On to Derry and the Troubles.
Trip Start
Mar 24, 2004
1
7
13
Trip End
Apr 05, 2004
Derry,
United Kingdom
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Attractions: Westport House & Country Park is an extraordinary mixture of history, culture and fun, all in one; and, is a major attraction to day visitors who are interested in Ireland's history, architecture and works of art. Westport House, regarded as one of Irelands most beautiful country estate, is complete with original furnishings. (Westport House only tickets are available). We drove by the entrance and it is very impressive.
Also located on Westport House & Country Park is the Old Farmyard, one of the largest sets of old farmyard buildings in Ireland, and located here is the Loft Bar/Bar Food, The Shop at the Farmyard (home and garden), Jungle World (indoor soft play area for children) and Garden Plants for sale.
Contact: Email: info@westport house.ie We travel north through Sligo. It's a tight town with narrow streets and vividly painted buildings.
Sligo Attraction/rating Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery/Not inspected but a 4 -5 *
Three miles from Sligo is the largest cemetery of megalithic tombs in Ireland and is also among the country's oldest. Over 60 tombs have been located by archaeologists - the oldest pre-date Newgrange by some 700 years Rates/hours Adult €2.00 45 minute guided tours on request, Max 40 px. Easter - October Daily 10.00 - 5:00 Contact: carrowmoretomb@ealga.ie
A quick photo (and restroom) stop at the church and cemetery in Drumcliffe, where St. Colmcille founded the 6th century monastery. The remains of a round tower is across the street. We are parked beside a huge, unbelievably detailed High Cross that seem to beg my camera to shoot, but the high wall is separating me from the high cross Jim my new friend gives me a shove over and "snap" we got it. I owe Jim a copy. No time to find W.B Yeats grave, cause Eowin is rounding up the troops again.
We're still headed north on N15, the Dartry Mountains on our right and to far to the left is Donegal Bay. Eowin pulls off at Bundoran for a scenic view of the blue bay and an almost view of Sleive League, the highest cliff face in Europe in the distance. Bundoran, he tells us is a very popular waterfront town on Donegal Bay. Lots of pubs, nightclubs, beach cottage rentals, hotels and B&B. Our equivalent to the Jersey shore in the summer.
My heart is now pumping in double time - we are so close to Northern Ireland. I have been waiting years for this. We turn on N3 right before Ballyshannon then in minutes we are driving thru the now abandoned border crossing, separating the Republic from Northern Ireland. Impossible to describe the emotions flowing thru my Ulster/Munster mind. "Blessed be" just pops in, then a feeling of peace. Within minutes we are in FermanaghCounty.
Attraction:/Rating Belleek Pottery. Gary and I decide to skip the tour and just hit the factory store, then we can quickly walk into Belleek, a block away.
So much for decisions, since we somehow find ourselves on the tour with Peg, Dale and Jim. We are walking thru the factory, the guide stopping to show a casting or molding technique, and watching the workers quick movements smoothing the seams and edges (fettling) of the newly molded pieces, or assembling intricate weaved baskets. Of course, the tour ends just at the "showroom."
The prices are unbelievable. ½ to ¾ off and special "only available for sale at the factory" items are a steal. However, the showroom has robbed me. Somehow, me, the non-shopper and great granddaughter of potters, has bought more than I thought possible and am shipping it back to the US. Something is mentioned that I save on the duty (?) and the more we ship the less it will cost - so Peg says lets combine orders. I tell her we will have to charter a plane or cargo ship to get all this stuff back home. Hope there is no last minute fuel surcharge!!
A 20- minute Audio Visual Theater presentation in Enlgish, French, German, Italian and Japanese highlight the pottery's history.
Food services: A small 90 px dining room is on site. Sandwiches, salads, scones, biscuits. Daily menu is soup & a roll £1.60, lunch of the day is served with potato, veggie or side salad £4.95, stuffed baked potato £ 1.80
Hours/rates: Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm Saturday 10am-6pm Sunday 2pm -6pm Contact: email: visitorcenter@belleek.ie. web: www.belleek.ie
We travel a few blocks thru the quaint town of Belleek, past Castle Caldwell then on to the Lower Lough Erne area. Another typical beautiful Ireland lake area. How jaded we soon become! Eowin says there are small ships to hire for group cruises on the lake. It's a short drive to County Tyrone.
