Ireland (Day Eight - the last day) - McDermott Castle, Fairy Woods, Boyle Abbey, and More

Today was our last day for sightseeing in Ireland. The next day we would be going Leixlip Manor and Gardens (which had incredible grounds to see! I wish I had known and we would have spent more time there, instead of just using it to be close to Dublin airport). Anyways, on this last day, the man at Drumhierney Lodge suggested we go see Lough Key Forest Park. The outline of the park is a little confusing, so here is a map of the park.

The park houses several areas of historical interest, but the biggest here is McDermott Castle, which is the heart of the featured history of the area. This is an infamous castle in the middle of the lake (or castle island on the map). Here is my photo featured of it:

And a zoomed in photo...

"There is reference to Castle Island in the annals of Lough Ce as early as 1184. During this time the park was called Moylurg and the Kings of Moylurg were the McDermotts.

The McDermott’s official residence was on The Rock, now called Castle Island. As space was limited on this small island they had another residence on the mainland where the Moylurg Tower stands today. The McDermotts ruled this area until the 17th century when it was granted to the King family from England under the Cromwellian settlement. The King family spent their time between the town of Boyle and Moylurg which they renamed Rockingham. One of the large mansions they built was called Rockingham House and was built where the Moylurg Tower now stands."

Source: https://loughkey.ie/lough-keys-evolution/the-history/

I've read from other sources that the island referenced from the 12th century was struck by lightning, caught on fire, and rebuilt during the 18th century to what we see today. 

The photo is blurry but a different angle of it.

There is a sad legend that goes with this castle. Supposedly, the daughter of the Chieftain McDermott, Úna, fell in love with a boy who her father didn't deem suitable for her (he was of a lower class). Her father kept her on the island to keep them apart, but the boy would swim to her every night so they could see one another. However, one night he drowned and died on his way to her. Following his death, she died of a broken heart. The two were then buried next to one another underneath two intertwining trees on the island. 

So if you're ever there (and you can tour the island, as far as I know. Either by appointment or renting a kayak and exploring yourself), perhaps you'll see the trees they're buried beneath.

This is the "temple" on the Lough Key map. It was locked but you can see the castle right behind it in the first photo. Also known as the fishing temple, the original intent was for this to be a place that the lady of the house would have tea and rest on the lakeside during her walks. It then turned into the featured name of being a sheltered place to fish during bad weather. 

"The Rockingham Church, formerly called St. Leonard’s Anglican Church, was built about 1875, when the hamlet of Rockingham was a thriving community. Largely abandoned by the 1940s, the building had deteriorated significantly by the mid-‘90s despite various earlier repair efforts. In 1995, the Friends of the Rockingham Church formed to save the building from destruction. Major repairs were carried out in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, the Townships of Brudenell, Lyndoch & Raglan designated the church a heritage site under the Ontario Heritage Act."

Source: https://rockinghamchurch.org/a-little-history/

I highly suggest checking out this article. It goes into the fine details of the construction and architecture of the church.

Shot from the inside.

One last angle.

This structure I had to reach out to the Lough Key Forest & Activity Park's FaceBook page because I couldn't find what this was on the map. They were very kind and let me know this:

"...that building was the stable yard for Rockingham House, it would have housed the horses and equipment eg carriages. there was also living quarters for grooms/stable hands etc..."

After we saw all the structures, we walked back to the shore then took a trail past the temple, on the way to the campgrounds.

Some beautiful nature shots of the trees. Ivy belongs in this part of the world - it makes everything look whimsical. 

This is where we entered, what I call, the Fairy Woods (ironically, not close to the fairy bridge on the map. This was still on the way to the campgrounds from the trail we were on). 

A fairy house village surrounded us on a portion of our walk. I'm not sure the story behind it, but it was very sweet and light-feeling. Perhaps a school had the schoolchildren place them up. Either way, it was probably one of my favorite surprises to see on the trip. Ireland is the heart of the Fae after all. 

I got a picture of these two sets of trees near the campground. I love the way the trunks are swirling, like a woman twirling her dress. The branches being gnarled in the first photo also helps the forest's primeval ambiance too. 

After this walk, we decided to head back to the car and leave the park. We took one stop on the way back, attempting to see the town of Boyle - which has connections to Lough Key's history. Unfortunately, I was six-months pregnant, tired, had seen a lot that day, and the parking was bad in the town, so we only saw one spot there - the Boyle Abbey.

