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Posts Tagged With: Burren
Burren Stories #2. Corkscrew Hill.
Posted on June 20, 2019 by singersong
Corkscrew Hill lies on the road between Ballyvaughan and Lisdoonvarna, which slices through the heart of the Burren. The road climbs the notorious hill with four switchbacks that take you to the viewpoint. This is a great place to get a feel for the character of the Burren. You look north east up a fertile valley, comprised of glacial till, towards Ballyvaughan and over Galway Bay. The bare terraced limestone ridges that frame each side are the signature of The Burren. To the east is Turlough Hill and Slievecarran and to the west Gleninagh Mountain. It is always difficult to capture a panoramic view such as this but I had a go. Do I go wide or zoom in on the mountains? Couldn’t decide so I did both.
View from Corkscrew Hill towards Ballyvaughan
Turlough Hill and Slievecarron
As did the travellers who disgorged themselves from their tour bus for a five-minute stop. I chatted to the driver Tom. They had left Galway that morning and were en route to the Cliffs of Moher before heading to Killarney where they would spend the night. That’s a lot to cover in one day, so the Burren was allocated just those five minutes. I asked Tom if they would see anything else, such as Poulnabrone. “Bit out of the way”, he says and lowering his voice to a whisper adds “and I don’t thing any of these guys would be very interested”.
A short stop on the way to the Clifffs
As the bus continued its way up the hill, I returned to my quiet contemplation of the vista, grateful that circumstances had given me so much more than those five minutes.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland	| Tags: Burren, Burren Stories, Corkscrew Hill	| Leave a comment
Burren Stories #1. Corcomroe Abbey
I can’t believe that in the five years I’ve lived here I hadn’t come across this place before. It wasn’t until I was chatting to my friend Oliver O’Connell, a man who knows the Burren as well as anyone, that it came up in conversation. When he saw the blank look on my face, he said “let’s forget about our plans. I’ll show it to you”.
It is hard not to be impressed when you first see it. A stunning location in a green valley surrounded by the treeless rocky hills it has towered over the landscape for centuries. A huge symbol of Church and Chieftain power. Surrounded by natural beauty and itself the stuff of legends.
Corcomroe Abbey in its fertile valley
Another view of Corcomroe Abbey bathed in sunshine.
Corcomroe Abbey viewed from the east. Note the repaired roof over the nave
It was founded for the Cistercian monks around 1195 and the church we see today was constructed in the early 13th century. The name is said to have derived from Corcamruadh, cor meaning district; cam, quarrel and ruadh, red. The church was also dedicated, more poetically, to St Mary of the Fertile Rock. It is believed that the building was commissioned by King Conor na Siudane Ua Briain (Conor O’Brien) King of the ancient territory of Thomond and a huge benefactor to the Church.
The continual relationship and support of the ruling families meant for a turbulent history for the monastery and led ultimately to its downfall. Many battles were fought in and around the Abbey and its ownership regularly changed hands. In 1268 Conor O’Brien was killed by Conor Carrach O’Loughlain, though the O’Brien’s maintained control. The monks retrieved his body and interred him in the Abbey. In 1317 yet another battle was fought this time between factions of the O’Briens and the Abbey was used as a barracks. By the end of the 14th century, the O’Cahans (O’Kane or Keane) from Derry took control of the Abbey’s lands. Sometime in the 15th century (though it is unknown how) the Tierney family took control.
With the dissolution of Catholic monasteries due to the English Reformation the Abbey and land was granted to the Baron of Inchiquin and Earl of Thomond, Murrough O’Brien, in 1554 and then in 1702 to Donat O’Brien of Dromoland, whose family retained the abbey until the 1870s when it passed into public hands.
Meanwhile the monks continued to tend the fields and maintain the abbey as circumstances allowed, but the political climate led to continued decline until the last abbott was appointed in 1628.
It is built to a standard Cistercian plan, though with some notable variations and the extreme decoration is unusual. The stonework is of such high quality it is said to have led to the ultimate demise of the five stonemasons involved, who were executed by O’Brien to prevent them repeating their masterpiece somewhere else. Hopefully they got their reward in the next life.
Over the nave there is a roof (repaired very sensitively) with exquisitely carved rib vaulting with herringbones and some floral decoration. It is lit by three lancet windows. Either side of the nave are columns with detailed carvings of human heads and flowers. Including what look like bluebells and fleur-de-lys. What is intriguing to me is the lack of symmetry of these decorated columns. This lack of symmetry is seen elsewhere, for instance in the arch over a niche on the north transept. Was this intended or was it a result of different masons working on different areas or maybe a thumbing of noses to architectural orthodoxy? At the base of the columns are further carvings of flowers (?). One intrigued me. It is unidentifiable, though to me it looks remarkably like a map of Australia which wouldn’t be ‘discovered’ for another 550 years! Such prescience.
There are many other notable features in the nave. A niche tomb on the north wall houses a life size effigy of Conor O’Brien. Beautifully carved it is one of the few examples of a depiction of an Irish chieftain surviving. He is in a serene repose, wearing a robe with pleats and a crown with fleur-de-lys decoration. He once held a sceptre apparently in his left hand (now gone) and his right holds a reliquary suspended round his neck. Love the little touch of his feet resting on a cushion. Love also that we are able to see it in situ, with no guard rails rather than have it relocated to a museum somewhere. Above this is a detailed carving of a bishop. There is an intricate sedilia (where the priests sit during the service) on this same wall.
Where the north and south transepts intersect the presbytery, there are several crossing arches in remarkable condition and set into the floor throughout are grave slabs. I am a lover of gravestones and here are some of the finest I have seen in Ireland, especially those close to the altar (where the rich were allocated space). And some of the oldest, with one I saw dating back to the late 1600s. This I think reflects the patronage by the elite who could afford intricate engraving that has survived.
Corcomroe Abbey. Archway over niche in north transept. Note again assymetrical carvings with bluebells on left and fleur-de-lye on right.
Corcomroe Abbey Carved head on right hand column in southern transept
Corcomroe Abbey. Carved head and flowers on left hand columns in the south transept
Corcomroe Abbey. Effigy of Conor O’Brien.
Corcomroe Abbey. Grave slab. Elegant simplicity. Pray for the soul of Martin Burke and Posterity 1775
Corcomroe Abbey. Oliver O’Connell examines a grave slab
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Corcomroe Abbey. Grave slab for John O’Dally and Marey Flanagane. Dated 1682. The oldest I saw.
Corcomroe Abbey. Double arch over sedilia on north wall of nave. Different decorative carvings on each column
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Corcomroe Abbey. Beautiful detailed carving of a bishop
Corcomroe Abbey. Tomb niche of Conor O’Brien underneath carving of a bishop.
Corcomroe Abbey. Unidentified carving. Map of Australia?
Corcomroe Abbey. Floral carving at base of columns.
