Report from The Nine Glens of Antrim, Northern Ireland

We left Riversdale early Oct 18 by hackney to Belturbet.  After coffee at The Corner Bistro, we boarded Bus Eirann to Dublin to pick up our car hire from National Europcar, pre-paid on the internet, but, in the usual fashion, undisclosed charges were tacked on by the "vultures."

We drove to Lanesborough, calling cousin Joan from Addie's Swan Pub from where she guided us to their lovely home along the banks of Lough Ree. After saying goodbye to their visitors from Illinois on their way to Paris, we were entertained in the “Homeplace”, laboriously renovated and decorated. They graciously put us up for the night in the "The Children's Place", another of their beautiful cottages. They have a serene and lovely Homestead.

After goodbyes, we were on the road again to Strokestown, (House and Gardens of the Pakenham Mahon Mansion, and attached Famine Museum). It was built on the site of the 16^th century castle, home of the O Conor Roe Gaelic Chieftains. The Landlord Major Denis Mahon was assassinated in November 1847 at the height of the Great Famine of Ireland and it is fitting that the Irish National Famine Museum was established at the Strokestown Park.

The six acre walled pleasure gardens have been restored to their original splendour and give an insight into horticultural design and architecture from the 1740's to the present. Henry Pakenham traveled extensively gathering plants and seeds from around the world. It includes a herbaceous border,  fernery,  lily pond, Victorian rose garden, pergola, peach house, vinery, fruit and vegetable garden..

The Great Irish Famine of the 1840's has been called the single greatest social disaster of 19^th century Europe. Between 1845 and 1850, when blight devastated the potato crop, in excess of two million people, almost one-quarter of the entire population, either died or emigrated. The Museum is twinned with Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site, Grosse Ile, Quebec. Over 5,500 Irish immigrants are buried in mass graves at Grosse Ile.

The Museum, located in the original Stable Yards of Strokestown Park House, was designed to contrast the lives of the tenant farmers with those in "The Big House". Whereas the landlord class had the resources to leave an indelible mark on the landscape, the Irish tenants lived in poverty and nothing of a physical nature has survived to commemorate their lives. The surviving Mahon family documents include many haunting pleas from starving tenants and the responses they received.

In a pattern repeated throughout Ireland, English Lords assumed control of farms that had been owned and worked by Irish. When hard times came, the Irish tenant farmers could no longer pay their taxes or tithes to the Lord and were displaced. The fortunate families exchanged their land for ship passage to North America. The wealthy Lords varied in their compassion for their tenants. Disease was rampant and education did not exist, except for the wealthy. The Famine Museum documents the story of Irish workhouses.

Of course, without tenant farmers, income to the Lords declined, and the descendants of the Lords eventually lost their inherited fortunes. Mansions were turned into museums and many were destroyed. The last inhabitants of the Strokestown Park House sustained themselves by selling their paintings and furnishings bit by bit and lived their last years in a single room on the lower level to minimize heat costs, before dying in poverty. The sad history of that era, and the aftermath, is much more complex than we had realized.  

Remaining artifacts and furnishings from bygone years were on display in an interesting mansion tour. 





You can read more at www.enjoy-irish-culture.com 

We went on to Tulsk to The Rathcragan Bronze Age Visitor Center, with its interesting dioramas. The archeological investigations of Druid ringforts from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages are well-described. The concentric circles of burial mounds commemorated their dead.








Oweynagat, “The Cave of the Cats” is one of the three main entrances to the “Otherworld”. It is the “fit abode” of Morrigan, the Goddess of Battle and Fertility. It was thought that it kept some away from the “Hell's Mouth of Ireland.”

In the same neighborhood, we visited the 1448 Dominican Priory and Cemetery, which was part of the O'Cona Rua, where current day Christian inhabitants commemorate their deceased with fresh flowers to the grave sites of their loved ones still today. Not much change since the times of the Druids.

We continued on towards Leitrim Lodge where we stayed overnight after a nice roast beef, potato and vegetable dinner with Guinness.

The next day we visited Donegal, where I must surely have many relatives. 







 



We had a delightful lunch at the Olde Castle Bar after a self-guided tour of The Donegal Castle. 














 
Donegal was busy with tour buses and we were soon on our way to Drumcorrey Farmhouse, pausing for a brief, but intense, hail storm.

At the Drumcorrey Farmhouse B&B, we met Martina and Pat, our hosts. We were treated to the pleasure of Pat playing the fiddle.




Click the video below for a sample of traditional Irish fiddle music

One of my most treasured experiences was Pat working his sheepdogs.    





