Au Revoir, Ireland

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Oya and I bid adieu to the New Jersey clan as we head back to Turkey and they moved on to London. Crotty's Pub B&B has been all around terrific. Their rooms were spacious and comfortable, the gastronomy way beyond expectation and they were spot-on with their must-see recos.

Kilrush Strollerama

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Back at the ranch, while everyone chilled out, I got out for a little more nosing around the area. A ship-building yard caught my eye and I found a lovely trail looking over the town and in through the Vandemeer Walled Garden, looping around to the church. In spite of a little drizzle, the rich aroma of burning hearths and fertile soil permeated the air. Ready for a few well-deserved pints, we all toasted Mom and her repatriation.

Ennis

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A lovely mid-sized town, Ennis' Sunday market and music festival were in full swing as we rolled in. Imagine my surprise when I spotted our family name - none too common - on a tourism sign post. Seems Linnane's Terrace was a row of houses built in ?, most likely by a relative.

Mom's Village of Labasheeda

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The nearest village to the Linnane homestead is Labasheeda, Gaelic for Bed of Silk. There is one coastal road lined with houses, tractors, a post office, church, old school house and the inevitable Casey's Pub. 

Kilkerrin Point - The Battery

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I've great memories of Mom and my uncles sending Bro and I out to play while they dealt with the cattle, horses and hay. We would go out with pails and pick periwinkles from the river shoreline which would inevitably wind up on the dinner table. Bro and I fancied ourselves big time explorers as we braved the mad bull in one of the neighbouring fields and trudged what seemed like kilometres to reach the Kilkerrin Battery. Imagine my surprise yesterday when we found it was less than a 10 minute stroll from the farm, virtually in our own back yard. The Battery is a strategically positioned English fortification built to guard against French marauding ships in Napoleonic times. Erected in 1811, it features a deep moat, an artillery bunker and a lookout on the roof where a couple of 24 pounder cannons stood vigil.

When Steve and I used to play in the castle, we had to climb our way into the dark, dank basement…

...and scamper up what was left of the floor. While the drawbridge still doesn't work, the villagers have made it easily accessible with a metallic bridge to cross the moat and a new sturdy floor now prevents any mishaps. 

Soldiers must have been mighty slight as the staircase up to the lookout would never allow for a meatier lad.

On the lookout still sit the cannon anchors with a magnificent view over the artillery bunker and countryside.

Mom's Birthplace at Kilkerrin Point

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Here's an understatement: secondary roads in small town Ireland are insane. It takes nerves of steel to navigate the crazy tight windy roads lined with high hedgerows, blind hills and not the slightest hint of a shoulder. And all this with a speed limit of 80 km! More often, we crawled along at a snail's pace in mortal fear of the inevitable tractor that would suddenly rear its ugly trowel around the next bend. There just wasn't enough room to accommodate both so one would have to back up to a field entrance to allow the other through. We also suddenly found our car swarmed by a herd of stampeding cows brushing so close as to tempt us to grab their udders for a quick round of milking.

Following Mom's memorial at Killofin, we continued along the high road to the very end where the road pours into the Shannon River. There lies the small house where Mom and her 9 siblings were born and raised by their parents. Quarters were extremely tight with only 2 bedrooms. Without the benefit of a stove, a large cast iron cauldron enjoyed daily workouts in the hearth for making stews, boiling the vegetables they grew on the farm and even making soda bread. The house is now a vacant holiday home but nothing much has changed since I last laid eyes on the interior a dozen years ago. The kids were completely up for the hunt for their roots, lovely to see everyone in such high spirits despite a gentle little rain.

Mom's Memorial Service

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As a native of Labasheeda who knew our family well, Father Tom was the perfect choice for Mom's memorial service. He was casual and personable, very warm. Mom would have loved that her cousins Joe, Peggy and Nell McMahon attended to pay their respects and visit with us. Mom's ashes were scattered on the family plot where her brothers, parents and grandparents also lay inside an open roofed old Augustine monastery dating back to the 12th Century. Mom's name and dates have been added to the family headstone so as to make her mark official.

It is no mystery why Mom wanted to return here. Having fallen into a state of disrepair, the monastery has lost its roof though its thick stone walls still stand, covered by a heavy layer of vibrant green vines. Within the walls of the monastery is a sheltered silence, punctuated only by the sing song of birds as they flitted in and out of the vines throughout the service. As Steve recited Mom's favourite poem, I could clearly hear her reciting it in chorus and acting it out exactly as she used to when we were kids. From the headstone is a direct view through the regal archway and down the rolling green hills out onto the Shannon Estuary. The blended aroma of Irish lushness and sea air are so fitting. Mum has come home.

Crotty's Pub Gastronomy

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We all enjoyed delicious high end fare with lovely company at Crotty's Pub. Kudos to Oya for scoping out this gem. All glasses raised in honour of Mom.

Kilrush tourism

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Back in Kilrush, the public toilet across the way beckoned, enticing with a cool ale ad on the side. — at kilkee.

Lit a candle for my uncles and Mum in the church at Kilkee.

The convent lay in ruinous state of disrepair. Looked spooky like something out of The Shining.

Loop Head Scenic Road

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We took the scenic road to Loop Head. Magnificent. Spectacular sculpted cliffs peppered with gorgeous flowers on the fields above. Wowww...

Quick, act normal. HUMANS!
 

We stumbled across a castle in ruins just off the water. Beautiful. I had just finished advising everyone to watch their footing for cow pie when my brother emerged with a foot full of it. Lovely!