Corcomroe Abbey. View of the columns supporting the arch over the nave. Note the assymetrical arrangemetn of carvings at the tops of the columns.
Corcomroe Abbey. Looking towards the nave showing the arches over the north and south transepts
A walk around Corcomroe is almost spiritual. You do feel some sort of presence. And it is not surprising that stories of this abbey are woven into Irish Culture in many ways other than the clinical history of battles and chieftains or its marvellous architecture.
Indeed it is said to be haunted by the ghosts of a poet named Cearbhall O’ Dalaigh and Eibhlin Kavanagh who eloped in the 15th century and wished to be secretly married at midnight on Christmas Eve. If you know the song Eileen Aroon, which is about this episode, then you know that it didn’t end well as Eibhlin’s father caught up with them that night.
You will also feel perhaps, when you walk around, the inspiration that Yeats must have had when he chose to use it as the backdrop for his play on Irish freedom, The Dreaming of Bones.
That feeling stayed with me long after. Thanks, Oliver, for introducing me to this special place. Highly recommend.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland	| Tags: Abbey, Burren, Church, Corcomroe, monastery, ruin	| 1 Comment
Burren Stories
View lookin north over Galway Bay from near Ballyvaughan. We can see Irish history that stretches back over 800 years. In the foreground is the ruin of Corcomroe Abbey, which dates from the early 13th Century. In the middle distance is Shanmuckinish Castle built c1450 and in the distance you can just see the Martello tower at Finvarra built in 1810.
As anyone knows who follows my blog I love the Burren. I have posted on it many times and, honestly, I thought if I posted anymore I’d just be repeating myself. But the more I discover it the more the exact opposite has happened. It truly entangles you, drawing you in as if under a spell and you just want to to dig deeper. A bit like fiddle playing really. The more you play the more you want to play. You never get sick of it.
The Burren seems larger than it really is. Indeed at 250 square km it occupies less than 10% of Clare and is smaller than the area of the City of Dublin. But when you are there its scale is deceptive. It has a majesty that affects everyone and has been inspiring its inhabitants for millenia. Within this area is a natural endowment and cultural endowment as rich as any place on the planet.
Underneath it all is a simple but unique geology. Just one rock – limestone, laid down in tropical seas in the Carboniferous Period about 240 million years ago. Limestone is rich in calcium carbonate. This simple fact combined with an extensive period of glaciation, then the etching of the land by rain water has resulted in special landscape and one of the best examples of karst topography in the world. And a superb place to view the effects of glaciation to boot.
This one of a kind combination and its location on the Gulf Stream has moulded its people and the land ever since. There are so many surprising paradoxes here that are a product of an environment that is both harsh and welcoming to those who can adapt. This is seen in every facet of the Burren world.
Recently I have visited the Burren again and again. In this upcoming series of blogs I will tell some of the stories of this personal journey. I will look closer at its rocky heart and what this geology means, I will look at the world below ground and on its rocky surface. I will look at the arrival of man and the incredibly rich built heritage that spans at least five millenia, I will look at the trove of different ecosystems that has resuted in the richest and most diverse plant assemblages in Ireland and I will look at the human struggle and man’s ongoing battle with the land.
As a geologist I bring my own perspective but I am by no means an expert in any of the things I will talk about here. This as a personal account of what I have found and I will let my camera tell most of the story. They will be essentially photo essays. If you want to dig deeper there are plenty of great books and websites that can fill in the gaps.
Most of these ‘Stories’ have already been posted on my Facebook page but I wanted to bring them together here. Here goes.
Proceed to Burren Story #1
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland	| Tags: Burren, Burren Stories	| Leave a comment
The Cliffs of Moher Cycle Challenge. Never Refuse an Invitation
Posted on April 22, 2018 by singersong
No I haven’t joined the lycra brigade. Let me explain.
Never refuse an invitation has been one of the mantras that I have followed since I started living in Ireland and I know I have written before about some of the surprising encounters that have resulted. This was demonstrated yet again one wet Saturday in early April.
A couple of days previously I had received an email from a friend telling me that the organisers of the Cliffs of Moher Cycle Challenge were looking for musicians to entertain the riders during their lunch stop in the very north of Clare at Ballyvaughan. Without knowing anything about the event of course I agreed.
The instructions were simple. “Be at the Hall at 11.30”. It’s about an hour’s drive from Spanish Point and as I headed north of course, sun turned to rain.
This event, hosted by the Riverside Cycling Club Ennistymon, is in its 6th year. It has built up to become an important part of the Clare cycling calendar with 630 participants this year. The Burren and the Atlantic coast of Clare hosts some very popular cycle events such as the Tour de Burren, Ring of Clare, SRAC Atlantic Challenge and a ladies only ride Turas na mBan.
It’s not surprising really as the route is rated as one of the finest in Europe. There were a number of shorter journeys of 40 and 80 km but The full loop started and finished in Ennistymon and takes in the Cliffs of Moher (of course) and other iconic Clare sites such as Doolin, Fanore and Black Head on the spectacular Burren coast road, Ballyvaughan, Carran, the hairpin bends of Corkscrew Hill and spa-town Lisdoonvarna.
So I arrived in Ballyvaughan with the rain just in time to see the first riders arrive.
The first riders enter Ballyvaughan
Not far behind was this colour coordinated group
Riders make their way through the town
Some kept going, not bothering to take a break but most were diverted to the National School Hall for an inviting spread of sandwiches, fruit and warm tea.
Decision time. Most chose lunch.
And who could resist the local smoked salmon on soda bread and the piles of home made sandwiches. It was also time to exchange stories, meet new friends and check progress.
Time to show off the new bike.
I joined a small group of musicians belting out jigs and reels with a mighty Kilfenora rhythm. How could it not be so with Anne Rynne (a member of the Kilfenora Ceili Band) and her family leading. It was so much fun to be part of. The riders seemed to enjoy it though I am not sure they realised that despite the youth of a number of the players , the music was world class.
It is a surprisingly small country Ireland, and the music world which I am part of has strong links across other activities. I think of it this way. Traditional music is like a strong thread in a patchwork quilt that seems to stitch everything together. From farming to football. To illustrate, there in the crowd was my friend Thierry, a keen cyclist and fiddler, who, still clad in riding gear, helmet and gloves, just couldn’t resist the temptation to borrow my fiddle and play a few tunes. Best of both worlds.
A great cross section from all over Ireland turned up. Even the Mayor of Clare was there, wearing not his official garb, but riding colours. This was a charitable event and a community event. There were no winners and everyone was a winner. Oh God. Did I write that!
A Mayor from Clare
Everyone wanted to be in the picture
I headed back home, but not after a little bit of drama leaving my fiddle behind in the hall. Retrieved it eventually.
