Wild Energy!

Turning 75 this month has been one of the most wonderful times of my life. I am so very grateful to be healthy and I am excited to tell you about my most recent trip to Ireland.

 I was talking to a friend who lives in Limerick and after telling her I wanted to get back over to Ireland again and this time would like to go to Donegal, she said she was free to travel for a few days, and had a car. We still laugh at how fast and spontaneous it all happened.  I booked my ticket; she picked me up at Shannon Airport and off we went.  

From Limerick to Galway, over to Donegal, Westport and ending in Killarney. We stopped along the way to see the beautiful beach at Spanish Point. 

Spanish Point is on the west coast of Co. Clare on the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s named for the Spanish soldiers who died in 1588 when their ships of the Spanish Armada were wrecked during a storm.

It is now a beautiful seaside village for swimming, surfing and even has a 9-hole golf course overlooking the Atlantic.

The Wild Atlantic Way, is 1600 miles in length beginning at the Inishowen Peninsula of Donegal winding all the way along the west coast to Kinsale, County Cork in the south. 

Its massive waves, along with the chill from the wind and rain gives it its truly wild personality.

It was a lovely walk in Galway, the beautiful Corrib River and the St. Nicholas Cathedral.  

Continuing on, we were happy to find the sign for Drumcliff. We were afraid we had taken a different road and was going to miss seeing where W.B. Yeats is buried.  but there it was, and the hydrangeas seem to be very popular in Ireland. They grow everywhere.

Onward to Teelin, Co. Donegal, where we stayed at The Rusty Mackeral B&B. I would highly recommend it, even though we had bunk beds that night. 

 Dinner was wonderful, the fish is the freshest. We actually ate a lot of fish. 

It was the next morning that we went up to the “Lookout point” and came to  Sliabh Liag  Mountain. 

Sliabh Liag is Gaelic for Grey Mountain and is on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal supposedly having cliffs that are the 2nd highest point in Ireland. The first being Croaghaum Mountain. 

I had to really push myself to get to the top where you could look out over some of the most stunning views. Surrounded by the sea, the path was beautiful, so glad I did. 

The next day we drove to Downings, Co. Donegal to our B&B. The owner of the B&B plays the tin whistle with a group at the local pub. There was another couple staying at the B&B from Oregon, so we all went to the pub that night for some good Irish music.  

I have to say I believe the highlight for me on this trip was going to the Fanad Lighthouse. I have always wanted to go into and to the top of one and look out over the ocean. Never did I think I’d do it in Ireland overlooking the Wild Atlantic Sea.

Fanad is still an operational lighthouse, but it no longer has a lighthouse keeper. Everything is automated. There are 3 lighthouse keeper’s homes you can book and stay in. I wish we had known that before we got there. Something for next time. 

We then drove up to Derry in Northern Ireland, we got in late, had dinner and before leaving the next morning  walked along the walled city in the center of Derry.  

Westport and Killarney

Westport is a beautiful town! It was my first time there. Our hotel was on the Quay overlooking the harbor. The staff was wonderful, they had a fabulous restaurant and we had a lovely room. We stayed at the Westport Coast Hotel. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Westport. 

Our plan was to stay there just the one night and then onto Killarney the next morning but we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave.  After thinking about it, if we were to stay an extra day, that would give Valerie a day without driving. She did a lot of driving on this trip. 

We agreed to check with the desk and see if we could stay an extra night. We had to move rooms the next day but we stayed and roamed the town,  had a nice lunch out and did a lot of walking. 

Actually, Valerie mentioned when we first checked in that the next day was my birthday. and when we came back that 2nd day from shopping and seeing the town, we had a bottle of wine and chocolates waiting for us. 

The next morning we headed  for Limerick. It worked perfect as Valerie dropped me off at the bus station in Limerick and I went on in to Killarney. She went back home. It's just an hour and a half bus ride. 

It was great getting to Killarney and seeing all my friends at Murphy's. I was glad to have gotten there on the evening of their "Culture Night" Two of my Poet friends,  Eileen Sheehan and John W. Sexton read poetry, there were wonderful refreshments, and the Kerry Ukrainian Choir was fabulous with their beautiful voices. 

Another one of the highlights of the trip for me was that I decided before I left home I was going to take a harp lesson. I contacted the Killarney School of music and had myself an hour lesson. I've taken a couple lessons at home but thought how much better could it get then to have a harp lesson in Ireland? 

This definately is going to be my year for going for it! 

Here's to Wild Energy!