I've had a lovely day today. Started off with a delightful journey from Ballina to Westport, followed by a lovely afternoon spent touring Westport with Liamy Macnally. (See yesterday's post for who Liamy is!)
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| Today's journey |
When I left Ballina I was not sure about which way I was going.... I
had thought of going to Achill Island on the way, but Liamy had told me about Mass
at Westport at 12 noon followed by a procession through the town for
the Feast of Corpus Christi (from last week!)
By the time I left Ballina and got some petrol, I decided to go the scenic route to Westport and just go straight through.
The first part of the journey was a delightful drive. The country was mainly flat-ish, but had the mountains in the background...
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| Scenes from the journey |
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| Scenes from the journey |
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| Scenes from the journey |
The drive through the Ballycroy was fantastic.... I always seem to be on the move, but I would've loved more time to complete some of the walks on offer...
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| Ballycroy National Park |
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| Ballycroy National Park |
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| Ballycroy National Park |
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| Ballycroy National Park |
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| Ballycroy National Park |
Also went past some lovely Lochs....
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| Loch scenery |
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| Loch scenery |
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| Loch scenery |
The west of Ireland seems quite different from the other parts. I had never been this far west before and I really loved it.
Stopped briefly at a town called Newport.... beautiful spot...
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| Newport |
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| Newport |
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| Newport - Franciscan Well |
Happily arrived in Westport about 11.30am. Very busy little town though and as a few of us had commented before, parking was at a premium. It took a couple of loops of the town to negotiate the one ways streets and possible parking. I was also looking out for the Wyatt hotel, which I had pre-booked the night before.
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| Westport Town |
Eventually found a town car park and was not sure where the Catholic Church was, but I needn't have worried....!!! I just had to follow all the young ladies in the First Communion white dresses. They were all dressed up and ready to go to lead the Corpus Christi procession. It brought back memories of my childhood and the Christ the King processions at our Parish in Wattle Park. I can remember throwing rose petals in front of the procession and being all dressed up in my first communion dress...
Part of me was wondering why I bothered going to Mass, and didn't just head for Achill Island, but then I realised I was also experiencing the Irish culture in all it's glory today!
The town was full of little altars with statues..
The Church was absolutely full. I couldn't get a seat to start with, then I spotted a place where I reckon I could've squeezed my little body in and I did!!! The Church is certainly alive and well in Ireland!
Here's the Church - St Mary's in Westport...
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| St Mary's Westport after Mass |
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| St Mary's Westport |
Afterwards, the procession took off and took over the streets of Westport. The traffic was banked up forever in its wake...!!!!
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| Corpus Christi Procession |
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| Traffic banked up...! |
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| Corpus Christi Procession |
After all that excitement, I managed to get to my hotel and work out how to park the car underneath out of the way.
Then, eventually, Liamy and I made contact.
We had a coffee and a chat, then he took me for a drive around Westport...
What a delight to have someone explain a town to you!!!! I don't know how many towns I've just driven through on this journey without knowing anything about them. Liamy was born and raised here and could explain nearly every shop and building and the history behind it....
Let's start with Matt Molloy's pub. Matt is the flautist with the Chieftains, an apparently regularly performs in his own pub...
We went inside, and it has such atmosphere.... I would love to go back there one day to hear the live music!
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| This was a boarding house owned by his Grandmother |
Then we went down to the Harbour... it was beautiful...
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| Westport Harbour |
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| Westport Harbour |
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| Westport Harbour |
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| Westport Harbour - Croagh Patrick in the background |
Then he took me to Croagh Patrick car park and we walked up to the statue - I can say I've started the Croagh Patrick walk!!!! Have to admit I was puffing even by then!!!
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| Information about Croagh Patrick |
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| Information about Croagh Patrick |
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| Information about Croagh Patrick |
In case you've never heard about Croagh Patrick... here's the usual
wikipedia stuff..
As noted in the 2nd para, some people climb it barefoot
Croagh Patrick (Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning "(Saint) Patrick's Stack"),[1] nicknamed the Reek,[2] is a 764 metres (2,507 ft) mountain and an important site of pilgrimage in County Mayo, Ireland. It is 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Westport, above the villages of Murrisk and Lecanvey. It is the third highest mountain in County Mayo after Mweelrea and Nephin. It is climbed by pilgrims on Reek Sunday every year, which is the last Sunday in July. It forms the southern part of a U-shaped valley created by a glacier flowing into Clew Bay in the last Ice Age. Croagh Patrick is part of a longer east-west ridge; the westernmost peak is called Ben Gorm.
On the last Sunday in July, thousands of pilgrims climb Croagh Patrick in honour of Saint Patrick who, according to tradition, fasted and prayed on the summit for forty days in the year 441.[11] Masses are held at the summit, where there is a small chapel. Some climb the mountain barefoot, as an act of penance,[12] and carry out 'rounding rituals', in which they pray while walking sunwisearound features on the mountain. It is likely that the pilgrimage pre-dates Christianity and was originally a ritual associated with the festival of Lughnasadh.[13][14] However, the sheer volume of visitors has led to erosion and made the mountain more dangerous for climbers.[15]
Liamy was saying it's becoming more corporate these days and less of a pilgrimage., and consequently there is a lot of erosion happening.
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| Made it to the statue |
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| Liamy at the statue |
There is also an altar to Our Lady of Medjugorje.... the statue of Our Lady is framed perfectly with the mountain in the background.....
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| Our Lady of Medjugorje |
One last item on our travels was this stunning statue of the Coffin ships...
This stark and striking monument in Murrisk is an appropriate commemoration of the millions who perished in the Great Famine over one hundered and fifty years ago. Crafted in bronze by John Behan, the dramatic sculpture depicts a "Coffin Ship" with skeleton bodies in the rigging.
"Coffin Ship" was the term used to describe the ships which left our shores horrendously overcrowded with emigrants fleeing the famine. The dire and unhygenic conditions on board ensured that many did not reach their destination.
Taken from the
County Mayo website
One last little item of interest....
We were talking about our lives and where we had come from and I mentioned my Mercy link. It turns out the wife of the local Anglican vicar was a Sister of Mercy from Grafton at one stage... Isn't it amazing how many stories are entwined and how you can come across links with people on the other side of the world????
I just love Ireland, and today has just proved yet again why I do!!!!!
Very grateful to Liamy too, for his guided tour today!
What a fantastic guide Liamy was. I love hearing the stories and traditions from locals. I had a chuckle when I read you would love to have done some of the walks. It took me back to a conference in Mandurah when, after a day of sessions, there was a choice of a walk or wine - we headed for the wine with a: "Why on earth would you want to go for a walk!"
ReplyDeleteA local guide makes all the difference! Loved all Liamy's local knowledge. A little walk is ok... followed by a lot of wine to recover!!!!
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