Connemara
“If I
could through myself set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light and to the day”
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light and to the day”
~Bad,
U2
 |
| Wishing Well in Cong |
“Gather
up the pots and the old tin can
And the mash, and the corn, the barley, and the bran
And then run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising, Barney
And the mash, and the corn, the barley, and the bran
And then run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising, Barney
Now
keep your eyes well peeled today
The tall, tall men, they're on their way
They're searching for the mountain tea
In the hills of Connemara”
The tall, tall men, they're on their way
They're searching for the mountain tea
In the hills of Connemara”
~Hills
of Connemara
 |
| Cong Abbey Grave Yard |
Just north of Galway City is the famous region of Connemara. Conamara is ‘Inlets of the Sea’. A beautiful peninsular that gets it
name from the tribal name of Conmacne Mara that is a branch of the Conmacne an
early tribal grouping that had a number of branches located in different parts
of Connacht. This particular branch of the Conmancne lived by the sea &
became known of as the Conmacne Mara. The region can trace its roots back the
13th century when the O’Cadhla clan was the rulers. The coast of
this region is made up of a number of peninsulas along its coast & the main
town being Clifden. The Connemara National Park, the famous Kylemore Abbey are just some of the treasures worth seeing in the region.
You got
to bite the bullet with the weather & just embrace it. You can’t do
anything about the forces of Mother Nature, I’ve seen it change a number of
times already here, & it’s something else. Ah, it’s been a splendid day to
be up in Joyce Country. I had all kinds of weather conditions with snow, sleet,
rain & hurricane force winds. I had a lovely time.
I
enjoyed the stop at Ross Errily Friary & a wee bit of a look around the
ruins of this Friary. I learned quite a bit about the history of the place
& the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland & Henry VIII too. The
village on Cong was lovely to check out. It’s pretty small & it took no
time to navigate the circular village. It was nice to take a walk to go explore.
The area is famous from the movie The
Quite Man that came out in 1951, won an Academy Award for best picture
& of course has John Wayne in it. The movie gave birth to the Irish tourism
trade too, not to mention its cult movie following.
 |
| Kylemore Abbey |
The
back history was very important to learn & especially got a better feel of
visiting Kylemore Abbey. The Abbey was beautiful. I enjoyed it very much. It
was great to check out the architecture & the breath taking scenery of
Ireland’s only fjord. I found out that the fjords major crop is mussels and
about 80% of them get exported to Europe & around the world & the other
20% is for local sourced out to fish markets & restaurants in the area. Ah,
I was in salmon country too. I found out that the landowners who own the land
can charge what ever they want for fisherman to fish for salmon on their land.
It tends to be the most expensive place to fish for salmon tho.
Overall
it has been a wonderful day, full of adventure. I enjoyed every moment of it.
Making the best of the situation. A lovely day to be doing what I love the
most.
“Although I can see
him still.
The freckled man who goes
To a grey place on a hill
In grey Connemara clothes
At dawn to cast his flies,
It's long since I began
To call up to the eyes
This wise and simple man.
All day I'd looked in the face
What I had hoped 'twould be
To write for my own race
And the reality;
The living men that I hate,
The dead man that I loved,
The craven man in his seat,
The insolent unreproved,
And no knave brought to book
Who has won a drunken cheer,
The witty man and his joke
Aimed at the commonest ear,
The clever man who cries
The catch-cries of the clown,
The beating down of the wise
And great Art beaten down.
Maybe a twelvemonth since
Suddenly I began,
In scorn of this audience,
Imagining a man,
And his sun-freckled face,
And grey Connemara cloth,
Climbing up to a place
Where stone is dark under froth,
And the down-turn of his wrist
When the flies drop in the stream;
A man who does not exist,
A man who is but a dream;
And cried, 'Before I am old
I shall have written him one
poem maybe as cold
And passionate as the dawn.'”
The freckled man who goes
To a grey place on a hill
In grey Connemara clothes
At dawn to cast his flies,
It's long since I began
To call up to the eyes
This wise and simple man.
All day I'd looked in the face
What I had hoped 'twould be
To write for my own race
And the reality;
The living men that I hate,
The dead man that I loved,
The craven man in his seat,
The insolent unreproved,
And no knave brought to book
Who has won a drunken cheer,
The witty man and his joke
Aimed at the commonest ear,
The clever man who cries
The catch-cries of the clown,
The beating down of the wise
And great Art beaten down.
Maybe a twelvemonth since
Suddenly I began,
In scorn of this audience,
Imagining a man,
And his sun-freckled face,
And grey Connemara cloth,
Climbing up to a place
Where stone is dark under froth,
And the down-turn of his wrist
When the flies drop in the stream;
A man who does not exist,
A man who is but a dream;
And cried, 'Before I am old
I shall have written him one
poem maybe as cold
And passionate as the dawn.'”
~The Fisherman, William
Butler Yeast
