I have just spent three weeks in Ireland, and although it is green and the daffodils are out, it snowed, hailed, sleeted, and rained on me several times a day whilst I was in Dublin! Back in Rhode Island now and there are no daffodils, no green, just snow! Wonder if I will ever enjoy seasonal warmth!

Portadown to Portumna

I spent a week visiting my great friends, the Lyttle's, in County Armagh. They got to play tourist with me in their own country! Traveled north to Dungiven, Co. Londonderry. Drove over the Glenshane Pass, gorgeous but bleak scenery. The Glenshane Pass represents a large area of intact blanket bog within the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland, over 400 meters (1,312.33596 feet) high. It was a windy pass!

Just read that we missed the highest pub in NIreland, the Ponderosa , then heard that only I missed it!

The countryside around Derryhale, Co. Armagh

Another day we visited County Monaghan for a couple of short visits and a photo op at the townland of my ancestors - Gragernagh. Third trip of the week was to County Down and the Mountains of Mourne. Absolutely magnificant landscapes! Note the wall up and over the mountains. The Mourne wall stands up to 8 feet high on average and it is 3 feet wide. The wall stretches for 22 miles and runs over the highest peaks in the Mournes. It surrounds the catchment area for the Silent Valley Reservoir.

I spent the next week in Dublin doing research and walking - 10,000 miles it seemed, or 16,100 kilometers. Ireland has just gone metric! A day's visit to Glendalough in County Wicklow was a great treat, albeit cold!

My last week was spent in County Galway in the town of Portumna. I do a website for Sean Ryan, http://indigo.ie/~wildgees/. The Ryans also played tourist for me. We visited Clonmacnoise in County Offaly. These ruins date from the 9th or 10th century.

We visited the wonderful Church of Kilcormac in Frankford, County Offaly. There is a statue of the Pieta that was buried in a bog for safekeeping during the 1600's!

They also drove to County Roscommon for me to take some photos of ancestor's townlands and Gortaganny Church.

One of Sean's many projects in the community is with Portumna Castle. Tried several photos for a panorama including the back of the castle and Portumna Priory facing on Lough Derg and the Shannon. There are gravestones here from the 1600's!

Time came to travel to Shannon and home ...

Links to areas of interest:
Wildgeese Heritage Museum and Library, Portumna, County Galway
County Roscommon: Visit Roscommon
Clonmacnoise, County Offaly
Kilcormac Pieta, County Offaly
Glendalough, County Wicklow
Sperrin Mountains, Northern Ireland
Portadown, Co. Armagh: Jim Lyttle's Labor of Love
County Down, Mountains of Mourne , an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."
County Monaghan, tourism and family history

Ann Harney