and nest in these cliffs.

We stopped for a break at Ennis, the county market town (county seat) of County Clare. Ennis is located on the bank of the River Fergus. We visited the ruins of the Ennis Friary established by the O'Brien's, Kings of Thomond, in the 13th Century and finished in the 14th century. The most outstanding were a series of 15th & 16th Century sculptures. Ennis Friary was squeezed into a tight space in the old part of downtown Ennis. There was no countryside. Again, we could not enter the interior of the ruins because of Hoof and Mouth Disease fear. While in the area we also visited the city's shopping area.

   

This thatched roof building was in the small town of Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare. This once was typical for the roofing of the homes of the lower and middle class. The know-how of thatching is gradually becoming a lost art. Now, these establishments are mostly reserved for tourists' places, and this building at this time was an antique shop.

The Castle was the last of a series of castles built on the same site around 1450. Furnishings inside were from the 15th to 17th century, and the castle inself is considered to be a prime example of the homes of this type and time period. Its present restoration occurred in the early 1960's.