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13 July 2016

It was another decent weather day today.  Fionnuala even spotted a large beautiful  rainbow out over the glen!  Today we ended up with occasional rain showers in between the sunshine, pretty much what you would expect.  When we finished breakfast it was nice outside, so off we went to the Silver Strand (An Trá Bán) in Málainn Bhig.  It was overcast when we arrived, but we made the descent and were rewarded by sunlight.  The children were not even slightly concerned with the 165 stairs that you descend to reach the beach at the bottom of the cliffs.  We were also happy to have a portable toilet to use (though it is often not super clean).  This is one of my favorite places in the world, it was really nice to be able to share it with the family.  The children had an incredible time playing in the sand and the waves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After awhile, we headed down the road to Teampall Chaoimhín (Temple Cavan or St. Kevin’s Church).  This medieval church was dedicated to St. Kevin of Glendalough and was used as a stopover for medieval pilgrims on their way to the hermitage on Rathlin O’Birne Island (which is easily seen from the church) where a Turas used to be performed.

We made it pretty close this time, but I couldn’t see a way into the field.  Sarah (again with her eagle eyes) discovered that the sheep from the field above the church had passed  through an open section of fence and the next thing we knew they had surrounded the church.  We decided that maybe we would until next time to go into the field instead of inserting the children into the group of sheep now that we know how to get in!

 

We continued back up the road into Málainn Mhóir to try and find the row of six majestic Portal Tombs that had evaded us two years ago.  I had visited this row with Professor Michael Herity in 2000 as part of a course but had not been able to find them again.  I spent some time over the last two years trying to figure out where we had gone wrong before.  It turns out that we had stopped about 100 meters too soon last time.  Not today however!

As we approached, both Sarah and I found them so impressive that the feeling is hard to describe.  The monuments convey an almost dizzying, intimidating dominance over everything that surrounds them. I can’t begin to imagine the impression they would have given people thousands of years ago.  Even in the current ruined state they are imposing and daunting.

At 90 meters long and consisting of six portal tombs, this is the largest (and in many ways most spectacular) group of portal tombs in Ireland.  The tombs at each end of the row are larger than the rest.  There is also a standing stone that appears to be in alignment with the row.  Evidence suggests that the row was once covered by a cairn.  This site was likely a communal burial site that dates from around 2000 BC.  It is a shame that such a unique site is so hard to find and access.  I am really glad that Sarah got to see this, she was blown away.  As with many things, photography and video fail to accurately impress but we tried anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From here, we visited the Glencolmcille Wollen Mill in hopes of finding a sweater (jumper) for me.  This factory store has Rossan Knitware as well as Magee Tweed, much of it at a discount.  It is run by a local family, and uses local wool.  If you want a locally made product this is a good place.  It is an enjoyable stop as there is no sales push, has high quality items, a coffee stand, lots of gift items and a toilet.  I found a sweater exactly like I wanted and then we headed back to Gleann.

Today, we thought we would try the Village Cafe and Takeaway across from the church.  We enjoyed our lunch and the server was excellent (but English, so no service in Irish).  Sarah had the Seafood Chowder Special, the kids had chicken nuggets and chips and I had a burger with Cheesy Chips.  The food was pretty good, particularly Sarah’s and the meat and vegetables that they use are Irish.

After lunch we returned to the house for a while to rest and relax (I actually feel asleep).  After we had regrouped, we headed back out to try and see St. Cartha’s Church in Cill Charthaigh.  We had failed to figure out how to reach it on our last visit and thought  we were ready this time.  We went into the Tourist Information Office in An Áislann and no one was there, so we marched up to the top of the hill, saw an entrance that looked like it was in the right place and entered into a small field.  We walked through the field where we could see that there was an opening in a stone wall in front of the old church.  We walked right through and the next thing we knew a fence separated us from the church.  We couldn’t quite figure out how you were supposed to reach the gate (which we could see), and then it started to rain.

We sheltered under a tree for a few minutes and then made our way back down the hill and reentered An Áislann.  I asked a women in the tearoom for directions while the children settled into the Leabharlann.  She gave me directions and I returned to the rest of the family who were enjoying the Leabharlann.  After a few minutes we went back out and started climbing the hill again.  There is a small lane behind the first house on the right that leads to the church, but the residents use it to park their car so it doesn’t look like a place you should walk (and so we had walked right past it last attempt).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it to the church gate, but not before Sarah was stung by a bunch of nettles.  Ever the trouper, we went through the gate.  The churchyard had very tall grass (knee-high) but we explored the church and the grounds.  It must have been an impressive church when it was standing in tact.  The children had been good soldiers and were tired by this time, plus Liam also discovered some nettles on the way out (using his leg).  As we began to leave the church it again started pouring rain. On our wet walk back to the car,  we decided it was time to call it a day and headed home.  Despite the rain showers, it was a lovely day consisting mostly (and unintentionally) of seeing sites that evaded us two years ago on our visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaeilge Experience: Just the TV today.

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