I only got shots of the outside of the abbey, because it costed a fee to tour it (ha, like I was going to pay anything when I had seen several free abbey's already on my trip - but actually, it was only five euros a person and I understand they need revenue for upkeep. I was just exhausted and didn't want to tour the whole thing).

"This Cistercian monastery was founded in the twelfth century by monks from Mellifont Abbey under the patronage of the local ruling family, the MacDermotts. It was one of the most powerful of the early Cistercian foundations in Ireland and among the foremost in Connacht.

Cromwellian forces wreaked devastation when they occupied the abbey in 1659. It was further mutilated during the following centuries, when it was used to accommodate a military garrison. Despite all the violence it has suffered over the centuries, Boyle Abbey is well preserved and retains its ability to impress.

A sixteenth/seventeenth-century gatehouse has been restored and turned into an interpretive centre, where you can learn more about the abbey’s gripping history."

Source: https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/boyle-abbey/

 

The last few angles of it.

And there it is, my last day of Ireland where I actually saw sights. We left the next day to Leixlip Manor (where I wish I had taken photos of their beautiful gardens, I was too busy enjoying them though). Then left back home early the next morning on Wednesday the 29th, June 2022.

I chose Ireland as my first country to visit because it felt so light, and I wanted that energy to be passed to my baby. It's captivating history, sites, friendly people, enchanting elements & landscapes, and amazing culture all continuously awed me. I hope the people there never take any of that for granted, and fight to preserve their culture and people in this incredible land. I have to go back someday - it's too perfect of a place not to. 

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this series out, but at least we're finishing off 2023 with it done. Have a Merry Christmas - here's to a better New Year. 

Timeline:

Riverside Lodge - June 20th - 22nd, 2022

First Day - An Introduction to Ireland

Second Day - The Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough Tower

Springfort Hall Hotel - June 22nd - 24th, 2022

Third Day - City of Mallow and Bridgetown Abbey

Fourth Day - Blarney Castle, Gardens, and Grounds

Elements B&B - June 24th - 26th, 2022

Fifth Day - Quin Friary, the Burren, Lisdoonvarna and Beyond

Sixth Day - Cliffs of Moher and the Aillwee Burren Experience

Drumhierney Lodge - June 26th - June 28th, 2022

Seventh Day - Kilmacduagh Abbey

Eighth Day - This Blog

Leixlip Manor - June 28th - June 29th, 2022

Ireland (Day Seven) - Kilmacduagh Abbey

Day seven in Ireland! This was on our way to our second to last place we were staying - Drumhierney Lodge in Leitrim. This place was very nice and we probably got our most relaxing done here. It was our last major place to stay, as after this we would be staying one night in a place right outside of Dublin to make it to the airport. 

On the way to Drumhierney Lodge, and the only thing featured in this blog, we saw Kilmacduagh Abbey. It popped up on the side of the road, so we pulled over and walked the grounds. 

Kilmacduagh Abbey was established in the 7th century, run by bishop and saint, Colman. 

There are two different stories about the founding of the abbey. One of them tells about a holy man that was sent there by an angel to heal a dying king. The other tells of the above mentioned - Saint Colman walking through the forest and having his girdle drop at this spot, which was interpreted as a sign to place the monastery there. (On a side note, this girdle was supposedly used to determine chastity, as it was said that the girdle would not fit the wearer if the person was unchaste)! 

Regardless of what the true origin of the abbey's location is, the fact that the monastery sits on the border between County Clare and County Galway meant that the kingdoms could offset neighboring raids by having holy land between each other. This did not completely stop warfare however, and an important battle even took place here in 1201 between rival kingships. 

The abbey continued to operate through the centuries and even attained bishopric status (meaning it contained the seat of a local catholic bishop). This meant that there was political and religious power at this location and the monastery became important to local clans who had claims to the land that it was on. 

During this time, the church and buildings had extensive renovations and upkeep done to them; likewise, the abbey was productive in grown and manufactured materials and religious learning, up until the early reformation when the grounds began to fall into disrepair. This was common among monastic orders around the reformation with the abbey being officially "suppressed" in 1578, and the lands were distributed to local landlords and government officials. By 1814 a new church in nearby Gort became the central cathedral for this particular diocese.

From then on, it's sat as essentially just ruins on the side of the road (minus the graveyard which is still used today). The girdle to determine chastity was also stolen when it became ruins, and no one knows where it is today. 