I ran into the cyclists again on my way back (figuratively speaking that is) as the sun dramatically re appeared occasionally. I stopped at the beautiful Carran Church on the roof of the Burren to watch them ride past. You have to admire cyclists’ dedication. Still plugging away, only 40 km to go, I wonder how many were in the frame of mind to take a look at the stunning scenery or was their mind focused on the formidable Corkscrew Hill just a few kilometers ahead.
Ruins of Carran Church
View towards Mt Callan.
I finally ended up back in Ennistymon around 4pm as the last riders were triumphantly ending their 125 kilometer journey. 6 hours and 12 minutes is a long time to be peddling a bicycle.
These events take quite a lot of organising. Route marking, food and drink stops, publicity, traffic management and a host of volunteers contribute in all kinds of ways.
A very pleased Committee posed for me outside the Community Hall.
I hope the cyclists had as good a time as I did. Like I say, never refuse an invitation.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland	| Tags: Ballyvaughan, bicycle, bike, bike ride, Burren, Clare, Cliffs of Moher, cycle, Cycle Challenge, Doolin, Ennistymon, Ireland, traditional music	| Leave a comment
The Big Freeze. March 2018. My Story.
Posted on March 7, 2018 by singersong
What an extraordinary event.
Gotta say I’m not used to snow. Not used to the feeling of flakes on your face or the biting wind or the stunning beauty when the sun comes out. Or the slushy wetness that soaks through your boots and trousers and gets tramped through the house. Or digging the snow from your front door. Or being stuck in your house. Or the vicissitudes of stupidly taking a remote boreen just as a snow shower starts. I’ll come back to that last one later.
The snow came from that annoyingly named freak weather condition known as ‘The Beast from the East’ which blasted frigid air across continental Europe and over Ireland. It arrived in West Clare on a Wednesday, the last day of February 2018. But it turned out that that was just an entree to a full three course meal which came Thursday and Friday and continued to Sunday.
But first this ‘Beast’. Where did it come from? And why was it so devastating? As a geologist I make a pretty poor meteorologist but those that do know about these things said the whole thing was triggered by a periodic event called “sudden stratospheric warming”. This involved a huge rise in air temperature of around 50ºC in an area about 30 km above the Arctic (the stratosphere). The origin of this actually goes back to severe cyclones in January in the Pacific disturbing global weather patterns. A true ripple effect. Anyway, this warming weakened the jet stream and forced cold air from western Russia towards Ireland. Temperatures on the ground in the Arctic were 20ºC above normal, while Europe experienced lows of -15ºC in many places. And then to complicate it there was Storm Emma which headed north from Portugal. When it hit the cold air, blizzards, gales and snow were the result.
Where I could, I tried to record the event with my camera and words. Here is a personal account of how it all unfolded around my little part of West Clare.
We knew it was coming. Temperatures had been way below normal for days and the web was alive with warnings. Yet I had no idea exactly what was in store. Just two weeks earlier I was chasing all over Ireland to Louth and Armagh and Kerry and Wicklow and Connemara because of snowfalls there. Now it was here in my front yard. It was snowing when I awoke and it continued to snow. I was excited enough to venture out around 9am. The snow wasn’t heavy; just a few centimetres so I figured there would be no real problems except that is that the weather accompanying this snow was truly living up to the appellation that is the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’. I headed to Spanish Point Beach, braving snow showers and bitter wind. I’ve seen this beach battered with giant waves, covered in froth and foam and perfectly still with nary a ripple. Never though with white snow meeting the yellow sand. It was not comfortable as mini blizzards would sweep in between the sunshine. Nevertheless I was totally entranced and happy. The showers faded during the day and though the temperature hardly went above zero, the snow melted by the late afternoon and the streets of Miltown Malbay returned to relative normality. This turned out to be a temporary reprieve.
Snowstorm on Spanish Point Beach. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Spanish Point Beach, Wednesday 28 February 2018
Bell Bridge House Hotel. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Mouth of the Anagh River. Looking across to Caherush. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Bridge over the Anagh River. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Spanish Point Beach. The sun shone briefly. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Spanish Point Beach. Looking from the Armada Hotel. Wednesday 28 February 2018
The Clogher Road. Looking towards my cottage. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Caherush. Low tide. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Mutton Island. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Caherush looking towards Quilty. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Miltown Malbay Wednesday 28 February 2018
Miltown Malbay. Wednesday 28 February 2018
Thursday 1st March 2018
I woke up reluctantly poking my head above the sheets with the temperature hovering at -4ºC. A quick look out the window showed a complete white-out. It was a stunning sight. I love how you don’t know it’s happened during the night. So quiet unlike a rain storm pelting on the slate roof and rattling the windows.
The rocks and cliffs of the bay at Caherush were covered with a thick white carpet and it was still snowing with some vigour. Around 9am it brightened and it stopped snowing. I rugged up and took a walk up the Clogher Road. I was joined by the neighbour’s dog, Valdo. Briefly. This was much too exciting; he had better things to do and left me to my meandering. The sun broke through the clouds and its rays made the hills gleam. My neighbour Michael Talty, stopped his car for a chat. He was heading to Kilrush for some tractor parts. A farmer doesn’t stop for a bit of snow. So of course I didn’t refuse the invitation to join him. I think he quickly regretted it as I had him stop at Quilty where the snow, the water and the sand united to create a magic world. Mutton Island sat like an iceberg off the coast. I had to photograph them.
As we left Quilty and headed south, there was only a light dusting over the fields. This part of West Clare had escaped the heavy falls that we had experienced. Business done, followed by an hearty breakfast in Kilrush we headed back north to Caherush.
We were passing O’Looney’s lovely pub just a few kilometres from Quilty at Molosky. Stop! I exclaimed as I caught a sight, out of the corner of my eye, of the falls at the Annageerah River. They were frozen! Michael waited patiently as I clambered over a gate and headed across a slushy snowy field to photograph the incredible sight of ice sheets draping the rocks and icicles clinging to wherever they could; where normally water flows. So lucky to see it.
Back home to the Clogher Road which by now was starting to thaw. It was 2 pm and still -1ºC. The temperature never got to zero during the whole day
Encouraged by the condition of the roads on our journey, I cleared the snow from the car and headed north through Spanish Point along the coast towards Lahinch. The air was clean and crisp and the sun was making a good fist of doing its daily job but the thick cloud resisted. Nevertheless the bucolic landscape had become a patchwork of white fields and the coastline was now the White Cliffs of Clare. The views coming into Lahinch were unfamiliar but truly jaw-droppng. Though thick here across Liscannor Bay the fields were green. The snowfalls were obviously quite patchy.
