Eddies Bar

When the bookings were done for our tour, the tour company did one of our hotel bookings in the wrong location in error. When they tried to correct the mistake, they were unable to because of the hotel being full because of a concert in the area. To make up for this error, they offered to pay for one of our lunches. Because our bus driver knew the route and the businesses along it, the company agreed to let him choose the restaurant. He chose Eddies Bar.

Eddies Bar is in Clonbur, Galway, which is in the middle of Joyce country. Clonbur is a village that is surrounded by mountains and lakes. Lough Corrib and Lough Mask are on either side of Clonbur and are famous for their fishing. Mount Gable is only three kilometers away from the village.

The village does have a history that goes back to the 13^th century, but, unfortunately, I was not able to do some quick research on it. It will entail more time than what I currently have to dig it all out.

I found it interesting that it is in the middle of Joyce country. When I found this out, it made me think of an acquaintance of mine from the mid 1970s. It reminded me that he was of Irish descent. I only had contact with him for about one and a half years.

Eddies Bar is located in the Fairhill House Hotel. It seems to be one of the local gathering areas and is appreciated by those in the transportation sector who have need of travelling through Clonbur.

When we arrived, they had actually put together two areas for us as they don’t usually get such a large group as what we were. Our driver had actually contacted them and had them suggest two or three choices on the menu. He then passed a sheet around and had us choose from these choices. He had highly recommended the fish and chips.

My choice was the fish and chips. I enjoyed the meal immensely. I think that everyone appreciated their choices and the atmosphere that surrounded us while we were there.

Would I go back to Eddies Bar? By all means, yes, I would. I would have like to stay longer to get to know some of the people, but, when you are on a tour, there is a schedule that must be kept.

If you are in the neighbourhood of Clonbur, you should try Eddies Bar at least once. I bet that you will go back a second time if you have the chance.

This final picture is the bridge that leads to the accommodations that were used for the cast and crew of "The Quiet Man". There are stories about John Wayne and others that I will leave you to remember and discover.

The Quiet Man Tour

In 1952, John Ford directed a movie called “The Quiet Man”. The stars were John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. Most of the indoor scenes were filmed in the United States, but all of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Ireland. There were a number of places used for filming in County Galway and County Mayo. However, the outdoor scenes of the village were filmed in the Village of Cong in County Mayo.

The village thrives on the income from the tourists who go to visit where the legendary John Wayne starred in a movie that won two Oscars. There is a building that has a museum dedicated to the movie with a number of artefacts that were left behind when the movie cast and crew moved out. They even have a bronze statue of John Wayne carrying Maureen O’Hara in a prominent spot in the village.

Some of the villagers earns their incomes from conducting walking tours of the village. This tour was different from other walking tours that we had while in Ireland. Every stop was the place of one of the scenes of the movie. The guide would choose one of the members of our tour to play a part in the “movie” or story.

At the end of the tour, we were gathered into the museum where the final scene of the movie was re-enacted. The tour members previously chosen for parts continued in their part in this scene along with additional members. My brother was chosen for one of the parts, originally as the husband of a couple. This was hilarious as he is not married. When the guide was told that he was not married, the guide looked at him, then looked at me several times. Each time the guide looked at me, my comment was, “He’s my brother.” So my brother then became the Catholic priest and another couple were chosen. There was also a part for a Church of Ireland minister which was given to the bus driver. I found it quite amusing as my brother is Anglican and the bus driver is Catholic.

The final scene was played out and time was then devoted to purchasing souvenirs. This was followed by a walk up the street to the bus and a trip back to the hotel in Westport for the night.

When I heard that we would be visiting Cong because of its relationship to the movie, I wondered why and I didn’t think that I would enjoy the stop. Because it was done differently from other walking tours, it became more interesting to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You can get a lot out of a walking tour if you are interested in the area and subject matter. You can also learn a lot about an area if the tour is done in such a way that everyone has fun while doing it. I personally am interested in history and visiting a site just because a movie was made there doesn’t make sense to me. The way the presentation was done made it more interesting to me. Yes, I am a fan of John Wayne, but, no, I am not interested in visiting places just because he was there. Now, if you were to invite me to a place where the next Star Wars movie is being filmed while they are there, then yes, I am interested in going because I want to learn how they make things work.

