Day 5: Gravestone Hunting and Pint Swilling

We left Kinvarra this morning and I noticed how my mind is slowly starting to unwind. For those who haven’t read from the start, the Burren is what originally called me to make this trip. I was listening to Krista Tippets interview with the late John O’Donahue called The Inner Landscape of Beauty and was reminded of the power the “outer” landscape can have on our interior. John grew up in the Connemara area. Krista asks, “Tell me a little bit more about where you come from and what formed you. What began to form you to come to this spiritual perspective and philosophical and poetic perspective that you have now?” John responds: 

Well, I suppose I was blessed by being born into an amazing landscape in the west of Ireland. And it’s the Burren region, which is limestone. And it’s a bare limestone landscape. And I often think that the forms of the limestone are so abstract and aesthetic, and it is as if they were all laid down by some wild, surrealistic kind of deity. So soon, being a child and coming out into that, it was waiting, like a huge, wild invitation to extend your imagination. And then it’s right on the edge of the ocean, as well, so the conversation — an ancient conversation between the ocean and the stone is going on.

For me, many parts of Ireland are “like a huge, wild invitation to extend your imagination.”  Tonight we will sleep in on of those parts — the Beara Penninsula. But before we do we must go to Limerick to try and find our great-great-great grandfather Garret O'Shaughnessy's gravestone.

Limerick has a reputation for being a rough town. In fact, it’s nickname is “Stab City”. They’ve done a lot to move beyond that reputation but we were still feeling a bit wary as we headed to a rough part of the city where St. Michael’s Church sits. Years ago my mom and dad found the gravestone before they knew we were direct descendants of Garret O’Shaughnessy. The notes she gave us said to go down the narrow lane to the right of the car park. Sadly, the lane was blocked by new row houses. We walked around to the church yard on the other side, but the graveyard had been paved over for use as a locked private parking lot! Undeterred I climbed over the fence to look behind the church. No luck. 

So off we went to the Limerick Cemetery to just have a look for O’Shaughnessy gravestones amidst the 1,000s there and in case Garret’s grave was moved there. While it may seem a bit morbid to some, exploring graveyards is one of my favorite memories from my childhood. Reading gravestone inscriptions is like peeking into someone’s life. At our house in New Hampshire there was a graveyard with birthdates from the 1800s. In Limerick, there were gravestones we could read from 1700s! Some were heartbreaking. One showed a women lost 7 babies at birth in her lifetime. In the 1800s infant mortality rate was 40%! 

We did not find Garret but we did find a couple other O’Shaughnessys, including one written in Irish from the 1700s that was behind an Iron grave marker from the 1800s. Andy brought supplies to do some grave stone rubbings. 

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The day was marching on and we still had a three-hour trip down to Beara. But first! We can’t forget to take Andy to meet Thomas O’Shaughnessy, proprietor of the O’Shaughnessy Pub in Glin. Our Uncle Kenny first visited this pub in the 70s when he was doing family research. He collected a lot of great information from Captain John (Thomas’ father) and thought there might be a slim family connection. The O’Shaughnessy’s of Glin have no problem knowing their heritage. Thomas is the 6th generation to run the pub and descend from Sir Dermott O’Shaughnessy who was knighted by King Henry VIII.  More important that the impressive pedigree of this pub is it’s owner, Thomas. So far my sister Susie, my Mom and Dad, my husband and me, and now Andy and me have sat and shared a pint with him. What a kind man and great story teller. Here’s dad and then Andy and a few more!

Turns out Thomas and Andy had a love of portable saw mills in common!

Off we went for our final destination — Allihies. It is a twisty turn drive — challenging on any day, but today was drizzly and Andy handled the roads like a rally car racer. I did tell him to slow down a click for a bit so I could rest my breaking foot (as a passenger.). We got there in time for an amazing meal at O’Neills pub and some Sunday evening Irish music. Get ready for a wacky video. Wow. What a day!

 

Day 4: Rambling around Kinvarra

Day 4 has been a wonderful day! I left the planning to Andy today since he is bringing his Achilles heel up to full health. He chose a cool hike called Abbey Hill Loop only six miles away that turned out to be a perfect ramble with a few unexpected and delightful surprises.