I continued to Ennistymon. I wanted to see the Falls here. Would they be frozen? Well no they weren’t and they were quite subdued, as we hadn’t had a lot of rain for a week or so but they were framed with snow on every exposed rock with icicles hanging from branches and protected crags. The Falls Hotel looked like an alpine resort
A few flurries of snow were appearing now. I love that word ‘flurries’. Not one you get to use very often. Time to head home. Why didn’t I just stick to the main road? It had been treated with salt and grit and was perfectly clear. I was lulled I think into a false sense of safety. So with the help of Google, I took a back route to Miltown Malbay, it wasn’t long before I got into serious trouble. It was only a small hill. A narrow single lane boreen. With a hedge on the left and a ditch on the right. I knew I had to use a high gear and travel at a decent clip but I lost traction very quickly and found myself half way up the hill and going nowhere. Under the snow was a layer of ice. With wheels spinning I couldn’t go forward. With no brakes, reversing was pretty scary. I honestly don’t know how I got out of that. Reversing back down the hill and using the gears to slow down, the wheels went wherever they wanted. One minute I slid into the hedge. Straightening up then I would head towards the ditch. It was probably only 200m of reversing first down the hill then back up another but it took forever until I came to a farm gate. The drama still wasn’t over as it took many goes slipping and sliding all over before I edged the nose of the car into that refuge and was able to turn around and drive home. To my warm fire and a few relieving tunes and a glass of the small.
That was some day but the wires (as we used to call it before the wireless world took over) were full of dire warnings of another storm. Emma was arriving and would collide with the Beast and batter us with wind and massive snowfalls. Code Red all over the country. Bread and milk had disappeared from the shops. This really was serious.
Panoramic view of Caherush bay. Thursday 1 March 2018
Caherush Bay at low tide in the snow. Thursday 1 March 2018
My cottage on the shore. Thursday 1 March 2018
More snow. Thursday 1 March 2018
Caherush Bay Thursday 1 March 2018
Mutton Island. Thursday 1 March 2018
Sugar Island and Quilty. Thursday 1 March 2018
The sun breaks through. Thursday 1 March 2018
Joined on my walk by Valdo. Thursday 1 March 2018
Joy. Thursday 1 March 2018
Looking down the Clogher Road. Thursday 1 March 2018
Driving into Quilty. Thursday 1 March 2018
The Quilty Shore I. Thursday 1 March 2018
The Quilty Shore II. Thursday 1 March 2018
Quilty Shore III. With Mutton Island in the distance. Thursday 1 March 2018
Breakfast at Kilrush. Thursday 1 March 2018
The snow falls again at Annagreenagh Falls, near Quilty. Thursday 1 March 2018
Annageeragh Falls. Thursday 1 March 2018
Annageerah Falls. Thursday 1 March 2018
View towards Cliffs of Moher from Spanish Point. Thursday 1 March 2018
Near Spanish Point. Thursday 1 March 2018
Near Lahinch. Thursday 1 March 2018
Lahinch. Thursday 1 March 2018
Moy House. Lahinch, Thursday 1 March 2018
Cliffs south of Lahinch. Thursday 1 March 2018
Fenceline and cliffs. Lahinch. Thursday 1 March 2018
The Falls at Ennistymon. Thursday 1 March 2018
Falls at Ennistymon.Thursday 1 March 2018
Looking towards the Falls Hotel on the Inagh River at Ennstymon.Thursday 1 March 2018
Icicles I . Ennistymon. Thursday 1 March 2018
Icicles II. Ennistymon. Thursday 1 March 2018
Icicles III. Ennistymon.Thursday 1 March 2018
Icicles IV. Ennistymon.Thursday 1 March 2018
Icicles V. Ready to drop.Thursday 1 March 2018
Frozen grass on the menu today. Lahinch. Thursday 1 March 2018
Friday. 2nd March 2018
It would reek havoc they said. And they were right about that! Friday morning saw a thick cover of snow over everything with drifts up to a metre. We, in Clare though, seemed to get off rather lightly. The east and the south of the country were lashed with ferocious snowstorms. Back here in Clare, snow piled up against my door, just like in those movies set in countries where they have real winters. It was obvious I was going nowhere today, so I settled in with a warm fire to wait it out. Even if I wanted drive anywhere the Clogher Road was not going to cooperate. It continued to snow all day. I ventured out in the late afternoon as the snow eased. The tide had come in and the ocean was tranquil with the bay in front of my house looking surreal with its brilliant white ‘beach’ all the way down to the high tide mark. The car remained in a drift and I went nowhere. No thoughts of a session and in any case most pubs were shut. Marooned. Like millions of others across the Once Green Isle. Who knows how much fell? I heard a figure of 40cm but I would say much more in some places. At least it had stopped.
My cottage. Marooned. Friday 2 March 2018
Going nowhere. Friday 2 March 2018
The Clogher Road. Friday 2 March 2018
Caherush Bay at high tide. A surreal calmness. Friday 2 March 2018
My front patio. Friday 2 March 2018
The ‘beach’ at Caherush. At my front door. Low Tide.Friday 2 March 2018
Caherush. Friday 2 March 2018
The ‘beach’ at Caherush. At my front door. High Tide. Friday 2 March 2018
Saturday. 3rd March 2018
More snow overnight but by the morning all was quiet. Temperatures were up now with a maximum of 2ºC for the day. A veritable heat wave. I was still going nowhere. The predicted rain didn’t arrive but by the afternoon I decided the snow on the roads had started to melt sufficiently to venture out again. Roads had a lot of snow in massive drifts, sometimes two metres high, and in many places were down to one lane. Those roads that were treated were passable but venture off the main roads at your peril. I’d learnt my lesson. Most residents who live up narrow lanes were were still stuck. My route again took me to Lahinch and Ennistymon. The snow was still thick and extensive but the melt had started. Lahinch golf course was more whites than greens and it was easy to become blaze about the stunning beauty all around. Snow was still everywhere in Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown but the ploughs had been through and it was now more of a hazard to pedestrians. Businesses were starting to reopen. Life goes on.
The Clogher Road is now passable. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Welcome to Quilty Holiday Cottages. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
The Bell Bridge Hotel and beyond. Spanish Point. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Caherush. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Behind the Strand. Clogher Road. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Panoramic view of Surf City Lahinch. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Ennistymon. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Blake’s Corner. Ennistymon. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
The Inagh River and Ennistymon. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
The old Railway Bridge over the Inagh River, Ennistymon. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Lahinch. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Snow dunes, Lahinch. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Lahinch Castle. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
The Golf Course at Lahinch.. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Lahinch Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Another view of the Castle. Lahinch. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
The estuary at Lahinch. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Snowy hills above Lahinch Golf Course. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Miltown Malbay. Saturday 3rd March, 2018
Sunday. 4th March 2018
No snow last night and finally the real thaw started. It still only got to 2ºC maximum all day but the lure of a music session at lunch time in Ennis was too much for me to resist. The Clogher Road was mostly clear now. Mikey Talty was, like many, shoveling snow off the road in front of his house. I stopped for a chat. Mikey had been living here for over 80 years. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?” I asked. “Aah yes” he said. “When I lived in the States”.