(Photo above features another building on the grounds - it was further away and I didn't take close up shots of it).

This reminds me of Glendalough Tower, but much less well-known. 

There lies our seventh day in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Day eight, the last day, will be up soon. The ruins for this abbey were beautiful to see. 

Ireland (Day Six) - Cliffs of Moher and the Aillwee Burren Experience

 

Here we are on my day six of Ireland. That photo up there is the Cliff's of Moher in County Clare - you may recognize the cliffs from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The scene where Dumbledore takes Harry to find Tom Riddle's horcrux. 

"Visually spectacular, the Cliffs of Moher sit astride the striking landscape of the Burren on one side and the Wild Atlantic Ocean on the other. Rising out of the Atlantic waters to a height of over 700ft at O’Brien’s Tower and running along the coast of Clare for almost 14 kilometres, or 8 miles, the Cliffs of Moher were formed over 320 million years ago, and today form part of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. The Cliffs of Moher is in a Special Protection Area for Birds and Wildlife. The magnificent Cliffs on the Wild Atlantic Way host major colonies of nesting sea birds and are one of the country’s most important bird-breeding sites."

Source: https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/about-the-cliffs-of-moher/cliffs-of-moher/at-the-cliffs/

Here are various angles of them:

In the photo above, we can see O’Brien’s Tower. This is actually in the main spot where I took all the photos above that. The last photo we had walked further away - it was so windy though, and me being six months pregnant, we couldn't walk too much further. 

"The tower was built on the cliffs in 1835 by the local landlord and MP Sir Cornelius O’Brien as an observation point for the English tourists who frequented the area at the time.

It is said to have initially served as a teahouse or folly; another version tells of Cornelius building the tower in order to impress the women he was courting!

Whatever the truth, from this vantage point on a clear day you can see the Aran Islands and the Twelve Bens of Connemara across Galway Bay."

Source: https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/about-the-cliffs-of-moher/cliffs-of-moher/obriens-tower/

The sites weren't just the cliff's and tower though. There were little admirers to see right at our feet - artwork and this cute, crescent-looking moon on the steps. 

This was also right at our feet. Apparently, a lot of tourists like to try and go to the edge of the cliffs. Even when we were there, there was a trail that kept going up the cliffs where they had specifically put signs up for people not to go past since it was dangerous. We didn't go, but it did have me googling around and I found out at the cliffs have been 66 deaths there between 1993 and 2017. 

Here's one picture of the inside of the visitor's center. I only took this because my mom loves puffins - but yes, the cliffs are home to puffins that I unfortunately didn't get to see that day. 

The visitor's center was also in a neat location, right under, and inside of, a hill.

Here were my last two views before leaving that day. The first leads up to the viewpoint of the cliffs. The other is when you look the opposite direction at the town below the cliffs. It was a beautiful sight to see and I'm jealous of the locals who live there.

The cliff's themselves were powerful to look at. The wind and rain really built up the essence of being there and I feel like pictures don't do them justice. 

The next place we went to was the Aillwee Burren Experience. This was in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland. They had a birds of prey center and cave tours.

I didn't get any photos of the actual Birds of Prey show, but afterwards we got to tour some rescued birds in their cages. We have Hedwig in the first photo, a raven in the second (fun fact, the raven was the only bird to have things like dog toys in there with it. They're so smart they need to be entertained) - and there's a nest of wild birds in the last photo.

I got a few good photos from inside Aillwee Cave where we were touring.

This is all stalactite - a tapering structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water.

Source: dictionary.com 

Stalagmites are the opposite - it's when it builds from the bottom up. Sometimes stalactite and stalagmite meet and conjoin. 

Here's fossils of a bear who died in the caves - more info on that here. 

You can see some of the walk we went on - over a bridge, up and down some mild slopes. There's some stalactite in the last photo. 

I loved the coloring on some of these rocks.

Spiral staircase up.

A waterfall in the caves. I love this shot with the coloring on the rocks, the waterfall, and the pink (from someone else's flash I'm assuming). 

My last two shots of the caves. It was a neat thing to see and I'm glad we went. At this point our vacation was winding down, so this was something easy to see and there weren't too many people there.

This was the end of my day six. Starting with magnificent Cliffs of Moher and ending with the Aillwee Burren Experience. It was quite the day and I loved it.