Donegal

There has been too much going on the past few weeks to post the rest of our trip.  I am going to try to get it done before it gets too hectic before Christmas.

Clifden was such a fun place to visit and we knew our trip was winding down, but we still had the area around Donegal to explore before we headed back to Dublin and the end of this fantastic trip.

There were several sites along the way that we wanted to explore before we arrive at the Rossmore Manor in Donegal.

Carrowmore is one of four major passage tombs in Ireland.  The burial area is within the stone circle.  These megalithic tombs are among the country's oldest, with monuments ranging from five and a half thousand to six and a half thousand years old.

 

 

The grave of  Irish poet W.B. Yeats and his wife George is located in the cemetery at Drumcliffe Monastery.   Benbulben, the massive table mountain located nearby was the subject of one of Yeat's last poems.  The last three lines of the poem Under Ben Bulben are inscribed on his grave.

This high cross dates back to the 9th century.

 

This is all that remains of the round tower after it was struck by lightning in 1936.

 

 

Benbulben, the massive table mountain which was one of Yeat's favorite places and the subject of his last poem. 

 

The ocean at Mullaghmore is one of the best high wave surfing areas in the world.  Somehow I have never associated Ireland with surfing, but in March of 2012 the world's best surfers gathered here and rode the waves, some as high as 50 feet.  Mullaghmore is also known for the 1979 bombing which killed Lord Mountbatten and several others by the IRA. 

 

 

 Mullaghmore has a big fishing industry with most of what they catch exported to France.

 

We stayed in some very nice B&B's in Ireland, but the Rossmore Manor in Donegal was a favorite of ours.  Located a few miles from town and close to Donegal Bay, we were quite impressed as we drove up the drive to this home built like a modern day castle.   

 

 

 The owners were a young couple with 5 children and they like gargoyles.    We were excited to spend the next two nights in this beautiful home.

 

 

Our room was in a wing separate from the main structure and was quite large.

 

 

 This sitting area gave us great views of the bay.

 

Johnny and Hannah stayed in the castle room and it was huge with high ceilings and even a fireplace where we enjoyed a peat fire one evening.



 

 

This was the view we had from our sitting area.  We drove into Donegal that evening and enjoyed a good dinner.  The Donegal football (soccer) team had just won the national championship and there were a lot of people, young and old, in town celebrating.  We called it a night early and went back to the B&B to rest up for our next day of exploring.