Grinning I went on my way. Ireland does get heavy snow every few years. But not so often in these low lying coastal areas such as West Clare. The road to Ennis goes over Slieve Callan and the snow was thick in the hills and again there were drifts, metres high, meaning it was a slow trip. The music at Cruises Pub in Ennis was fantastic, with a huge crowd, desperate for a circuit breaker from the travails of the last few days. I returned about 5pm and it was still felt more like a journey through the alps rather than rural Ireland. I wasn’t ready to go home and called in at Hillery’s, for the regular Sunday evening session. Life goes on.
Mikey Talty, resident on the Clogher Road for 82 years clears away snow. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Snow drifts on the road to Inagh. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Heavy cover of snow remains. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Even the windmills stopped turning. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Lonely cottage at the food to Slieve Callan. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Switzerland? or Ireland? Sunday, 4th March, 2018
The boreens were starting to clear. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Looking forward, looking back. Mt Callan. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Enjoying the craic at Cruises Pub in Ennis. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
The snow melts in the fields on the Clogher Road. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Caherush. The rocky bay is returning to normal Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Almost gone. Sunday, 4th March, 2018
Monday, 5th March 2018.
It wasn’t quite over yet. Still the predicted rain never arrived and most of the snow on the lower ground had retreated but I knew it was still lying in the uplands. Maybe the Burren would be worth a visit. I wanted to see it. Temperature was still around 2ºC in the morning as I set out but by the end of the day it had risen to 5ºC. So I drove to Poulnabroun and then to Ballyvaughan and back through Carran. It took all day. It was cloudy and misty so not ideal but walking in the stillness of a snowy Burren was something truly special. So quiet with hardly a soul on the road and those that were seemed to be heading somewhere else. A privilege to see it like this. I encountered a few busloads of tourists and they like me were the lucky ones. The dolmen at Poulnabourn was looking resplendent and I viewed the wonderful stone walls literally in a different light as they stood out framed by the whiteness of the snow and the sky. See if you agree with me. The hills actually had a lot more snow than was apparent from a distance with the clints and grykes retaining the snow where it had melted elsewhere. The Turlough at Carran, a wondrous geological feature had plenty of water, though much of it appeared to be covered with ice. I imagine a couple of day earlier you might have been able to walk across it. By the way turlough, along with drumlin and esker are the only three words of Irish origin that I know that are used worldwide as geological terms. Thick snow was still on some of the Lanes but the snow ploughs were out and about so I imagined most would be passable.
The event that had dominated Irish lives, closed schools, airports highways and even pubs, isolated people for days and created timeless memories was over.
And that seems a good place to end this story.
Plenty of snow on the way to the Burren. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Poulnabroun Dolmen. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Near Poulnabroun Dolmen. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Burren scene. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Burren. Monday, 5th March 2018.
The tourists still come. Monday, 5th March 2018.
On the way to Carron. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Still heavy snowdrifts. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Carran Turlough.Monday, 5th March 2018.
The Turlough. Much of it is still frozen. Monday, 5th March 2018.
Here are some pictures of those wonderful stone walls:
Tuesday 6th March 2018
I thought I had finished this blog but it was much brighter this morning and by the afternoon the sun was returning. The temperature soared up to 7ºC. Out my kitchen window the paddocks were pretty much free of snow. Not Mt Callan. It looked glorious (despite those windmills) with patches of sun glistening off it. I had to go up and take a closer look. There was plenty of snow so, sorry, a few more pictures.
Almost a week. A week I won’t forget.
Mt Callan. The view from my kitchen window. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Ruined cottage. Road to Mt Callan. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Behind Miltown Malbay. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Mt Callan. Tuesday 6th March 2018
The Summit. As close as I could get. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Abandoned barn. Mt Callan. Tuesday 6th March 2018
The roof of the world. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Situation normal. The gulls have returned to Caherush.
A bird’s eye view. Tuesday 6th March 2018
Categories: Real Ireland, Wild Ireland	| Tags: Annageerah, Beast from the East, Big Freeze, Burren, Caherush, Carran, Clare, dog, dolmen, Emma, Ennis, Ennistymon, heavy snow, ice, Ireland, Kilrush, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Moloskey, Mt Callan, Mutton Island, people, photography, polar vortex, Poulnabroun, Quilty, Slieve Callan, snow, snow drifts, Snow in Ireland, snowstorm, Spanish Point, stone walls, storm, Storm Emma, sun, thaw, tourists, travel, Turlough, views, vista	| 6 Comments
The Clare Kitchen Sessions. Radio with pictures.
Posted on November 27, 2017 by singersong
There is a widespread view that the Pub is the natural home of Irish Music. And don’t get me wrong, many a wonderful musical moment can be had there. But indeed Irish music can be comfortably at home in the Home. There’s a long tradition of the ‘kitchen session’ where the dining table is pushed to one side, local musicians gather and the flagstones clatter to the insistent battering of hard shoes. A story might be told. There will certainly be some songs, generally of a local flavour and there will be endless cups of tea and sandwiches. There will be folk of all ages jammed in or listening from outside the door. This is how the tunes were handed down after all. And if instruments were in short supply a lilter might be called on. Nothing will stop the dancers.
Now, Irish cottages are not large so one can well imagine that not that many could be crammed in to experience this.
My how times change. As the chill of winter strengthened its grip, late November saw me at a kitchen session in my good friend Oliver O’Connell’s house in the heart of the Burren in County Clare. There were about 60 people there for the evening along with the virtual presence of many thousands of others. It was broadcast live into homes all over the world through the organisers, ClareFM, and it was streamed live via Facebook. So everyone could truly be part of this monumental night. You could make comments in real time from Boston, Berlin or Belfast and hundreds did. Some were even read out on air during the show. Everything that makes this aspect of Irish Culture so unique was there, in a brilliant programme of music, song and dance provided by a gathering of Oliver’s friends from the Tubber-Gort-Crusheen-Kilfenora-Corofin areas of East and North Clare. There were so many wonderful surprises. Three pipers, Blackie (Oliver’s son), Tara Howley, taking time from her commitments with Riverdance and Eugene Lamb, a piping legend. There were recitations from Oliver and an emotional moment as father and son combined for a tune. There were spirited half sets with Oliver in the thick of it as you would expect and cameos from a host of Clare greats – old and young. Names like Richie Dwyer, Des Mulkere, Tony O’Loughlin and up-and-comers like the Clancy family from Tubber. Especially inspiring were two lilters maybe sixty years apart in age showing that core traditions, that are hardly known about outside rural Ireland, are being maintained.
This is radio with Heart from the heartland of Irish music. So well co-ordinated by Paula Carroll on air and Joan Hanrahan marshalling everyone behind the scenes. But it was live radio and yes there were glitches and it was so much better for that. This wasn’t a concert, and it wasn’t in the studio, so the music was energetic, spontaneous, entirely natural and completely in context.