 He has won many sheepdog trophies and is currently training five more pedigree Border Collies. 

 Click on the video for a sample of how the dogs work the sheep.

We headed to the Roe Valley Country Park where we had lunch in the tea room. There were many walkers with dogs.  There is a statue to the wolf-hound who saved the king by leaping across the river to deliver a message. Unfortunately, most of the attractions here were closed for the season.

We traveled around Port Rush and Coleraine and managed to find economical lodging at fancy Atlantic Golf Hotel where we ate dinner of parsnip soup and chicken wings. The north shore has many RV parks of seasonal “caravans”, surrounded by golf courses. We were glad not to be there during peak tourist season as we understand traffic can by bumper-to-bumper.

The next morning, we visited Dunluce Castle, spectacular on the sea coast with an interesting visitor centre.

This 14^th century castle, still in good repair, was home to the MacQuninlan's and MacDonnells from Scotland. It is reputed to have dozens of ghosts: servants, a daughter of former inhabitants, the MacQuillans and an English constable. The daughter was to elope with Peter Carey, set to be hanged when part of the castle fell into the ocean in the winter of 1639.

The Castle was once a bustling community centre before it was attacked during the Irish Rebellion in 1641 and abandoned in 1680.

Other historical tid-bits include: The King of Norway, Magus, lost his head, after plundering Dunluce.  The Norseman's silver is still undiscovered.  Rober Senuit recovered the sunken treasure of the Spanish Armada. The Scottish pirate Black Tavish lost his life along with his treasure from four English vessels bringing provisions for the Earl of Ulster.





The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo only added to the telling of these ghost stories, turning the weather wet and windy. Ferries to the out islands were ruled out by the unruly sea.

It was an interesting tour of The Old Bushmill's Distillery, the oldest whiskey distillery in Ireland dating from 1608. We watched with dismay as the quality control officer dumped out a case of whiskey in which we could not perceive a deficit. Made us cry! 

 We enjoyed sampling of their products early that morning (whiskey for breakfast).

Departing Bushmill's, we visited tiny Portballintrae, a scenic harbour. Plaques describe days of yore, when in the 1700's schooners loaded lime from the kiln there. It was surprising to see dracenas on the hillsides. We did not know that they grew this far north. Occupants of charming cottages have fantastic ocean views.

The Giant's Causeway and Visitor Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was our next stop. The geology is fascinating, with 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from intense volcanic and geologic activity, over 60 million years. 

 Click on the video to sample the unusual seaside rock formations.

We learned the folk story of Finn McCool, who built a causeway from Antrim to Scotland to challenge his enemy, the Scottish Giant, Benandonner, to battle. Finn was horrified that Bennadonner was much bigger than he had anticipated, but Finn tricked Benandonner by dressing himself as a babe.  Benandonner took flight at the thought of the “baby's” father and ran back to Scotland on the stones breaking the causeway as he went.

A pleasant night was spent in Fragren's B&B, where breakfast was another “Ulster Fry”.

This part of Northern Ireland is characterized by a series of deep Glens which run from the mountains to the North Channel of the Irish Sea. These are known as the Nine Glens of Antrim and are the product of glaciation during the last Ice Age. The Sea of Moyle on the rocky shores, the coast of Scotland, and the Mull of Kintyre were visible from our Glen House Hotel room window (only 16 miles away). The people are welcoming, the air is fresh and the countryside beautiful. The hedges are made of well-maintained hawthorne shrub. Traditional stone walls, hill farms, winding streams, cattle, sheep, peaceful landscapes and spectacular views are everywhere.

The Irish have many folk stories of fairies, giants, leprechauns, banshees and other spirits. Though mainly Christian, they hold many ancient superstitions, particularly about death and dying, as noted during our visit to ruins of 1400's Bonamargy Friary and grave yard. We happened to be visiting around Halloween time and encountered a teacher taking his very attentive class, explaining some of the handed-down superstitions (e.g., seeing into the “otherworld” by looking through holes in stones). He agreed to us tagging along to hear his presentations. We learned the story of the Black Nun, Julia McQuillan, who could predict the future.

We drove through Ballypatrick Forest, under the Glendun Viaduct, up the Glendun along the river with many side roads, little traveled. We met cyclists, salmon fishermen, hikers and photographers taking in the beautiful woods, streams and waterfalls. 

We headed to Glenariff and saw the Grey Mare's Tail (waterfall) and on to Laragh Waterfall.







Click on this video to appreciate the Glenariff Waterfall.




