When in Ireland ...

As Thanksgiving of 2000 drew near, SWMBO decided she had had enough and needed me out of the house. Actually, Grannie's 75th birthday and several other upcoming occasions were all lumped together and called the reason for a trip to Ireland. SWMBO stayed home with #3 son and I took Grannie and (the then 16 year old) #2 son to see Connemara - the West of Ireland. An area that looks, today, much as it has for hundreds of years. It is Galway County, and it is lovely, rural, a little backward, and absolutely delightful.

For a while, Ireland was a boom country in a time when everybody, everywhere, it seemed, was making money hand over fist. Real Estate prices in the East of the country, in and around Dublin, for example, quadrupled in the matter of a few short years. But the West has remained relatively untouched. And now that Ireland is feeling a misery like they haven't known in that country for a long time, it seems as though the West will remain untouched for some time to come.

One of the landmarks in Connemara is Kylemore Abbey. Built in the late 1800's by Mitchell Henry, an industrialist from England, it ultimately became the home of an Order of Benedictine Nuns, who run a boarding school for girls there. The boarding school is to close in 2010, but the Nuns will remain in residence.

The Abbey and grounds are open to the public for tours.

 

On those grounds is a chapel, built as a replica of an older gothic cathedral. It is so cool. I have inside shots I'll show y'all over the next few days. The exterior is depicted below:

 

I hope you enjoyed this little mini tour.

Ndinombethe.