Wordless Wednesday 7/24/19

Brideswell, County Roscommon Ireland

******TRAVEL TUESDAY*******

I'm very excited to share today's travel post with you. This post is about day three of my recent trip to Ireland. It was a day spent with my Irish relatives on my paternal grandmothers side of the family.

My grandmother, Delia Hamrock, was born in 1888 in the very small village of Brideswell, located in County Roscommon Ireland. Delia had seven siblings. Her father's name was John Hamrock, and her mother's name was Mary (Geraghty)  Hamrock. Delia emigrated to the US 18 April 1906, from Queenstown (Which is now Cobh) Ireland.

The River Suck, which is a tributary to the Shannon River, flows through the village of Brideswell:

The Hamrock homestead in Brideswell has gone into disrepair, and only one wall remains standing. Here is a photo of Miss J and I at the family home: (Photo credit my cousin MaryCatherine)

I can't even put into words how incredible it was to spend time with our Irish relatives, and I especially can't even find the words to describe how hospitable they were. I had gown up hearing about the "Irish hospitality" but to experience it first hand was beyond my expectations. Our cousin Teresa had us over to her beautiful home and gardens for "tea". It was lovely and we were served delicious homemade breads and jams........the conversation flowed smoothly.......and I felt like I was "home".

A video of Teresa’s lovely garden:

 Gramaphone from the old Brideswell home:

The whole group of extended family at Teresa's house: (Photo credit to Victor, our bus driver)

After tea, our cousin Aiden hopped on or bus with us and directed our driver to the cemetery where our relatives are buried. Aiden's brothers Michael and Sheamus met us at the cemetery.

The first burial inside the church was around 1600. It stopped being used as a church shortly after that because of the Reformation, which outlawed the practice of Catholicism. The Reformation was about 30-40 years before that, but according to the local historian, it would have taken that many years for the idea of the reformation to get down there. 

The landscape in County Roscommon was mostly flat farmland with miles and miles and miles of fields and stonewalls.

This was taken out of the moving bus window:

We stopped to see our Uncle Johnnie Hamrock's house and bike. He rode this bike well into his 90's and it has become quite the conversation piece! (My nephew Brian)

We also visited the school that my grandmother attended:

And we visited St Brigid's Well located beside the school:

The family then had a gathering for us at Hamrock's Bar in Brideswell with sandwiches and drinks being served. I had always heard of Hamrock's Pub and it was so exciting to be there. What a quaint little place this is......a very comfortable spot to sit and have a pint!

Notice what's hanging on the wall behind my Sister. I love how the NE Patriots were represented there!!!!

From here, we departed Brideswell and headed to the nearby town of Athlone to have a pint at Sean's Bar.......which is a very famous bar and is said to be not only the oldest bar in Ireland, but perhaps the oldest bar in the world!

I hope you enjoyed this post.......I know it is more personal than my typical blog posts and some of the photos are just record shots, but it was such a special day in my life and I really wanted to share it here on the blog. The next TRAVEL post that I'm putting up will feature more family photos.......this time from my paternal grandfathers side of the family. It was another unforgettable day.

Connemara Ireland Photos

******TRAVEL TUESDAY*******

Welcome to another travel day outside of New England. Today I am happy to share with you some details and photos about day two of my recent trip to Ireland.
We woke up in our Galway penthouse to mostly cloudy skies. Our bus driver Victor promptly picked the ten of us up at ten AM where we began our drive up to the beautiful Connemara region of Galway. I have always wanted to go to Connemara. There is something about the wild and rugged landscape that had drawn me to this area, and it didn't disappoint.

Our first stop of the morning was at this adorable little drive up coffee truck located roadside just out of Galway City.. It's owned and run by a brother and sister team. They couldn't have been any nicer, and their coffee and breakfast goodies were delicious.

 Here's the first stop we made in the Connemara region. The scenery up in that area is simply breathtaking!

We arrived at Connemara National Park where we dropped off the three guys in our group who spent the majority of the day hiking a mountain. Our driver Victor then took all of us girls to the adorable quaint fishing village of Cleggan for lunch. By the end of the trip, our slogan was "In Victor we trust", as all of his suggestions for us were perfect!!!!

This is our ride for the ten days parked out back behind the restaurant "Oliver's Seafood Bar"

Cleggan Harbor......the view from the restaurant:

My lunch that day: Seafood chowder. I had read that Ireland has good seafood chowder and I can attest to that fact. This was delicious! I also ordered it for lunch another day in a different area of Ireland and it was just as delicious. If you ever go to Ireland, I highly recommend it!

Another harbor view....such an adorable little fishing village.

After lunch, Victor drove us to a hidden gem of a beach. I'm not sure the name of it, but it was about a ten minute drive from Cleggan Village. I just loved this little hidden oasis. It is located way off the beaten path and it felt as though we had the world to ourselves.

Miss J, my niece Kristen, my sister Kathleen:

Miss J

From here, we returned to pick up the hikers in our group......they had a fantastic hike and all three of them came back with smiles on their faces and beautiful photos from their hike. The rest of the day was spent touring some of the off the beaten path roads of Connemara. We had very changeable skies that day which created some very nice drama for photography. 

So many sheep lining the roads!

A Connemara Pony

My cousin BettyAnn on top of the world

There is so much more of the Connemara region that I would love to see. One day just wasn't enough.....but I will return some day. The rugged wild beauty of this area is calling me back. I absolutely loved it.

Stay tuned for the next travel post which will feature a day spent in County Roscommon with our Irish relatives. I'm excited to share it with you. It was incredible.