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Day Eight was good. I took a coach tour to the Cliff's of Mohre and the Burren which is the rocky mountain area.
They picked me up at my B&B and took me to where the tour left.
It was so nice not to have to worry about driving and just enjoy the scenery!
The driver was great at pointing out sites. The first was to Dunguaire Castle. I am going to cheat and post what Wikapedia has to say about it.
The castle was built by the Hynes clan in 1520, a family who may have been associated with the area since 662, when the site is believed to have once been the royal palace of Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin, the legendary king of Connacht and progenitor of the clan. Dunguaire Castle was transferred in the 17th century to Oliver Martin, (father of Richard Martin fitz Oliver). It remained in his family until it was purchased in the early 20th century by the surgeon and poet Oliver St. John Gogarty. Gogarty began restoring the castle and established it as the meeting place for the leading figures of the Celtic Revival, such as W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Augusta, Lady Gregory, and John Millington Synge.
Next we went by an old manor that was owned by the O'Connor clan at the time Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland.
We then went on to the Ballyvaughn Earthen Fort. This dates back to the Vikings where they set up small homesteads and the upper part of the ring was used as a defense.
We then went to the Poulnabron Doleman which is a megalithic tomb and dates back to the stone age.
We saw a fairy ring of trees. It was explained that in history farmers would dig up a tree and carry it home and set it outside for the night. When they would sleep they would be awoken by voices telling them that they better get out of bed and go replant the trees is they wished to rise from bed at the sunrise. For most that was enough of a warning and they would get up and plant the trees. The story was that one farmer did not listen and when he woke at sunrise he was paralyzed and could not rise from his bed. So don't dig up trees that make a fairy ring!!
We then went to the Kilfenora Cathedral in the town of Kilfenora. This Cathedral was dedicated to St. Fachtnan and built in about 1189 on the site of an early monastery. It is famous for having the most Celtic crosses. It houses the tensing part of the Doorty Cross and the North Cross.
We then drove through Lisdovarnia which boasts of having the largest match making festival in Europe every September.
We stopped for lunch. I had Guinness and Beef stew. This was the best yet! I need the recipe!
Finally made it to the Cliffs of Mohre and though it had been raining and was misty they were awe inspiring!! I am so happy I went on the tour.
On the way back we saw a leprechaun :) I will get the picture uploaded when I can. This blog is cool but it takes forever to upload them!
Went by some other cliffs that we could get closer to the edge and got some nice pictures.
Made our way back to the bus terminal and one of the drivers personally gave a couple and myself a ride back to our lodgings. I was so exhausted I got the first paragraph out and fell asleep.
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