Places & Pictures
St Patrick's Well
July 18. Before I left Belcoo I hiked out to St Patrick's Well- It is said that St Patrick blessed this well for the relief of stomach ailments and nervous disorders. It is said to be the coldest water in Ireland and I believe it! My feet were painfully numb in seconds. The branches and the base of the trees are full of prayer ribbons. I used the strap from my walking stick, praying for my friends with cancer.
Sligo & Carrowmore
Mid-July saw me in County Fermanagh with cross-border visits to Ireland.
July 17. You can take a public bus from Belcoo to Sligo, Ireland in 40 minutes. Who could resist? I have to say the public transit is like taking a tour bus, though without the guide's talk. Every view is amazing and as the bus came around a corner suddenly the vista opened and there was the valley with Ben Bulben - breathtaking. Sligo is a great town - third largest port in Ireland. It is also one of the places where you are confronted with The Great Hunger, when 1 million Irish died and 1 million Irish fled during the 1840's.
June 29. I had to share that I finished off June by going to see "Come From Away". I simply have to state there could not be a better way to see this wonderful musical than surrounded by Irish people. Newfoundlanders are essentially transplanted Irish and when the crowd heard the traditional instruments and songs they roared!! Seeing it in the Victorian Grand Theatre didn't hurt either.
Ireland Retreats with Gareth Higgins and Brian Ammons ~
I spent June 18-27 with Ireland Retreats. One Part Touring, One Part Learning, One Part Reflection , Special Guest Musicians "Over the Rhine"- with music, meals, sharing ,laughter and generosity all mixed in.
It's July and I'm still processing what I experienced. I already knew I was coming to Northern Ireland when I heard about the Retreats last fall. It sounded like a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the violence in Northern Ireland during the 70's - 90's known as The Troubles, see some well known sights, and learn about peacemaking. It was all that and more. Gareth Higgins is doing many things, organizing many ways of connecting - and all of it centres on the power of story - the stories we hear from others, that we tell ourselves, the stories that try to share what is true.
21 people came to participate, a team of eight fed us, sang to us and shared with us. One New Zealander, 21 Americans (even we two Canadians were Americans). As you would expect, there was much discussion about parallels and differences between the US and Northern Ireland.
June 23 -27. Back to Belfast and it was awesome! We actually stayed in in Girlguiding Ulster's Larne Estate (read Manor House with grounds for camping!) We saw just a few of the famous wall Murals, lunched on charcuterie boards and homemade soup at The Larder, a food bank/co-op that focuses on food justice, and visit the Ulster Museum - including a rare chance to stand in front of Caravaggio and displays highlighting words and pictures from those who lived through the Troubles. St. George's Market, and a trip to The Gobbins. The highlights though weren't places that show well in photos. Meeting with a Catholic Sinn Fein leader and a Presbyterian minister who were exploring ways towards Reconciliation during the worst of The Trouble - just two of so many that worked towards an end to the violence. Then finally, the Giant's Causeway - which is a doubly amazing day when we spend the morning with Paul Hutchinson, former director of Corrymeela, the international centre for reconciliation. Gareth wanted us to see some of the beauty and the complexity of Northern Ireland. It was an introductory course in topics I will explore the rest of my time here.
June 22. Silent Valley, Mourne Mountains Those Mountains that I could see from the water tower in Donaghadee, those mountains that are the Green Cottages backdrop - truly wonderful. I didn't do the whole trip (slow) but I walked enough to enjoy the beauty and that's what counts.
June 21. Downpatrick and Belfast St. Patrick really is much much more than a global excuse to Be Irish! There are traditions that St. Patrick came through Donaghadee and Bangor, but the centre of St. Patrick Country is the southern part of County Down. We were taken to Saul, the site of St. Patrick's first church in 432, though it has been rebuilt many times and is now Church of Ireland (Anglican). There is still a hermitage there though it is 'only' 300-400 years old. After spending time at The St. Patrick Centre our wonderful bus driver Julie drove the tour bus on Ireland's Narrow country roads and the city roads of Belfast for a concert by our musician friends Over The Rhine - totally new to me but clearly many of the participants had joined us because they were fans - and now I am too. Then back to Kilkeel and bed again. What does St Patrick mean to Ireland? The story we hear varies with the teller. It is clear though that the arrival of Christianity in Ireland is almost unique in that the indigenous people were seen as having value and their culture significant - and the blend became Celtic Christianity.
