Ballintubber Abbey

There is one thing that Ireland is know for that sets it apart from England, Scotland, and Wales in my mind. It is the faithfulness of the people of the Roman Catholic faith. They went through a lot, especially in the last couple of hundred years, to maintain their faith, their traditions, and, indeed, their way of life. If you visit Ireland now, you will find that many young people do not attend church, and this is not just those of the Catholic faith, but of the other churches in Ireland. The younger generation have demanded that Ireland be brought into the twenty-first century, even if it is kicking and screaming. This includes bringing peace to the island, especially in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has many more people of Protestant faiths, but, to me it seems that they don’t have the same number of ancient or medieval ruins as reminders of how ancient the land is and the people who were first there. That being said, the Republic is home to a great number of abbeys that are no longer used and haven’t been for hundreds of years. However, there are some that have been renovated to use as tourist destinations and some for use by the surrounding neighbourhood. Ballintubber Abbey is one of the abbeys that combine the two purposes.

Ballintubber Abbey has been there in one form or another since 1216. Prior to that, there was a tradition that St Patrick baptised people in the small river at the back of where the Abbey now stands. There is also a trail leading from there to the top of Croagh Patrick where St Patrick is reputed to have fasted for forty days in the mid 400s AD. This mountain is the third tallest mountain in County Mayo. The trail was used in the past for a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain when pilgrimages to Jerusalem were discontinue when the Saracens recaptured the Holy Land. Eventually, even these pilgrimages petered out.

The Abbey is surrounded by a magnificent cemetery. There are very old headstones as well as modern ones. The Abbey also has a Way of the Cross which faithful Catholics follow, especially in time for Easter. There is a Rosary Way, an underground crib, and a small museum. I did not get a chance to visit the museum as our schedule had to be kept.

The Abbey was severely damaged during the Cromwellian years, but the people still continued to meet on the grounds throughout the years. Just prior to 1966, a new roof was put on the roofless building in time for the 750^th anniversary. Recently, there have been renovations on the building and its interior in time for the 800^th anniversary which was or is being held this year (2016).

This building costs a lot of money to restore and maintain. In order to raise funds, the Abbey is open to tourists who are given a tour of the cemetery, along with the Way of the Cross and the Rosary Way, and inside the building itself. Pilgrimages are held at six times a year, Easter, and then once in May, June, July, August, and December. These pilgrimages are the same as is described above. Ballintubber Abbey is a popular choice of location for weddings of both local people and celebrities. Once celebrity wedding in 2001 was for Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and his wife, American journalist Keely Shay Smith. For those of you who don’t know who Pierce Brosnan is, he had the title role of Remington Steele in the American TV series of the same name, and he also played James Bond in a number of James Bond movies.

I enjoyed visiting Ballintubber Abbey as I do have an interest in history and in religious history. I would like to go back to study the Abbey and the surrounding area more and to collect the stories that abound about St Patrick. 

Donegal Castle

In the town of Donegal on Tyrconnell Street, you can visit a castle that was originally built in 1474 by Sir Hugh O’Donnell, the chief of the O’Donnell clan at the time. It is situated on a bend the Eske River. The site was chosen for defense purposes.

The castle stayed in O’Donnell hands until 1607 when the O’Donnell leaders left Ireland in the flight of the Earls. This was precipitated by the English who decided to rid Ireland of the “pesky” Irish chieftains. The O’Donnell chief at the time was Hugh Roe O’Donnell. Hugh decided that if the English were to have his home, he certainly would not make it easy for them, and the castle was torched.

The next owner of the castle and its grounds was Captain Basil Brooke. He must not have found the torched castle very comfortable as he rebuilt it in 1623. The style that he chose for the addition of a wing was a Jacobean manor style. He also added windows and a gable. The castle stayed in the Brooke family for many years until, in the 18^th century, it was in a ruinous condition.

The Earl of Arran made a donation of it to the Office of Public Works in 1898. I believe that he just didn’t want to spend the money to restore or to tear down what remained of the castle.

The castle was partially restored in 1989 to 1996 and still has the original cobblestone floors. It also has the original trip stairs. These stairs can be quite trick to navigate. All the steps are at uneven heights to trip any sword fighters coming up the stairs. They also turn to the right to give the defenders an edge the fighting.

The garderobes were designed so that enemy soldiers would not be able to either use a spear or shoot an arrow up the chute taking the waste down to the river.

Currently, the castle is open to the public for tours. They allow 35 people on each tour and the tours last for approximately 30 minutes. The castle is also used to hold special events such as Gaelic festivals.

When we were there, it was enjoyable to stretch our legs after being on the bus for a couple of hours. We followed the tour guide, except some of us used the newer staircase rather than use the trip stairs for reasons of safety.