After it was all over some didn’t want to leave. And those who remained watched in awe as four accordions, Oliver, Clive Earley, Martin Ford, and Tony O’Loughlin joined Des Mulkere on banjo for a rare opportunity to play together.
I will be posting some video, so keep an eye on my You Tube channel. But here are a few photos I managed to sneak in which will give you some flavour of the night.
There will be more of these I am told. In fact ClareFM is promising one every week right through the Winter. I am hopeful of being able to be there for a few to document the occasion. These will be special events. A different kitchen each week with each person opening their home and sharing their music with world. Each will be in a different musical context and each will have the personality of the host stamped on it. They will be chalk and cheese but I expect the full depth of musical expression and the soul of Clare will be on display. You can’t apply a formula to Irish Music especially in this county and I am sure these Kitchen Sessions will demonstrate this over the coming weeks. Where ever you are on Sundays – 6pm Irish time, you should be listening to Clare FM.
Categories: Real Ireland, Stories, Trad Irish Music	| Tags: Burren, Clare, Clare FM, house session, Ireland, Joan Hanrahan, kitchen session, live, music, Paula, Paula Carroll, people, photography, radio broadcast, session, travel	| Leave a comment
The Flaggy Shore and Aughinish. Make the time.
Posted on October 19, 2017 by singersong
Just a short distance off the N67 which tracks the northern coast of Clare as part of the Wild Atlantic Way is the Flaggy Shore. This is the perfect spot to see the Burren meet the Bay, in this case Galway Bay. A sweeping stony shoreline with a backdrop of the bare purple hills and the lush green fields beneath.
Look north across the bay, now calm and peaceful and you see the villages of Galway clinging to the coast and beyond this the misty silhouette of Connemara and the Twelve Pins.
Cliffs of Aughinish in the foreground and the Twelve Pins on the horizon
The place has a permanent spot in Ireland’s psyche thanks to one of Seamus Heaney’s most celebrated poems, Postscript.
And some time make the time to drive out west
Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,
In September or October, when the wind
And the light are working off each other ……
Heaney in describing how the poem came to him said: “I had this quick sidelong glimpse of something flying past; before I knew where I was, I went after it”.
He has said it beautifully of course so I won’t try and improve on those words. All I can do is attempt to give that feeling in pictures…
There is no beach, as such, at Flaggy Shore. Just boulders, pebbles and rocky outcrops. But a walk on the strand will well reward. You can stroll along the roadway or explore the limestone platform in the littoral zone.
This is the best place in the whole of Clare to observe the coral fossils that make up such a large part of the 350 million year old layers. Huge colonies of branching corals (fasciculate lithostrotionids) are sliced at various angles revealing themselves from all perspectives. Their true branching form can be seen often in section on the rock face. Sometimes the colonies seem completely intact and measure over a metre across. If you have been to the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland it is easy to imagine the warm shallow sea that was once home to these corals and the teeming life that surrounded them.
Planar sectional view through a coral colony
Large fossil coral colonies on the rock platform
Excellent view of coral colony showing branching and dendritic form. About a metre across.
If you look hard you will see long straight grooves etched into the rock. These are called striations and are caused by the movement of a glacier which smoothed this landscape around 10,000 years ago. Rocks trapped in the ice were dragged along the bottom scouring these cracks. We are able to measure the direction of movement of the ice sheet using this evidence.
Glacial striations on the rock platform at Flaggy Shore
If you like watching sea birds, you are in the right place. As well as gulls, this time of the year starlings gather in flocks and search for food on the sea shore. These murmurations can number thousands of birds and when performing their acrobatic gyrations they make one of the truly spectacular sights in nature. They swoop and soar and flit and glide in perfect concert. It’s only when you freeze this motion with the camera that you see how perfectly aligned is the movement of each individual bird. I could watch them for hours.
Starlings I
Starlings II
Eyes left
Aughinish Island, just a few hundred metres across the calm water, is comprised of glacial deposits left behind by the retreating ice as the continent warmed. The Island was originally part of the mainland but a devastating tsunami caused by an earthquake in Portugal in 1755 separated it. The British built a causeway in 1811 to service the troops manning the Martello Tower (built to protect Ireland from Napoleon). It is still the only access to the Island. The one lane causeway actually connects Aughinsh to County Galway which paradoxically means the fifty residents on the island and the occasional vistor who stumbles on this place must travel through Galway to get access to this part of Clare.
The causeway built to access Auginish
Peace I
Peace II
Peace III
For the ‘tourist’ looking for a quick fix there is not much to take you to Aughinish. But it is a place to walk and breathe. Where the quiet ambience is tangible. It has a feeling of calm so unusual for the Atlantic Coast. You will be unlikely to meet anyone except a farmer attending to his boggy field or another collecting seaweed blown in by Hurricane Ophelia. But you will get stunning views across the inlet and if you are lucky enough to see the sun disappear behind Black Head you may not want to leave.
Looking across the inlet from Aughinish to the village of Ballyvelaghan
A Martello Tower built in 1811 to defend the Irish coast from the French.
Evening serenity I
Evening serenity II
The shoreline on Aughinish. The softest most comfortable grass you will ever find.
Vivid red growth on the tidal flats
The high tide mark left by Hurricane Ophelia which exploded the previous day.
Collecting seaweed
Life on Aughinish
As usual I will let my camera have the last word.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland, Wild Ireland	| Tags: Aughinish, boulders, Burren, calm, Carboniferous, causeway, Clare, coast, colony, coral, evening, Flaggy Shore, fossils, Galway, glacier, Ireland, light, Martello, peace, photography, scenic, serenity, shadows, shoreline, striations, sun, sunset, tourist, travel, view, views, Wild Atlantic Way	| Leave a comment
The Stone Walls of Aran. A Triumph of Adaptability.
The Aran Islands are one of the harshest environments in Ireland. Hardly a tree, little natural soil, plenty of rock, no surface water. But it does have, for Ireland, a relatively benign climate and its greatest resource – a resilient and enterprising people. It once supported 3,500 people in the 1840s but how has around 1,300.
The islands (Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr) are stunningly beautiful but the feature of the landscape that strikes you most when you visit the islands. are the walls and the limestone pavements so typical of the Burren. The two go hand in hand. There are over 2,000 km of stone walls on the Aran Islands. This is mind boggling considering the total area of the islands is only 46 square kilometres. I doubt that there is such a concentration of stone walls anywhere else in the world.
A typical Aran scene. Narrow walled roads and houses on a treeless landscape.
Lush paddocks surrounded by Aran walls.
In fact at ground level staring out over the paddocks often all you can see is stone walls forming a continuous covering of the landscape.
Walls form a continuous blanket over the landscape
Most of the walls were probably built in modern times (since the 1820s). They are made of limestone gathered from the adjacent fields, Of course in our mindset we tend to think of these walls as boundaries of land holdings. Most are not.