Attraction/Rating: Ulster American Folk Park/5* This open air museum tells the story of emigration from Ulster to North America in the 19th and 20th century. Designed in a "loop" starting at the Matthew T. Mellon information Center, we visited some of the dwellings and demonstration areas (we were only given 1 hour to see as much as possible - which was very disappointing to all of us)
The Park is divided into the "old world" - Ireland and the "New World" - the US. Sites in the Old World include An 18th century cabin from the Sperrin Mountains, 19th century blacksmiths forge and weaver's cottage, a Presbyterian Churh and Vestry. The Mellon Homestead, Campbell house, Hugh House, a turf bank (and turf cutting exhibit) Schoolhouse and post office.
Demonstrations and crafts in each building. A small "village" Ulster Street with recreation of 19th century shops contain craftsmen demonstrating their skills. The Printer gave us a 19th century ship's embarkation bill. At the end of the street, you pass a boarding house. Across the street is the "harbor" where a full-size reconstructed 19th century famine ship is docked.
Up the gangway, thru the ship and you have arrived in "The New World on a 19th century American street. General Store, Tinsmith's exhibit and a replica of the First Mellon Bank! The New world also has some very familiar sites. A replica of Samuel Fulton's house, log cabin, Pennsylvania Log barn, Corn Crib, Pennsylvania Log Farmhouse, Western Pennsylvania Log House. Gosh, it's like being back home. Sites we see every day - but an ocean way.
The Center for Migration Studies is a large free facility offering help with genealogy studies and rearch. Last stop was the indoor Emigrants Exhibition. Divided into 4 exhibits. People and Places - highlights John Dunlap, the printer of the American Declaration of Independence.,John Joseph Hughes, 1st Catholic Archbishop in New York, Margartet Gafney Haughery 1st monument to a women in America (New Orleans) Many Young - convict. Failure & Opportunity paintings and exhibits on population growth, religion, and famine. Transportation & Migration The Journey depicts the Irish hardships getting to the pier. Waiting in Port Accommodations and conditions encountered before boarding. Railway Age starting in the 1840's.
The Atlantic Passage of Sail and Steam America's modes of transportation form the pack horse, conestoga wagon to riverboats and railways used by the new immigrants. Survival & Prosperity The emigrants' experience as they searched for their "New Eden." Contrasts of growing East Coast cities. Impact of the Ulster emigrants on US history. Could have stayed here for another hour, but aswe made our way past life size photos, a Conestoga wagon, a Hudson River Painting by Thomas Moran, an finally an exhibit on Mellon and on our hometown Pittsburg (?) who took the h? Seems the curator couldn't believe it when the exhibit was delivered years ago, few notice the missing h.
The Emigrants Exhibition will be completely reworked in 2005, so they have decided to let the "h" stay missing. Hours/rates April - Sept Monday to Saturday 10:30am - 4:30pm Museum closes 6:00pm Sunday and Public Holidays 11:00am - 5:00pm Museum closes 6:30pm October - March Monday to Friday 10:30am - 3:30pm Museum closes 5:00pm. Closed weekends and Public Holidays. Adults £4.00,children 5-16, senior citizens, disabled persons £2.50,,Family Ticket (2 adults and up to 4 children) £10.00 Children (under 5 years) Free email:
breege.osullivan@uafp.co.uk or www.folkpark.com
This is one attraction we all agreed will be added to our itineraries. Dizzie (Hike and Bike Tours) is on her cell phone calling her office to revamp a future itinerary! My stomach is past empty, since we have not eaten since breakfast. Fiona, a kindred chocolate lover has been spewing Cadbury's superiority over American chocolate and even Lindts, since yesterday morning. I grovel and ask to purchase one of her large bars. She's "donating a chocolate caramel bar to my chocolate education." Smirk or no smirk, I'm grabbing it. Two bites in and I've got to admit that Fiona is the queen of chocolate. Now I'm not going to able to leave Ireland without shipping at least 50 pounds (weight not money) of this epicurean delight home.
We're headed up 5A. Sion Mills is a former linen town. Lots of English Tudor homes and cottages line the streets. Very Picturesque. This is a beautiful community. Linen is still manufactured here and with advance notice you can tour a linen mill. Would be good for lunch and a photo stop for all ages.
Continuing we pass grazing sheep, rolling fields and are soon crossing the River Foyle on the double decker Craigavon Bridge. The lower deck was originally used for the rail traffic!
