Our Travelers' Diaries
Writers, Myths, and Legends - A Journey to Ireland
Submitted by Lois

Page: 1 | | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

From the Kiltartan Museum, we drove to the Kilmacduagh Monastery site. We met Tom Hannon, an 84-year old historian of the area, at the site. He and Sr. Mary know each other well. You will see the photo of them telling legends of St. Colman, who was born ?c450 AD, although the buildings date from the 11th-13th centuries. The round towers were used for bells and for hiding from enemies. This one is particularly well-preserved. They told the story of a 3-year old boy who fell in a well near here, at the turn of the 20th century. When the rescuers found and pulled him from the well days later, he said he was cared for down there by an old and kind man with a beard (presumably, St. Colman). Tom told another story of the days when people living in the area would never work on ST. Colman's day, June 7. One farmer did have wheat planted on the saint's day, but when it was time to harvest it, no wheat came of it. Just plant. The monastery site blends old with new, as you can see in the cemetery photo. Also, before we left, Sr. Mary went to visit the graves of her parents, who are buried here.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04115d.htm
http://www.gortonline.com/gregorymuseum/default.asp

Our tour guide, Patty, had the wonderful idea to treat Sr. Mary and Tom to lunch in their town of Gort, so off we all went to O'Grady's. Tom and Sr. Mary shared more stories. Tom knows all the locals, and whether their families still live in Ireland, and if not, where they emigrated to. Sr. Mary helped him with some of the stories. It was the highlight of the trip for me, as these storytellers and historians are so precious and few these days. Bill video'd them telling some of their stories and we are so glad to have them. After lunch, we offered to drive Sr. Mary home (Tom had his own car, and went home to care for his ailing wife) but she declined, even though it was raining and raw, saying she just lived down the street. She had her 68th birthday the next day. Special people!
http://www.runet.edu/~kkitchene/eurotrails/Kilmacduagh.html

We enjoyed some shopping in Galway (they have a walking street).

Here is a map of Ireland, showing Gort southeast of Galway:
http://www.irishholidays.com/maptest1.htm

Page: 1 | | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

All contents copyright © 2004, Novel Explorations. All rights reserved.