But first. The oldest surviving walls on the Aran Islands are those associated with the famous ring forts. At Dún Aonghasa, one of the most impressive forts in Europe, the earliest of the walls appear to date from 1100 to 1000 BC, that is Late Bronze age though considerable additions and modifications were made in medieval times (c800AD). Extensive further additions and repairs were made in the nineteenth century in the name of conservation. Clear differences in the masonry or these three periods are apparent. Especially obvious are the buttresses which were controversially added in the 1800s to ensure stability of the earlier walls. The stone for the walls here was quarried nearby, as revealed by the regular shapes. The quality of the stonework is amazing, especially the oldest parts of the wall, and much of it has been in place for 3,000 years.
Dun Aonghasa. Ancient wall from 1000BC
But back to the other stone walls. Up until the 1840s there was a system of shared common land ownership in the west of Ireland, known as the Rundale System. So there was no great need for farm boundaries. However following the abandonment of this system, stone wall, ditches and hedges were used to define land boundaries.
However the farm walls on Aran, as I have already aluded to, are largely not the boundaries to land holdings. The paddocks are too small and irregular. They appear to be a method of handling waste rock gathered from the fields to improve the quality of the pasture and to enable soil improvement by the use of seaweed and to allow the growing of potatos. They define manageable parcels of land and protect the soil from being blown away by the wind. Quite brilliant really.
They are always built without mortar – the ‘dry stone’ technique and require constant maintenance. A number of styles are apparent and these may be a response to the availability of source rock, the type or shape of the source rock, the needs of the site or the skills of the craftsmen.
For me the most striking and beautiful are the Lace Walls. They are essentially see-through and come with lot of variations presumably at the whim of the builder. Some have large gaps and some are tight. All are so called single walls unlike the double walls more characteristic of other parts of Ireland. By the way, there have never been professional stone masons on the islands. The walls are all built by residents who acquire the skills as a normal part of their farming tool kit.
Open lace wall using regular vertical ‘mother’ stones
Open Lace wall in very slabby terrain.
Closer packed lace wall with some larger and more regular stones
Tight lace wall with even sized stones.
Tight lace wall. Very few gaps.
Feiden Walls (from the Irish for ‘family’) are characteristic of Aran and the west of Ireland. They are built with a ‘family’ of stacked stones. Often there will be vertical slabs (mother stones) which act as a frame within which smaller stones (children) are stacked. There are countless variations.
Feiden wall
Two stage wall with Feiden wall at base and tight lace wall at top.
Between the fields are narrow roads know as róidín but access is usually across fields rather than around them. This seems strange as there are very few gates. This didn’t really hit me at first but most fields appear to have no access. A closer look however reveals “phantom gates”. A ‘gap’ roughly filled with stone. These are called bearna, or “Aran gaps”. Many are filled with rounded stones as they are easier to dismantle and roll away. There are many variations and again, they appear to be unique to the west of Ireland.
Note the narrow walled roads between the fields.
A bearna. Stones in ‘gate’ were removed to gain access and then replaced after.
Each time you visit these islands you see more. It’s like reading a book over and over and seeing something different each time. Initially the sheer scale and quantity of the walls is a little overwhelming. But they are a aesthetic and functional marvel and a wonderful example of man’s ingenuity in adapting to his/her environment.
Stone, earth, land, climate, food; all intricately woven together, driven by remoteness, resilience and the need for self sufficiency has created something truly unique.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland	| Tags: Aran, Aran Islands, bearna, Burren, Clare, dry stone wall, Feiden, Galway, history, Inis Meain, Inis Mor, Inis Oirr, Inisheer, Inishmore, Ireland, Lace wall, photography, roidin, stone, stone walls, travel, views, West Ireland	| 4 Comments
A Musical Week in Clare, Ireland
Posted on April 8, 2017 by singersong
I have lived for the past 2½ years on the coast near Spanish Point in County Clare. There has been a constant stream of visitors during this time. Some were family, some good friends but some were strangers. Some stayed for a night, some for more than a week. All leave as life long friends. I have hosted 76 guests, many more than once.
They are all people I meet through music, or the music session, or during my travels in Ireland. They have come from Ireland, Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, United States, UK, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Denmark and Czech Republic and each has a story. Every single one of them has enriched my time here and it has been a joy to have met, enjoyed their company and shared a shared passion for things Irish.
Just last week I hosted three wonderful friends, Julie, Romain and Anna from Carcassone in the south of France. Of course we played tunes, that’s what they came for, but we cooked, imbibed, sampled cheese (sorry, fromage!), and exchanged stories.
The sun came out on the last day. Lunch on the porch.
Cheese, wine and bread from Carcassone. View from Caherush.
It didn’t matter that it rained. I am grateful that we were able to experience an ideal slice of Clare music and musicians in the week they were here. This is what is so special about this place. So many memorable moments, but come next week and it will be the same, but completely different.
So many highlights. Sunday. A pub session in Miltown Malbay at Hillery’s with Conor Keane and Jackie Daly firing on all cylinders, Julie and Romain brought some elegance to the proceedings as they danced a mazurka, French style. Monday. Fitz’s Bar in Doolin, Tuesday. The cosy Cooley’s House in Ennistymon. On Wednesday a trip to Ennis – a chilled out session at Brogans did little to prepare my guests for the madness of Moroney’s in Ennis where the victorious young Clare hurling team were in full voice and there was some fiery sean nos style dancing from Canada, US and Ireland. A visit to the Burren Thursday and sharing some tunes stories, songs and poems in the kitchen of the irrepressible Oliver O’Connell . And they joined in on my regular Thursday house session with some local West Clare musician friends. The craic went until 4am. Situation normal. Oh and what a way to finish! A phalanx of pipers led by Blackie at the Friday Piping Heaven Piping Hell session in Ennis.
Sunday. Jackie Daly, Conor Keane and Dave Harper at Hillery’s Bar in Miltown Malbay.
Sunday. A French mazurka in an Irish pub.
Monday. Tunes in Fitz’s Doolin. Photo Anna.
Monday. Fitz’s
Tuesday. Cooley’s House. Ennistymon. Photo. Anna.
Wednesday. Eoin O’Neill, Brid O’Gorman, Jon O’Connell. Brogan’s Ennis
Wednesday. Anne Marie McCormack, Marcus Moloney and a member of the young Clare hurling team. Moroney’s Ennis.
Thursday. Joining Oliver O’Connell in his kitchen. Photo Anna.
Thursday. House session at Caherush. With John Joe Tuttle, Ciaran McCabe and J-B Samazan.
Friday. Piping session, Blackie O’Connell, Tom Delaney and friends. O’Connell’s Bar, Ennis,
For me these musical experiences are enhanced immeasurably when I am joined by those who approach the music with the same ardor as me. It is my privilege indeed to host such people.