Protestants: Derry County: DerryTown
Catholics Londonderry County: Londonderry The The city walls are in view, but as pass Foyle Road Eowen stops briefly and draws our attention to the Hands Across the Divide Statues in the intersection, erected after the Peace Agreement. Two life-size bronze men standing apart on separate stone pillars, facing each other. One Catholic one Protestant. Their right arms reaching out. Only an inch still separates the hands from touching. Very appropriate. Very poignant. I pray that soon they will not only touch, but stay bonded. Someone has a sense of humor, and has climbed one of the pillars and inserted a McDonalds cup between the hands.
A few blocks and we are driving thru the Ferryquay Gate to enter the walled city. A short two blocks and we are center city at "The Diamond" and then the hotel. It's a quick check-in. Our keys are being handed to us as we leave the bus. We have 10 minutes to run to our room, freshen up and get down to the Bistro at the Towers dining room for a presentation by the Derry Visitors and Convention Bureau. Then dinner.
Derry was one of the sites of the "Troubles" during the last few decades. A peaceful walled town now inhabited mostly by Catholics. The Protestants live across the river Foyle . The city walls were erected in 1619. They are among the finest built in Europe and the only complete city walls remaining in Ireland. 20 feet in height, 30 feet at the widest and a mile in circumference.
Walking Tours, in town, and on the walls, focusing on the history of the walled city are provided by the Visitor's Center. The first monastery of Ireland was built within the walls in the 6th Century. No Catholic churches were allowed to be built within the walls. The award winning Tower Museum provides a high-tech, audio visual display highlighting the "The Story of Derry" from prehistoric to current times. The main Town Square is known as The Diamond.
The streets and alleys spread outwards from the Diamond and the four main streets connect the four main gates of the city - Bishop's Gate (built in 1788 to commemorate the Siege of Derry in 1688/9), Ferry-quay Gate, Ship-quay Gate and Butcher's Gate. These old walls of Derry surround all the main tourist areas except the Waterloo district (popular for shopping, situated north of the walls). On 9. Outside of the walls is The Guildhall, a Victorian gothic building originally built in 1890, similar to London's Guildhall . Its stained glass windows illustrate almost every episode of note in the city's history. The story flows up the staircase and floods all the chambers with brilliant light. Derry City has one of the largest college-age population in Ireland. The main attractions of Derry: Bogside Murals and the Wall.
Also inside the city walls is The Millennium Forum, a modern, state of the art performance area. World class orchestras, the Russian ballet, operas, stage performances such as Annie, Saturday Night Fever, My Fair Lady. Drama, comedians, musical groups, dance companies, concert tours, children's shows, films, and even the Russian Olympic skaters performing in Sleeping Beauty on Ice. Ticket prices are much lower than in the US for similar performances. Packie's Wake which has toured the US starts at £8. "Stars in Your Eyes" is a yearly competition for Senior High School musicians.
For locomotive enthusiasts, the Foyle Valley Railway Center is nearby. Avoid Derry and most of Northern Ireland in mid August during the Orange Order's commemorations of the Siege of Derry. Altercations still occur between the two groups.
Accommodations: Tower Hotel/4* 90 Standard rooms, most with 1 double one single bed. 3 suites. Standard Holiday Inn size rooms. All with large opening windows, hair dryers and trouser press. Some overlook the City Walls. Some handicapped accessible rooms. 4 story building with elevators. Bright modern lobby Richmond Shopping mall, a multi level mall with department and specialty stores is less than a block away. The location is what sells this hotel, as it is the only hotel within the walled city. Food Services: The Bistro at the Tower. Bright and modern, light woods, family size tables, and tables for two. The food, service and presentation was a 4 ½ * Menu is in file, along with a group menu. The Lime Tree Bar is modern and seemed to draw the 30-something crowd.
Contact: Phone:+44 (0) 28 713 71000 Fax +44 (0) 28 713 71234 email: reservations@thd.ie
It's almost 11pm. I've somehow been designated leader of the entertainment committee, without applying for the job. Everyone wants to know what pub we are going to. Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since I was six years old listening to my grandfather Lew talk about the legend of the Giants Staircase. It's been on my list of 13 things I must do before I die. I know I have just disappointed the group by saying I am bound for bed; I want to remember every second of tomorrow. The only pub we were planning to hit was: Peadar O Donnels 63 Waterloo Street. Supposed to be packed every evening Nightly traditional Irish sessions
