Drogheda - Balbriggan - Dublin Airport

Ok, so there's one last post left!

Woke up late again this morning, which is probably good as I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get on the plane!

Check out was at 12 noon and I think I made it by 5 minutes!!!
After breakfast, I took everything out of every case and bag and started again..... Had to fit it all in, but I think I managed!!!

So, it's 12 noon and I'm flying out at 10.25pm - so what's a person to do???

I had the car still until 9.30pm (if necessary) so I thought I would do one last spin!

The one place I haven't visited this time and once again, it's a family place, is Balbriggan. My Grandfather was born there - the one who is married to Florence Nolan - daughter of TB Hunt who I pursued in Leicester and other places! They were married in Leicester and we have a reasonable amount of information about them as a couple but very little about my Grandfather - William Andrew Nolan. We know he came from Balbriggan and he was born on March 8 1879 and his parents were John Nolan and Jane Reddan.

Balbriggan is not too far north of Dublin and is also close to the airport, so I thought I would give it a whirl!

When I was nearly there I saw the signpost to Drogheda, and made a quick decision to go there first.
Just to confuse little GMaps for one last time!

It was a delightful drive and for one last time I chose the road less travelled! his time I didn't mind that we wended our way through country lanes, shaded by overhanging trees and bushes. I think I've come to love those little side tracks, after using them so often on the journey!

So here's today's map

Today's journey

So, why did I decide to go to Drogheda....????  Because of Ollie's head!

St Oliver Plunkett's head is proudly encased in a gold shrine in St Peter's Church at Drogheda and I had been there a few times... the last time with Mary and Nicky.

Very early in my teaching career I had 2 months teaching time at Blessed Oliver Plunkett's Primary School in Pascoe Vale in Melbourne.  Eighteen months later, I was actually appointed to the same school, but it was now St Oliver's! Went from BOP's to SOP's!!!

Great story about our Ollie.

Here's a short synposis of his life... from http://www.saintoliverplunkett.com/
Saint Oliver Plunkett (1st November 1625 - 1st July 1681) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason in London. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1 July 1681, and became the last Roman Catholic martyr to die in England. Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint for almost seven hundred years.

 One of his claims to fame was trying to tackle drunkenness among the Irish Clergy.  He said ....

"Let us remove this defect from an Irish priest, and he will be a saint". !!!!


Here's a few pics from the Church ..

Shrine encasing Ollie's head

Ollie's head

Here's a bit about his life from the Church...

Ollie's life as a priest and Bishop

Ollie's life as an educator and Martyr

Door from Newgate prison of the cell which housed Ollie.

Description of the door

View inside the Church

View outside the Church

Drogheda (Don't pronounce the "g") is a lovely little town...

Here's a few more pics..

Drogheda town

St Laurence's Gate

Explanation of St Laurence's Gate

Drogheda town

After a while it was time to move on, and Balbriggan was next on the list.

Last time I went to Balbriggan I approached it from the south and I thought it looked very dreary and depressed. This time I approached it from the North, and was amazed at how alive and attractive it looked. Just shows what perception does.....

Balbriggan town

Balbriggan town

Balbriggan town

Balbriggan town

I went for a wander and ended up near the library. I remember my cousin John Nolan had gone in there to inquire about our heritage some years ago, so I thought on the strength of that I'd give it a whirl also. The man behind the desk, Colm, was a passionate amateur genealogist, and his eyes lit up when I explained my quest of looking for information about my Grandfather. He had quite a few data bases, but couldn't get into them all, but took my email address and promised to pass on any information he did happen to find. I shared with him any details I knew and we did have one little win. He found his Baptism certificate and found that he lived in Skerries Road, which is where the library was based. So I made sure I drove down that road on the way out!

Skerries Road Balbriggan

Balbriggan Library

By this time it was 4 pm and I was keeping my eye on the clock. As I had to go down Skerries Road anyway, I ended up in Skerries - a lovely little beach-side suburb with a small harbour and Marina.

Skerries Harbour

Skerries Harbour

I decided I probably need to have some dinner, as I was not sure what was available at the airport, so they brought me this lovely plain grilled chicken breast and steamed vegies! Just perfect!!!!

After that I had  a quick wander around the beach area and came across a lovely memorial for deceased sailors

Memorial for those lost at sea

Memorial for those lost at sea

And took a few pics of the coast line - last look at the Irish Sea!

Coastal views near Skerries

Coastal views near Skerries

Coastal views near Skerries

I wanted to allow myself plenty of time to get my car back and check I had everything etc.... Nothing worse than rushing at the end. And, as it turned out, the airline desks weren't even open for another 15 mins when I arrived, so I certainly had plenty of time.

So here am I sitting in the lounge at Dublin airport, typing up my last post on the road. As mentioned in yesterday's post, I only have one hour between flights in Dubai, so I think I'll be running from one terminal to the other....

Say a prayer for me on the flight home, as I will for all of you. Thanks for sharing the journey with me. It's been good to know there are people out there who are following along and interested in the adventures of Wattle's Wanderings!!!

So, as they say in Ireland - May your God go with you!

Bealtaine do Dhia dul in éineacht leat