The Causeway and Carrick

We left Tory island on the morning ferry and drove through the afternoon in a bit of a storm.  It was still beautiful if a bit more hazardous because of a surprising number of sheep on the road.

We spent the night in Derry, just over the border into Northern Ireland.  There are no border controls, just a sign as if you were driving into another state in the US.  This has been a point of concern/contention with the whole Brexit thing.  Ireland is part of the EU and Northern Ireland is part of the UK so would no longer be part of the EU after Brexit.  Neither side wants a hard border for fear it would bring up past tensions between the two countries.  A hard border was expressly forbidden in the Good Friday agreements that officially ended the Troubles.  The Troubles were a time of sectarian violence between the predominately Catholic Republic of Ireland and the mostly Protestant Northern Ireland.  Wikipedia describes it as an ethnonationalist conflict.  I don't know many details, but it wasn't that long ago so memories are still fresh.  We were only in Derry for one rainy evening so we didn't see much.  We did find a Supermacs, our favorite Irish burger place.  I also noticed subtle differences between the countries other than the obvious differences in flags.  One thing that was so funny was to see little mannerisms in girls that I had noticed while watching Derry Girls.  It's an absolutely hilarious show (available on Netflix) about teenage girls growing up in Derry during the Troubles.  The show is made by the BBC and is quite popular in Northern Ireland.

The next morning we headed to the Giant's Causeway along the northern coast of Northern Ireland.  This is one of those geographical natural wonder places I've been wanting to see for awhile.  The main attraction is the unusual pillars of basalt that look like honeycomb stepping stones.  If you listen to the geologists they were formed by volcanic activity.  But if you like a good story the Irish don't disappoint.  It involves dueling giants throwing rocks and a woman who outsmarts her husband's enemy.

It was a blustery drippy day when we were there, but I still really enjoyed it.  The kids had a good time scrambling around on the rocks.  We speculated about how it would be different if it was in the US.  Would it all be roped off with warning signs?  There were a few people around to keep you away from the rougher edges where the waves come in, but otherwise you are pretty free to wander.

I enjoyed learning about the 18th century Irish artist, Susanna Drury, in the visitor's center.  Her paintings of the stone formations and the popular etchings made from them helped make the Giant's Causeway famous.  Her causeway paintings were first noticed when she won first prize from the Dublin Society in 1740.

That night we arrived in Carrick on Shannon, a lovely village in Co Leitrim.  We stayed there for a week and had a wonderful time visiting with our cousins there.  They helped us find a great place to stay with amazing views of the Shannon river.  I realized too late that I stared out the window every day, but only got one picture and it isn't the best lighting.  The village is a hub for river boating (and stag and hen parties).  It was quiet while we were there with so many of the pubs closed.  I loved watching the river with the boats and the swans and other water birds out on the water.  

We took a rare sunny afternoon to rent bikes in Leitrum village and ride along the Shannon blueway, a network of trails and waterways through central Ireland.  This trail went along the Shannon and connecting canals.  Lots of beautiful green and lazy cows.  I kept thinking that my sister-in-law would be so jealous if she knew what we were doing.  She loves a good bike ride with family and friends.  Maybe we can make it work out some other summer.

One thing that was quite interesting was seeing the locks in the canal.  We were lucky enough to catch a boat going through.  (The water is brown because of the high tannin content.  The water picks up tannin as it moves through the peat and other plants.  It is still clear and clean, just brown like tea.)

At the end of the ride we found a cute outdoor cafe perfect for a little break before heading back.

One of the sites in Carrick is the Costello chapel.  It is a tiny building sandwiched between two much larger buildings.  At only 12 x 16 feet it has a reputation of being the second smallest chapel in the world.  It was built 1877-1879 as a memorial to Mary Josephine, the wife of Edward Costello.  Both are now buried there.  After seeing so many grand and glorious churches I enjoyed the sweet simplicity of this tiny chapel dedicated by a loving husband to his departed wife.

One drizzly evening we went with our cousins and their adorable new puppy to Lough Allen, a park and lake along the Shannon river.  The land was formerly the grounds of a large estate, as many parks are.  You can see the remains of some of the buildings including the stables and chapel.  The main house is no longer standing, but you can see a small castle on the little island in the middle of the lake.

  

View from inside the chapel missing a roof.

For a few rainy minutes we took shelter under a tree.  I don't know what kind of tree this is, but I'm sure it is very old.  There are many trunks coming out from a central point.  They swoop and droop in the most interesting way and make a great place to climb and play.

Our cousin's husband has been in charge of PPE supplies at work so he gave us a bottle of the local "protective cleaner".  It is made nearby in Drumshanbo by the makers of Gunpowder Gin.  With the lock down many pubs are still closed and gin sales were down, so the distillery turned to making "hand sanitizer" to meet the high demand for such things, an easy transition for a distillery.  I love the fact that they put it in the same blue bottles as the gin.  The whole thing makes me laugh.  The label has a warning not to drink it and even includes their jackalope mascot.  Why a mythical American creature on an Irish gin label?  No one seems to know, but there it is.

We spent time this week visiting our cousins, catching up on summer reading and school work, visiting the dentist, and getting a haircut for me.  It was a lovely time.  We will definitely be back.  There is more to explore.  We enjoyed the cool weather, knowing what was to come in Rome.  After 3 weeks of winter like weather (for us) we were almost ready for some heat, but don't say it.  You just might get what you ask for... and then some.