Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Dunguaire Castle and Galway City

 As you might have noticed, Brian tends to make random stops as we travel. This one was no different. I love that we do this though, because it means that we get to see a lot more than we would if we just drive by all the cool sights that don't show up on the list of tourist attractions.

We parked the bus in the car park, and walked up the road to the castle. Just before we stopped here, we were traveling near the Athenry where Brian taught us the amazing song "The Fields of Athenry" It is practically Ireland's second national anthem. It is sung all the time and depicts the tragic love story of a young couple during the time of the Great Hunger. During this time, the Irish would get desperate and steal food. If they were caught they were imprisoned until a ship could take them to Australia as slaves. This is what happens to the couple in this beautiful song. It is now one of my favorites.


Lovely driveway.

The marshy bay surrounding the castle which helped protect it.

Dunguaire Castle
 There is a neat story behind this Castle. The director of the Irish studies program, Vance, came to Galway with his future wife Tammy when he was in College and this castle was where he first asked her out on a date.

Suddenly this "random" stop became less random and far more significant.


Swans. There are tons of them here.
 Another example of an abandoned house.
 We finally arrived in Galway city in time for dinner. I don't like cities, but Galway city is by far my favorite city. It is the third largest in Ireland and is only about the size of Canton, OH. (That should put the size of Ireland in perspective.) I loved it because it had a very traditional Irish flavor. There were pedestrian only streets lined with street performers. There is always music playing. Pictures cannot come close to capturing the atmosphere of this city.
The streets of Galway.


Recognize that name?
This one was funny to see.

One of the many street performers.

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