I really should be doing homework. . .
15 years ago
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Epic Ireland Vacation Day 12
Ceann Tra (Beach) with hundreds of limpets and other shells.
Fungie the Dolphin boat tour.
Walking around Dingle.
- Jeweler that spoke only Irish (Gaelic) until he was 4, then started learning English.
Murphy's Bar.
Finish Slea Head Drive
- Cashel Murphy (500 BC structure)
- Dunmore Head (500AD Ogham Stone)
Fungie the Dolphin boat tour.
Walking around Dingle.
- Jeweler that spoke only Irish (Gaelic) until he was 4, then started learning English.
Murphy's Bar.
Finish Slea Head Drive
- Cashel Murphy (500 BC structure)
- Dunmore Head (500AD Ogham Stone)
Epic Vacation Day 11
Slea Head Drive (Dingle Peninsula)
- Gallorus Oratory / Gallorus Castle (dogs that don't bite and the king wasn't home)
- Gallorus Oratory / Gallorus Castle (dogs that don't bite and the king wasn't home)
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Epic Vacation Day 10
Sunday, October 13th
We had an hours drive to get to the nearest branch for church, so we left early down a very windy road. We got there early to find a little door amid other shops with a sign on it notating it was a church. We went up some stairs and into their chapel which was smaller then some classrooms at home. There was one other family there and the bishop (a missionary from Utah) was happy to see us. Other people slowly filed in. In the end there were about a dozen members of their congregation and a little over a dozen visitors, mostly our family and one other military family from Germany. We had a nice sacrament meeting where the Bishop and his Wife spoke, then we split up for classes. Angie said she had a great time in Young Women's, while Ruth, Vivie, and Sam had a very short lesson in primary and then played hangman. Ruth was not impressed and wished she would have gone with Angie. I walked into a very small classroom with a table like you would see in any church building back home and a familiar looking tablecloth. Seated around the table were six other women. Bernadette taught the lesson and these women from all over shared their views and testimonies. The woman I was sitting next to was from Nigeria, but the other women agreed that she was Irish now and one of them. It was a very nice lesson and very interesting to hear so many viewpoints.
Then came the part of the trip I had been waiting for. We headed towards Ballymalis Castle, From 1667-1755 one of my grandfathers was born, raised, had his children and died in this castle. I have seen many pictures of it and a few years back it went up for sale. His American descendants talked briefly about buying it, but it was then purchased by for restoration. The last I had seen of it, there was scaffolding on the side, so I didn't know what we would find. It was a little hard to get to. Off the main road and tucked back in between two farms. It sat in the middle of someone's back pasture with a little walk leading up to in. The end of the path was blocked off because of the restoration project. We passed donkeys on one side and cows on the other. The animals were very friendly and came running to see us as we arrived. This kept the children's attention the whole time we were there, as they were much more interesting then an old castle they couldn't get very close to. For me though, it was really amazing to see what good shape it was in after all of the many castle ruins we had driven past. All of the walls were intact and they were in the process of restoring the inside and then planning on putting a roof on. We think that because the castle is located in the ring of Kerry and that is a huge tourist destination, that is why they decided to restore this castle over others. We may have hopped the fence to get a better look while the children were distracting the cows. It was a beautiful area and I imagine the views from the top were stunning. There was even a nice stream running along one side. On our drive in we passed a local out for a bike ride. We talked to him for awhile and then asked if he knew of a cemetery close by. We talked about tracing our roots and he said he had traveled to America not long ago to do the same thing. He told us how to get to a cemetery not far down the main road. After we had our fill of the castle and the cows, we headed off in search of the cemetery. It didn't show up in google and we had a hard time finding it, but we were finally able to find it about a mile away. It was mostly ruins. There was a church in the middle that had collapsed on one side and headstones scattered about. Some were new and some were very old. It looked like there had been more, but the markers were long gone. A plaque had been placed inside the gate listing the last names on the headstones that were stile legible. Under the letter E it was all Eagar's. It's very possible that this was where my family attended church and many were berried. We found some names that I do not have any record of, so I will be doing some more research to see if I can find out more about them. The kids had so much fun looking at the map by the gate and then trying to find the corresponding grave. Sam made me read him all of the headstones, just like he does at home when we take flowers to Grandma and Grandpa. I'm glad they have such a connection there and an interest in finding out about these people.
We had an hours drive to get to the nearest branch for church, so we left early down a very windy road. We got there early to find a little door amid other shops with a sign on it notating it was a church. We went up some stairs and into their chapel which was smaller then some classrooms at home. There was one other family there and the bishop (a missionary from Utah) was happy to see us. Other people slowly filed in. In the end there were about a dozen members of their congregation and a little over a dozen visitors, mostly our family and one other military family from Germany. We had a nice sacrament meeting where the Bishop and his Wife spoke, then we split up for classes. Angie said she had a great time in Young Women's, while Ruth, Vivie, and Sam had a very short lesson in primary and then played hangman. Ruth was not impressed and wished she would have gone with Angie. I walked into a very small classroom with a table like you would see in any church building back home and a familiar looking tablecloth. Seated around the table were six other women. Bernadette taught the lesson and these women from all over shared their views and testimonies. The woman I was sitting next to was from Nigeria, but the other women agreed that she was Irish now and one of them. It was a very nice lesson and very interesting to hear so many viewpoints.
Then came the part of the trip I had been waiting for. We headed towards Ballymalis Castle, From 1667-1755 one of my grandfathers was born, raised, had his children and died in this castle. I have seen many pictures of it and a few years back it went up for sale. His American descendants talked briefly about buying it, but it was then purchased by for restoration. The last I had seen of it, there was scaffolding on the side, so I didn't know what we would find. It was a little hard to get to. Off the main road and tucked back in between two farms. It sat in the middle of someone's back pasture with a little walk leading up to in. The end of the path was blocked off because of the restoration project. We passed donkeys on one side and cows on the other. The animals were very friendly and came running to see us as we arrived. This kept the children's attention the whole time we were there, as they were much more interesting then an old castle they couldn't get very close to. For me though, it was really amazing to see what good shape it was in after all of the many castle ruins we had driven past. All of the walls were intact and they were in the process of restoring the inside and then planning on putting a roof on. We think that because the castle is located in the ring of Kerry and that is a huge tourist destination, that is why they decided to restore this castle over others. We may have hopped the fence to get a better look while the children were distracting the cows. It was a beautiful area and I imagine the views from the top were stunning. There was even a nice stream running along one side. On our drive in we passed a local out for a bike ride. We talked to him for awhile and then asked if he knew of a cemetery close by. We talked about tracing our roots and he said he had traveled to America not long ago to do the same thing. He told us how to get to a cemetery not far down the main road. After we had our fill of the castle and the cows, we headed off in search of the cemetery. It didn't show up in google and we had a hard time finding it, but we were finally able to find it about a mile away. It was mostly ruins. There was a church in the middle that had collapsed on one side and headstones scattered about. Some were new and some were very old. It looked like there had been more, but the markers were long gone. A plaque had been placed inside the gate listing the last names on the headstones that were stile legible. Under the letter E it was all Eagar's. It's very possible that this was where my family attended church and many were berried. We found some names that I do not have any record of, so I will be doing some more research to see if I can find out more about them. The kids had so much fun looking at the map by the gate and then trying to find the corresponding grave. Sam made me read him all of the headstones, just like he does at home when we take flowers to Grandma and Grandpa. I'm glad they have such a connection there and an interest in finding out about these people.
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