I can fully commend that you should visit the Village of Cong in County Mayo and enjoy “The Quiet Man” walking tour.

Connemara Lady

Did you know that there is a fjord in Ireland? It is called the Killary Fjord and is nine miles long. It forms part of the border between County Mayo and County Galway. There is an attraction there that can be quite relaxing in the right temperatures and the right weather.

There is a company in Killary Harbour that runs tours on a catamaran. What, you don’t know what a catamaran is? Well, a catamaran is a multi-hulled boat or ship. They can be as small as a sailboat or a rowboat or as large as a naval ship or car ferry. They gain their stability in water from the width of the vessel. These vessels were first developed by Polynesian people as early as 1500 BCE when they strapped together two canoes together with a wooden frame. Some of them used sails and they did not have ballasted hulls.

The company in Killary Harbour has a catamaran by the name of Connemara Lady. It will hold up to 150 people for a tour of the fjord which takes approximately an hour and a half to do. There is a bar and a meal menu which is not included in the price of the tour. Their brownies are good. I had one of them and was almost tempted to get a second one. Because we were there in late April, the weather was kind of rain mixed with sun and windy. Just remember. This is Ireland. They have a fair amount of rain and wind. They are on the Atlantic side of England, Wales, and Scotland. I personally found it too cold to do the trip out in the fresh air, so I stayed in the cabin. I was still able to get some good pictures.

The scenery is fabulous. The hills seem to rise out of the water on both sides of the fjord and you can see the sheep on the hills. There are a couple of roads that can be seen, but they also seem to disappear the closer that you get to the Atlantic Ocean. The scenery that we saw had a lot of brown in it, but I am sure that had we been there a month later, we would have seen a great deal more green.

I would have enjoyed the trip more if it had been warmer, but on the other hand, because we were so early in the season, we were able to have our tour without any other passengers. We had plenty of room to move around. Yes, I would go on the trip again in warmer weather. Yes, I think that you should include this tour in at least one trip to Ireland.

Day Eleven – Field Trip, April 2016

Well, we are no longer in Northern Ireland. We crossed the border about 8:30 this morning at a crossing where there used to be a huge British military camp. This was to prevent anyone who had no legal need from entering into Northern Ireland during The Troubles. At that time, the British presence was a fact of life. Thankfully, the British and the Irish have come to a point ten years ago where they have started to live more peacefully. They still have more work to do to sort out issues, but they are doing well, given the circumstances.

Our first stop this morning was at Donegal Castle. This castle was built approximately 1,000 years ago and, for approximately 300 years, sat empty and became run down. Part of it has been restored and they did an excellent job of it. Hopefully, more of the restoration will happen in the future.

We then walked around the corner to visit a shop where they weave their own tweed. We were greeted with Irish coffee of which I did not partake as I do not drink coffee. This was followed by a demonstration of the types of tweed that they make there and the process that is involved. It was interesting to watch the tweed being woven. They do produce some very nice tweed but I had no interest in purchasing any.

Back on the bus, we then travelled to Drumcliffe to visit the cemetery where W.B. Yeats is buried. We were given a short biography on the bus and we had the opportunity of finding the grave as well as visiting the church that is there. This particular cemetery has a long history as some of the graves have headstones made with the celtic cross. I would have liked to spend more time, but we were running a bit lake.

Lunch was at a restaurant named The Helm which is situated on Clew Bay. Because it was mid afternoon, we were not expecting a big meal. We were wrong. However, the food was delicious.

After lunch, we were taken over to Westport House. It is another site that has a long history. We heard about Grace O’Malley and her descendants. We were given a tour of the first floor and then left to explore the rest for ourselves. I found the dungeon and enjoyed the bit of fun that it provided.

We are now at our hotel and will shortly be going for dinner. Tomorrow, we have some more touring to do, but we will not be changing hotels.