June 19-23. Green Cottages in Kilkeel was our base for the first four days of the Retreat. We arrived the 19th, shared supper, got acquainted a bit - and since almost all had just flown in, slept.
Thursday morning Gareth introduced us to the story of the Troubles, and some understanding of the complexities. Our first afternoon on Thursday, owners Mark and Jenny shared their story, and their vision of what is possible when you decide to rebuild a derelict 18th century flax mill that had become a chicken coop, a barn, and finally been abandoned.
Mark showed us their many stone walls and how they are built. What I ignorantly thought of as 'sloppy' - so many holes in the wall!- are actually to let the wind through so they don't blow over!- This region of Northern Ireland is actually the Kingdom of Mourne, a corner to the southeast ringed in and isolated by the Mourne Mountains - still famous for their granite and the skill of the stonemasons.
June 19. Kilkeel It's hard to take pictures when you're on a bus. I traveled by bus from Donaghadee through Belfast and Newcastle to Kilkeel, site for the first part of the Ireland Retreat that was such an experience for 8 days in June. However, I grabbed a few:
June 3&4 Marilyn and Svinda came to visit! Isn't it an amazing world when friends can meet up in another country? We talked and toured. They introduced me to Sheela na Gigs which are throughout Ireland, stone figures on medieval churches and buildings - there's so much to learn about them which you can check out here but it definitely is about the power of the feminine which the church included until Victorian times. In our case it took us to Greyabbey to look for one of only two known Sean na Gig - which, we did find up high. The brochure recommended we take binoculars to "look for his equipment" . Enough said. The Greyabbey ruins are gorgeous. As for Sean, look at the 2nd photo, 2nd from the left.
You know that the British TV show Hope Street is filmed here. Here is the Truth - Svinda and Marilyn are Hope Street Groupies and went on Pilgrimage to see the Actual Locations before they came to see me.
May 28. It started with rain, but today was Visit Portaferry Day. I'm finding Tuesdays are good days to explore and taking a bus is so comfortable, so affordable, and the scenery - well it might as well be a tour bus!
You remember I live on the Ards Peninsula. Today the bus took me along the coast through Millisle, Ballywalter, Portavogie and every little village to reach Portaferry. The tide was out, and the grey rain was not especially dramatic on my iPhone camera, but it was still so interesting to drive through the towns. I did grab a shot in Ballywalter but by the time the bus arrived in Portaferry the sun was out. There is a small aquarium, lovely hikes that I will return for, and the best seafood chowder I have ever had, with local potatoes, mussels, smoked cod - I promise I won't show you every meal I eat but this one was incredible with wheaten bread....
May 17. For instance, I was so happy to show you around Donaghadee, but I also hiked out to Orlock Point last Friday. It's a small National Trust piece of land that you can walk in an hour and a half, but that space includes stunning shoreline and bluffs, the remnants of an 1840 coach road that includes a chiseled -out arch, a remnant WW2 look-out and a neolithic standing stone - amazing!
Here are some pics (you already can see the flowers in my flower album.
The stones on the right are a stile in a farmer's stone wall. The upright one at the bottom keeps the cows in and allows the farmer - or today's hiker- to pass through
Some of the long-ago coastal road is grassy but much of it used now-gone bridges, or stretches of stone like this picture on the left.
It really was such a peaceful place.
May 19. I went to the Methodist Church in Donaghadee. The Methodists faced resistance from the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion) but John Wesley preached here in Donaghadee in 1791. The tower of the present church (1909) is said to be erected above the spot where he preached. It felt very familiar and my family agrees resembles my parent's Methodist church.
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We are absolutely loving the updates Erin! Thanks
🙏
Just checking in on your postings. Pictures and script make me feel like I’m there. But I’m not. It’s plants and seeds and Black flies. Wallow away. 😀
What a beautiful place. Safe travels.
Hi Erin. Now we have this address through FB we can follow your adventures. Enjoy! Be safe! Tom & Lin
The inside is beautiful & reminds me of Port Hope United where I attended for many years. I will enjoy following your adventures Erin.
Good afternoon hope all is well and you are having the best time ever. Enjoying the pic and the history.
I just want everyone to know I only figured out how to reply to comments tonight and I can't fix the previous comments to reply- but thanks! and I really appreciated them - from now on I can answer :)