A Galway Girl: All Around County Mayo

My plan of action when tackling this blog is to write a post every week. Mostly about the events of the weekend because during the week I am in school and studying, things that can become a bit repetitive week after week. Still, I promise to fill you in on any exciting things that happen during the week. Now I know I have delayed this post for two weeks, but just think of it as getting two posts in one week. It’s like Christmas! Tomorrow I will write about the amazing time I had in Scotland this past weekend with my mom’s first cousin and Aunt Anne’s sister, Fiona, and her family. Now on to my time in County Mayo.

On this weekend, Hannah’s aunt and uncle (Mrs. Knight’s brother and his wife) came to Ireland and took us around different parts of County Mayo. They both live in Evergreen Park, IL and just came to Ireland on vacation for two weeks. I was excited for this weekend because after dragging Hannah to see my family every weekend, I knew she was excited to show me hers. On Friday morning, Tom and Molly (names twins!) picked us up at our apartment. This was the first weekend we were going to be spending with tourists just like us, people who wanted to see Ireland for themselves instead of just showing us Ireland. They were so so nice! It was a typical day in Ireland, full of rain. We drove to the northern part of County Mayo and stopped in Ballina. (Not pronounced Ba-LEE-na, but instead Ba-lin-AH). I had the most difficult time pronouncing this word. Even now every time I say it I have to first stop and think about it in my head. Well, this is where Mrs. Knight’s family is from. We even went to the church, Saint Muredach’s Cathedral, where Hannah’s great-great grandma was baptized. There was a wedding taking place on this particular Friday. Molly (I haven’t started suddenly speaking in first person. Remember this is Hannah’s aunt. Although, if you want to, as you are reading this, you can think to yourself that anytime I write Molly, I am referring to myself. It might be funny.) insisted we go inside. I’m glad she did. A lot of the women in the pews were wearing hats that guests wore at the Royal Wedding. I don’t know if these kinds of hats are as popular for weddings in Ireland as they are in England, or if this wedding is just unique. I plan on bringing this trend back for my wedding one day, and although this day is far away I suggest searching the stores now. I don’t know the selection Chicago offers for these hats.

Before our stop in Saint Muredach’s Cathedral, we grabbed some lunch in town. I forgot to mention that during the car ride from Galway to Ballina, I felt carsick. As my family knows, I have never experienced carsickness in my life; however, on this day, the one day I was with Hannah’s family, trying to make a good impression, God graciously gave me the gift of nausea.As Hannah and her aunt and uncle were talking I was trying to focus my attention on not getting sick. As it was still raining out, the windshield wipers were going full speed, and as they were right in front of me, I focused on their swift back in forth motion. (Later, Hannah would tell me how stupid I was for doing this) This of course made me feel even worse so I just closed my eyes. (Something, Hannah’s uncle, a doctor, nonetheless, said at lunch was something you should never do when feeling carsick) My excuse to both of them was that I had never been carsick before so I didn’t know. It’s not like they have a lesson for it in third grade, “What to do when you’re carsick”. Thankfully though, after lunch I was feeling much better. I was afraid of being sick again so I refrained from reading my copy of Seventeen Magazine the rest of the weekend while in the car.

The next stop on our tour was Killala Bay. I would like to take this time a note how much I love the travelling style of Tom and Molly Daum. There was only one mandatory stop we had to make (you will find out why shortly) and two hotels we had to get to before dark but other than that, there was no plan. All the other places we went (the majority we only stayed for 15 minutes) were unplanned. And let me tell you, they were some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The pictures below don’t do them justice. So we stopped at Killala Bay, only for 20 minutes, took a few pictures and left. Molly is a wonderful photographer and even sells some of her pictures online, so she was almost kind of working. Our next unplanned stop was the Céide Fields in Ballycastle. A local told Tom and Molly about this place the night before in Galway. They thought it sounded cool, and boy, were they were right. The Céide Fields is the oldest known field systems in the world, over 5,000 years old. The remains of stone field walls, houses and tombs are preserved beneath a blanket of peat over several square miles. Quick quiz: what is peat? I mentioned it in at least one previous blog, but for those who forgot, it’s partially decayed vegetation matter that people in Ireland use in place of logs to build a fire.Some families, especially in very rural Ireland, still use it to heat their entire home. So, we took a little tour of the fields and even watched a short video in the visitor center about how the Céide Fields got to be this way.

Our next stop, the only one that was planned was in Belmullet. Since this stop was planned, and for very good reason, we also stayed the night in a hotel there. It was getting late, and we were afraid the sun would set. Molly’s father died in January and was cremated. Molly, Tom and Molly’s father once came to this old graveyard on the coast of Belmullet, and ever since then, he told Molly that this is where he wanted some of his ashes to be spread. So that was what we were going to do. Hannah’s uncle had emailed her a week or two before about this ceremony and this is what he said. “I mentioned before that I need you as the videographer for Mr. Shannon's ash ceremony. I will be attempting to play Foggy Dew, Danny Boy and Amazing Grace on the Irish whistle and was wondering about your and Molly's voices. Would you be sports and sing? It would be fun- NO PRESSURE; don’t really care what it sounds like. I'll bring the words. I have visions of Molly and you having been in the choral groups in High School.”After much contemplation and failed attempts at practicing (we couldn’t stop laughing!) in our room, we decided to suck it up and sing. Number 1: My only vocal experience is from Saint Michael's Children's Choir back in 3rd grade. And even then I think the choir director made me in charge of the instrument, the triangle, to keep me from singing. Number 2: The first time I heard the song Foggy Dew was when I was attempting to sing it at the cemetery. So you can just imagine how it went. Hannah filmed the entire ceremony while Tom played his Irish whistle, and the two Molly’s sang. There were parts that Tom and Molly read pieces of poetry Molly’s dad liked. I was so honored to be apart of it (even if my lack of vocal ability hindered the beauty of the ceremony).

The next day, on our way to Westport where we would be staying that night, we took a detour to Achill Island. I’m telling you, this weekend was full of the most magnificent scenery. We only stayed long enough to snap a few pictures, but it was so worth it. When we arrived in Westport, Tom and Molly gave us a few hours to do whatever we wanted, read, sleep, or explore the city.Hannah and I were so exhausted that we took a three-hour nap. Now Mom, I know what you are thinking. We should have explored the town of Westport. Our time here is precious. And you are right. However, Hannah and I had been in Westport the previous weekend after we climbed Croagh Patrick. And since the town is only a few streets, it doesn’t take long to walk through it once. After our much-needed nap, we went out to dinner and then to Matt Malloy’s, a famous pub in downtown Westport. They are known for their live music and on this night they had musicians playing traditional Irish music, which was so fun to watch. One of my favorite parts of Ireland, and one of the things I will miss most when I go home, is the live music. I could watch them for hours.

The next morning Hannah and I caught a bus back to Galway. Tom offered to drive us, but since the bus stop was right outside our Bed and Breakfast, we insisted on taking it. We both slept the majority of the bus ride. Traveling really takes a lot out of you, but it was truly an amazing weekend!