Ireland ~ Galway & Travel Day To Lahinch (Day 14) 04Aug23

We're back on the bus headed to Galway then Lahinch. First, along the way, I spied a crannog, I know because I acquired an Irish company named Crannog and asked the derivation at the time. It's a lough with an island occupied for defensibility and good fishing. We also crossed over "The Quiet Man" bridge in Derryerglina,  Conamara. The bridge was made famous in a John Ford movie starring John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara where Wayne's character returns to his Irish home town. Kala & Jim led; Julie & Leslie are in the 2nd frame.

We stopped in Galway for a guided walking tour and lunch on our own. Galway is a very cool & beautiful Atlantic sea town having a mix of Irish, old British, and Spanish influences (from a crashed armada leaving conquistadors to remain and integrate). We were shown remnants of the walled city, now preserved in a vibrant shopping mall and then were taken to Eyre Square where a memorial to JFK was located and flags of the powerful families of Galway fly. There was cool street art and folks walking the Latin Quarter partying all day. I was taken by the Cladaugh design from the mid-1700s which included hands for friendship/community, a heart for love, and a crown for loyalty ~ so much so that I scored my sister a pair of earrings with the design. I bugged off the tour for a moment to visit a local "full service fly shop" ~ on one side of the isle were all the flies for sale and on the other side was a set of beer and whiskey taps. Whoa. We learned of an early vet. We chose to dine at the 800 year old King's Head pub ~ legend/fact has it that the king self sacrificed his head for something. Who really knows in these 13th century encounters these days? After lunch we shopped and then crossed the raging Carrib river which was headed to the Atlantic. We saw lots of great street players, esp the banjo guy, and we enjoyed the humor and cut of this ocean town: kids and banks in jails were cool. We returned to town center soon enough to allow Kevin & me to try a famous local pub near the pickup point, The Skeff @ the Skeffton Inn; it was gorgeous.

 

As an aside, I saw three fly fisherman active in all of Ireland, from my seat on the bus, on smaller streams along our chosen path. I didn't fish. We left Galway pleased to feel the vibrancy up close. On our way to Lahinch and the keen Lahinch Inn we took in the Galway Co countryside. Along the way too we caught a great example of a haunted house (yeah, folks died a long time ago) and of thatch roofing still kept up well ~ an annual process which "simply" layers new straw on top of the old.

We rolled into Lahinch and checked into our final hotel. It was a nice one with a nearby "Off License" liquor store for sodas, beer & chips we used. We again dined (@ nearby Corner Stone) with our new friends Jim & Gwen, the most experienced OATers on our tour. They are a complete hoot and dovetailed with our quirk just great. The Lahinch "beach" hides a keen surf break according to locals.