First, we had to find the trailhead, and like yesterday’s hike, was not marked in any way. In Ireland, if the hike you’ve chosen is not a national waymarked trail it will most likely not have any marking. We used a combination of a screenshot of the AllTrails map with some saved Google Maps to find our way to the narrow farm lane leading to a parking spot. From there we just pointed ourselves up the Burren landscape to the top of Abbey Hill.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this landscape it is profoundly beautiful in it’s stark and rugged beauty. Here is a description of the unique geologic phenomena. And here is a short clip of what it’s like to walk over it.

It’s mesmerizing to hike over it as the shapes of the rocks under your feet change in beautiful and often elegant ways. Here is one great example:

If the shifting rock shapes weren’t enough to carry one away than the wildflowers will. Spring Gentian, Mountain Avens, Primrose, Irish Eyebright, False Oxslip, Dark-Red Helleborine (a wild Orchid)So many varieties. My favorite is this delicate one — the Herb Robert:

With no trail to guide us, Andy and I had a lot of fun finding our way over Abbey Hill and down into the Valley, guided by the ruin of a 14th century abbey —  Corcomroe Abbey. To get there we had to climb over rock walls and through some brambles and past some really big cows. It was worth it:

From there we crossed another pasture and emerged 100 yards down from a gourmet gluten free bakery and chocolatier!! 

With a belly full we headed up the Burren on the other side of the Valley. This time we came across a large herd of feral goats!

The landscape is magical. It seeps into you over time. Andy did a great job of capturing it in this video:

 

After this magnificent ramble we headed down to the Atlantic and jumped in! Brrrr! (But not as cold as the brook at home!) 

Tomorrow we are off to Limerick to find our Great Great Great Granfather Garrett O’Shaughnessy’s gravestone.

Day 3: Doolin to The Burren and Kinvarra

 It was my turn at the wheel today as we headed out for The Burren. We said goodbye to Betty, a wonderful host at our BnB in Doolin and pointed our rental car South along the Wild Atlantic Way.  This highway has some similarities to the famous Western U.S. coastal highway, route 1, accept instead of a metal guard rail its a rock wall and instead of 12 feet, you have 10 feet or less for two cars and the occasional coach bus!

Despite some confusion we found our trail pull-out on the other side of Black Head. No signage at all, but we knew it was a lesser used access to the Blackhead Loop. We planned to do a shortened version of  the Blackhead Loop (16 miles) by heading up the Caher Valley back to the coast to cut off 4 miles. Well.. we stopped for lunch in the Caher Valley, along a stream and when our bellies were full we looked up at the beautiful trail running up the mountain and lost all sense of which direction we should go. We followed that gorgeous line and found ourselves 4 miles later with the ocean on our left — whoopsie. No regrets as we descended back down to the coast at Farone Beach, knowing we could hitch hike back to our car. Neither of us were up for the 16 miles.  

Sure enough, Igot a ride for 1 back to the car and I picked Andy up after we went for a short walk along with beautiful beach.  Off we went along the most beautiful stretch of this Wild Atlantic Way to Ballyvaughan. We stored up on groceries before our destination of Kinvarra, at the Atlantic Retreat Lodge. How lovely to make a huge dinner of veggies, rice and chicken! 

And.. I got the hang of driving and shifting on the left side quite quickly!

Day 2: Aran Island - Inis Moir

 What a grand time we have had! 

After sleeping for nine hours after our very long and wonderful 36 hour day, we headed to the largest of the Aran Islands - Inis Moir.  It was a cloudy day with high seas and the ride out was pretty exhilarating. We stopped first at Inis Orr, the smallest island to pick up a group of Irish students. 

When we landed, we headed straight for the bike hire, got ourselves two bikes and headed down the island. It was drizzling and grey but we didn’t care. We also did not really know where we were headed! We ended up at a tourist place that we later understood to be the entrance for the much talked about ring fort. We carried on through the rain to the round hut, pictured below and the seven churches.We rode those bikes all the way to the end of the island before we caught the tailwind back, just in time for a cup of soup, some Irish soda bread and a pint of Guinness. The sun came out just as we boarded the ferry and we enjoyed beautiful views all the way back to Doolin.

