Ballina, West Mayo, and Irish Poems and Tales

BW Babe is NOT Holding a Guinness 

Alice's Restaurant in Ireland

Gunnera Plant on Achill Island

Old Grey Frog, the Harpist, and BW Babe

O'Malley's Castle

On the Coast Near Achill Island

Ceide Fields

Ceide Fields

Bog Cotton

Batt Burns - Seanachrie

Word of the Day Tentaculating - The act of waving one's arms about and talking complete nonsense. We woke up fairly early this morning but with the festivities of last night, no-one was moving very fast. Topping it off, BW and I had problems getting our coffee pot working. In the end, a very dour man came to our door, all apologies, bringing us a coffee tray to make up for our troubles. There was no hot water for showers either. Oh well... It was back on the bus at 9:35 AM with everyone heading off for a drive through West Mayo and the Erris Peninsula. After arranging to have lunch at Alice's Restaurant, we crossed a bridge and found ourselves driving on Achill Island, the largest island in Ireland. Driving around the island, we were told about Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen, the terror of the west coast. A ruin of the O'Malley Castle still remains standing on the island. The land on the island is very poor. The crofters grew small patches of potatoes called lazy beds, but the last of those fields have laid dormant for over 150 years. The farmers on the island would cross over to Scotland to earn extra money, digging potatoes. They were called Tattie-Hookers. Again, sheep can be seen wandering the hills here on the island. I noticed that the gunnera plant seemed to be growing all over with its spiny stem and almost prehistoric looking flower. Actually, it looks a bit like a mutant rhubarb plant. After touring the island, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the restaurant that I mentioned previously. Batt had taken our orders on the bus and phoned it in so they were well prepared for our arrival. I enjoyed an excellent open-faced sandwich, smoked salmon (lox) on brown bread with a salad. I noted that the gal sitting across the table from me ordered a open-faced salmon sandwich...the waiter called it BBQ salmon but I'm told that it was smoked salmon. She seemed to enjoy it. After lunch we drove on down the road to visit Ceide Fields. Some of us, upon noting the blistery cold winds, decided to pass on the forty minute tour of the archeological digs. The rest of us brave souls, trooped up stairs and crossed wind-swept bogs to listen to our guide as he expounded on Neolithic farming and how evidence of the farming community was preserved by the bog. It actually was quite interesting. Darn cold though. Returning to our hotel, we had just enough time to change for dinner and then get ourselves ready for an after dinner treat. Batt brought us all together to tell us a few tales. Batt Burns is a well-known Seanachrie (Irish Story-teller) and, has been our guide for this tour. His one-man show had us both laughing and crying and he assured us as his finished reciting one last tale that there is always a fine line between laughter and tears. We'll be leaving our hotel here in Ballina tomorrow morning on our way to Cavan. One of our more adventurous tour members discovered a secret way of exiting the basement (our rooms being in the basement)that she shared with BW and me. It will make transporting our luggage out to the lobby tomorrow morning a heck of a lot simpler, no lift AND there are NO STAIRS!!!! We Americans are SOOOO inventive and sneaky. Random Quote of the Day Our deeds travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are. George Eliot (1819 - 1880)