New friends.
Blue and green.
Categories: My Journey, Sessions	| Tags: Burren, Caherush, cheese, Clare, cooking, Doolin, Ennis, Ennistymon, Ireland, Miltown Malbay, music, people, photography, Sessions, Spaish POint, travel, visitors, wine	| 1 Comment
Oliver O’Connell, Man of the Burren and the Track of Tears.
Posted on November 5, 2016 by singersong
Ireland is a very popular destination with visitors. And for good reasons. I have met so many who have come here for a week and have rushed around to tick Dublin, Dingle, Cliffs of Moher and Galway off their list and happily report back home that they “did Ireland”. Don’t get me wrong most people genuinely enjoy Ireland, in fact love it. What’s not to love? There is of course wonderful scenery, friendly people, ruined castles, trad music, Guinness, bacon and cabbage, sheep on the road. Everything that brings people here. But very few of those short-term visitors would have tapped into the ‘real’ Ireland. Ireland’s real treasure is its people. It’s through the people of Ireland you discover the Hidden Ireland.
I spent a day recently with one of these people. Oliver O’Connell may be known to some of you. Perhaps if I say he is Blackie O’Connell’s dad that may twig a few responses or the guy who started a session on an Aer Lingis flight last year, the video of which went viral; but really he should be better known as the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of Maurice O’Connell ‘The Transplanted’. I’ll come back to that.
Oliver lives in an extraordinary spot in the middle of the Burren which is the beating heart of County Clare. Ten kilometres from Corofin. You look out his kitchen window towards Mullaghmore , across a barren, stark tortured, limestone plain and you cannot see a single house. And at night the only light is the faint reflected glow from Galway City way to the north.
View across the Burren National Park
Oliver is as much part of the Burren as the megalithic tombs and glacial erratics that dot the landscape. He took me for a little walk to show me a favourite spot of his; the so-called Famine Road. A little used part of the Burren Way walking trail.
Now I thought I knew what a ‘Famine Road’ was. The walking tours of The Burren will take you to one and tell you these roadways were built as an assistance scheme to keep people out of the Workhouse. This may indeed be the case but this one is different as Oliver tells it. This road was here way before the Famine. Indeed the 1842 map of Clare shows the route as a road in use and on the exact same line as the satellite image. So it certainly well predated the Famine.
Satellite image of Famine Road. Shown with red arrow.
1842 Map showing same area as satellite image above. Famine Road is clearly marked.
Oliver explained that it is called the ‘Famine Road’ for a very different reason. The route was used by a number of families attempting to escape the deprivations of those terrible years but many did not survive. They are buried somewhere along the route in unmarked graves. It struck me as unusual that the road fell into disuse even though it would shorten the trip considerable from Corofin to Kinvara. Oliver thinks the road has been there for perhaps a thousand years. If this is true then it is a tribute to the engineering capabilities of the early residents. It is roughly cobbled and raised in places, the summer grasses partly hide it now but its unique stone walls bounding it still stand proud today. They have regularly spaced jagged vertical stones. The road is straight as a die in places and it traverses the country peacefully and silently.
The start of the Famine Road near Aughrim. Part of the Burren Way.
View to the north along the Famine Road
Cobbles forming the road base
Detail of cobbling
Detailed satellite view of portion of the Famine Road
Jagged rocks standing upright form part of a wall along both edges of the road
So why was it no longer used?
Oliver is a poet. One whose poetry is raw, and highly descriptive. It is personal and it is heartfelt. It comes to him quickly almost as a stream of consciousness. He doesn’t massage it and as a result it doesn’t sound the least bit contrived. In a poem he wrote about this road he describes what he calls the Track of Tears, thus:
Here in this place “bothar na muinne, ait ciunas gan uaigness”.
Where silence screams at you but the spirits of our people radiate a comforting presence as they lie here in peace in their final resting place.
You tread on their footsteps and on their tombstones as you weave your way through sacred structures and vertical stone walls in this land of myth and magic.
(‘bothar na muinne, ait ciunas gan uaigness’ translates to a ‘place of silence without loneliness’)
The silence screams. It quite literally does. Not a bird, no wind, no animals Just the sound of our footsteps and our breathing. It’s as if the Gods with quiet reflectance continue to mourn those who didn’t make it. And it is surrounded with a landscape of harsh but tranquil beauty described so well in Oliver’s poem.
It is perfectly fitting that the road is no longer used and it is tempting to think that this was by design as a memorial to those lost.
White…..
and Blue of the Burren
I was moved by the story of the road and this window into a distant Ireland. Distant struggles, yes, but it recalls the many battles endured before and since by the Irish people.
But Oliver has a bigger story to tell.
Oliver with the O’Connell Family Tree
Detail of portion of the Family Tree
He has spent fifteen years trying to unravel it and his journey has as many twists and turns as a good detective yarn.
Oliver’s forebears have been in Clare since 1653. He has been able to trace them back continuously to Maurice O’Connell (The Transported) who led 59 members of his family from their home in Kerry, from where they were expelled by Cromwell. Those who survived resettled near Inagh and Liscannor. Clare was then part of Connacht and the expression To Hell or Connaught comes from that time and relates to this exodus. The barren plains of the Burren was the equivalent of being sent to Hell. But survive they did and Blackie’s children represent the fourteenth generation of O’Connell’s to live in Clare. But it’s even more interesting than that.
Oliver has managed to trace Maurice O’Connell’s antecedents back to 1340 when they were a well connected and important family in Kerry and Limerick and even earlier to Connaill Gabhra, “Connaill of the Swift Horses”, King of Munster, in the 1100s. What a fabulous heritage. Nearly a thousand years!
What is unique about this story is that documentation exists continuously since the 1300s. As Oliver explained most Irish families can only go back to the 1820s. Prior to that records were kept by the British only for Protestants and Military. The O’Connell’s have a long hsitory of military service so the story is still there for those with the patience and energy to root it out.
Oliver as well as being a poet and raconteur is a musician and has links to a generation of musicians sadly disappearing fast. He is full of stories all told with zest and enthusiasm, such as how Blackie started on the pipes, but I will leave that for Oliver to tell sometime as he surely will.
How else would you end a day such as this but with some tunes, So I sat on a chair in the kitchen, a chair that I’m sure that Oliver’s old friend Finbar Furey would have sat on and it just seemed so perfectly logical that the fiddle and the box together would shatter that Burren silence.
Oliver has invited me back to see this place in a different mood. When the frosts arrive.
Keep me away.
Categories: My Journey, Real Ireland, Wild Ireland	| Tags: Burren, Clare, Famine, Famine Road, geneology, history, Ireland, Oliver Cromwell, Oliver O'Connell, people, photography, travel, views	| 11 Comments
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Ireland in Four Days (and Five Years) Day 2. Wexford to Borris Carlow.
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