After cleaning up and drying out we headed to the Doolin Inn for a dinner on Ben, who gifted me with some money on Mother’s Day to buy Andy and I a proper meal. We did him proud with a huge fish and chips, mussels and fish tacos— all locally sourced. Yum. These culinary delights came with some live Irish music. What a day!

Day 1: Cliffs of Mohr and Driving on the Left

 We made it!

Andy and I hit the tarmac of the Shannon Airport at 5:30 AM. A short stop to get our rental car and a few deep breaths by the driver, we set off on the left side of the road. Nerve-wracking for all but soon we were on the slower roads outside of Liscanoor and Doolin and taking a beautiful sunny day. What a gift!

After a lovely Irish Breakfast and Porridge in Doolin we headed back to hike along the Cliffs of Mohr. What a treat to get there early and in the middle of the week. We stopped many times to take in the ocean, the birds and the breeze. After about 4 miles we found a sunny spot on top of some tufts of grass and slept for 20 minutes. Just what we needed to carry on. 

On the way back we were astounded by how many people filled the trail and parking lot! Wow. Still, the massiveness of the cliffs and the sound of the ocean dominated.

Back in Doolin, we had our first Guinness on Irish soil at Gus O’Connor’s pub and then checked into our B & B. After some cleaning up and resisting sleep we rallied and ate some wonderful stew and steak at the pub. 

Tomorrow we go to the Aran Islands. Right now, I finally get to sleep after 32 hours awake!

Almost ready to leave!

 A few more days and I will flying above the Atlantic Ocean on the way to Ireland. What a gift to leave my every day life and step into a very different one for three weeks. It's been a wild few years for this planet and for us humans walking around on it. 

When things are really challenging I have an image I bring to mind that always helps: I imagine the view of Earth from space as it hurtles along through the blackness. I see myself, outsized, standing on it as it spins — my feet held by gravity and my arms up in the air waving wildly. I am smiling and wide-eyed.There are many others' too, screaming and laughing the way we do on carnival rides — half terrified and half exhilarated. In a real sense, that is what life often feels like and for some reason seeing this view from space allows me to relax into it. 

So then what a gift it is when I can go away and slow it all down. Even as I prepare these past few days, I can feel myself beginning to unwind the coil, loosen the spring, open the breath and the belly.

I will be traveling the first week with my brother Andy O'Shaughnessy who has never been to the green Isle. I look forward to seeing his face as he looks out over those rolling Limerick hills where our ancestors lives and survived. What a miracle that is! That our ancestors survived Cromwell's invasions, Viking marauding, the famine, the trip across the "pond" and the harsh conditions waiting for the "black" Irish. Mother's day always brings to mind the mother's before me doing whatever was needed to feed the children. 

We will spend our week together in Doolin, Aran Islands, Kinvara, Beara Penninsula and Killarney. We will walk and fish and take in the ancient rings of stone and beautiful, endless rock walls.

In Killarney, I will begin my two-week walk of the Kerry Way on my own.  This is a 140+ mile walk around the Diveragh Peninsula.  I have paper maps and plan to only use my phone to coordinate accommodations and check weather. The loop has a little of everything: mountain passes, village roads, seaside trails and ancient sites. I have the first three days planned out and then I will just see what comes my way. 

I do not plan to post along the way, but that could change. Here are some of the highlights I hope to encounter in the first four days:

Day 1: A bit of sightseeing before I hike through Killarney National Park with a stop at Muckross House and a stay at the Muckross Riding Stables

Day 2: My walkabout officially begins with a 14 mile hike to Black Valley Hostel

Day 3: After about 11 miles, I end my day in Glencar at the Loch Acoose house.

Day 4:  I've decided to try and do a significant side hiking trip over the tallest mountains in Ireland: Carrauntoohil and Coomloughra Horseshoe Loop and will stay another night at Lock Acoose.

Day 5:  An 11 mile walk to Glenbeigh.

Day 6: A big day to  Cahersiveen. 17 miles (we'll see! I have a tent and might end up camping along the way. If I make it, I will sleep at the Sive Hostel.

That's the basic gist! I might do some writing while on route, but will just wait to see what my soul needs!