Ireland, part 3: County Sligo (Mayo and Leitrim too)

The Great Room in Donegal Castle

 We drove to Sligo following three nights in Northern Ireland.  Along the way we intended to stop in Derry and walk the medieval wall, but somehow (I don't recall why) wound up touring Castle Donegal and walking through the town there instead.  No complaints!  The castle was wonderful and was a great stopping point to break up our drive.


We stayed for three nights in St. Angela's College Student Residences in Sligo. Yes, we were in student dorms that get rented out during the nonacademic year.  Great idea, actually.  We were in a spacious apartment with two bedrooms, full kitchen, fireplace in the living room, and picture windows overlooking Lough Gill.  The manager of the apartments took us up to the roof to give a us a quick verbal tour of the area and some helpful tips.

After dinner at the recommended Yeats Inn, we went to visit the grave of W.B. Yeats, a famous Irish poet.  Drumcliff Cemetery was also home to an 11th century High Cross and across the street were the remains of the only round tower in Sligo County.  It didn't take long to explore this peaceful location, with the magnificent Benbulben as the backdrop.

Our beautiful view

Drumcliff high cross and round tower

On Friday we drove into County Mayo to see the Ceide Fields, the oldest and most extensive field ruins in the world.  There are remains of stone walls, homes, and tombs (mostly covered by bog) that were built by farmers well over 5000 years ago.  Amazing. We enjoyed the museum, walked the pathway on our own, but then joined a tour guide to learn more about the neolithic people and the way they lived.  There were beautiful views, including to the sea stack at Downpatrick Head, which was where we headed next.  The layers of rock were amazing.  Legend says St. Patrick split the sea stack from the mainland when a local chieftain refused to convert to Christianity.

Walls and markers of Ceide Fields

Downpatrick Head -- beautiful breezes here!

One of many rainbows

Saturday morning we went to Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs to see the passage tombs and stone circles built as a remembrance of the dead over 5 thousand years ago.  From the pathway we could see the Knocknarea mountain with a cairn for Queen Maeve clearly visible on top.  Later in the day when we hiked up the mountain there was fog everywhere, which gave it an other-worldly vibe.  The hike up was tough, rocky, and wet (walking through water though we never actually got rained on) -- and so worth it.  As tradition suggested, we brought rocks from the bottom of the mountain to add to the cairn at the top.  I'd imagine that on a clear day the view is fantastic, but we enjoyed the fog.
          
After lunch in town, we visited Sligo Abbey. This was the first time of our trip (day 8) that we got rained on -- not much, but it was more than a mist.  The abbey ruins have the only sculpted 15th century altar in Ireland, plus a well-preserved cloister.

The cloisters at Sligo Abbey

 
Parke's Castle was next on this busy day, but the sites were so close together that we never felt rushed.  This castle originally belonged to a Gaelic chieftan (O'Rourke) who was executed by the British after giving aid to Spaniards who survived an Armada ship that sunk nearby.  The castle had a scavenger hunt that my boys took quite seriously.  The OPW staff suggested that we go see the ruins of another abbey, so this took us to Creevelea Friary not too far away. There was a short hike alongside a rushing river before we got to the ruins, which are still used as a cemetery for the local families.

Scavenger Hunt!

Parke's Castle 

Creevelea Friary 

Sunday ended our time in Sligo.  We'd thought to see Carrowkeel on our way South, but there was rain (real rain for the first and only time on our trip) and a longer than expected drive, so we skipped it. We never got to Slieve League either, and so many other wonderful sites -- next time!  Time for Killarney (and part four of this five part trip)!   http://readyforthenextvacation.blogspot.com/2016/10/ireland-part-4-killarney-and-county.html