After a nice walk we had lunch at the lodge, decorated for Halloween (roast beef with Yorkshire, pudding, a side of mash, peas and carrots and potato leek soup with brown bread).

We left Hotel Glens, the oldest hotel in Antrim, located in Cushendun after a nice breakfast. We walked along the beach/golf course and later went north to Cushendun and Knocknarry. We walked on the beach, learned about the Irish game of hurling vs lacrosse, saw many colours of hydrangeas, and dracenas. There were fish farms, seals, oil rigs, lovely harbours, and ring-necked pheasants.

We passed Waterfoot Harbour, passed the Glencloy village and Carnlough and enjoyed the marina and old town. 


Mothers pushing their prams along the road, very little trafic to worry about. Everyone stops and chats when they pass by.

Folklore is alive and well along the Antrim Coast and Glens. The area has always had associations with the "wee" folk. Many of the place names reflect this tradition such as Feystown (town of the fairies), Breen (the fairy palace) and Skeagh (the fairy thorn). There are the legends of Ossian, the "Children of Lir", and Julia McQuillan, Bonamargy's "Black Nun", who could predict the future.

Cushendun is one of the prettiest villages on the coast. We discovered the sea caves, then traveled south along the coastal route passing Ossian's grave (warrior, bard and part son of Giant Fin McCool). 




The story is that Ossian left his love, Namagh, in Tir Na Nog, land of everlasting youth, on horseback. He passed an old woman who he lept down to help and, upon touching the earth, instantly died

Glenarm is one of the oldest villages on the coast, the home of the Antrim McDonnels. It includes the remains of a Franciscan friary, the private Glenarm Castle, the Barbicon gate and the old core of the village from the 19th century. 



We drove to the start of the Sculpture Trail at the Glenarm Forest Park, but decided not to walk in the forest because of the rain.

Ballygally Castle was built in 1625 by James Shaw and his wife Isabella Brisbane. He came from Scotland in 1606 to occupy a sub-grant of land from the Earl of Antrim, on which land they built the castle. The Castle served as a place of refuge for protestants during the civil war.  In 1799, the castle passed to the last squire, William Shaw. In the 1800's, the Shaws lost all their money and the estate was sold. It was a Coast Guard Station and now a first-class hotel and restaurant.

Ballygally Castle retains many of it's original features, including turreted bedrooms and three ghosts. 

Catherine wore a ghost cape of Lady Isabelle Shaw who fell to her death from her locked room trying to escape from Lord Shaw, to search for her infant.

We visited haunted castles surrounded by ancient city walls with legendary tales, secret tunnels (and continual major renovations). We were lucky to be in Carrickfergus during the Halloween season to enjoy the variety of costumed reenactors portraying, friars, Kings, Queens, musicians, jesters, and knights 

While in Carrickfergus we went for lunch to the 400 year old Dobbins Hotel with cod, champs, and Caesar salad. According to legend there is a tunnel to the castle.

Another enjoyable stop was at the Andrew Jackson home in Carrickfergus. There we were pleased to meet two very knowledgeable docents who answered many of our questions about the Ulsters, Scottish, British and North American influences in Ireland. On the same grounds was a thatch roofed museum dedicated to the US Army Rangers who were stationed in Northern Ireland during World War II.

Andrew Jackson was one of eight presidents born as British Subjects before the USA was formed.

We drove through the busy city of Larne to Gleno to find Billy Andy's Pub Inn and Restaurant. Dinner was the BEST.

We learned of a traditional music jam session to be held at Billy Andy's the next day. It was well-attended, hardly room to move. The variety of musical instruments was amazing: fiddles, guitars, flutes, bodhran, banjo, mandolin, accordion and viola. We will return to Billy Andy's for “trad”music starting at 3:30 Saturdays (www.billyandy's.com ). 

 Click on the video for a sample of the jam session.

We were referred to Derrin's Four Star Guest Home in Larne, quite comfortable and handy for visiting Belfast, but we were out of time. After a Full Irish breakfast with beans, we left Derrin's Guest House.

We stopped for lunch at Dooley's Carvery,  with many families of young children, all who were PERFECTLY behaved.  Passing through the town of Ardee there where many HUGH tractors lining the streets of town center and farmers collecting money for hospice, certainly a unique way for fund raising.

Our last night in Ireland was spent at the Dublin Airport Manor, just 5 minutes from the airport. The next morning we left on Ryan Air for Zadar, Croatia (subject of our next posting).

“Progress is impossible without change, and those that cannot change their mind, cannot change anything”. George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright

Catherine and Peter, now aboard the sailing vessel Charlotte D in the Southern Caribbean.