Latitudes of Matticus: Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 1

PART ONE: County Meath

2016-02-25 to 2016-02-29

It really is about time I went on a trip that didn’t involve me packing a tool kit. Well, that time has come! After more than 1.5 years of planning, this week, I set off with my mum to explore Ireland and Scotland. I have visited Dublin before, but only for a few days, and never any other locations in the Emerald Isle; as for Scotland, I have never been. This post will be the first of a series, detailing our adventures over a period of 6 weeks touring ourselves around these two beautiful countries.

Being the thrifty people we are, of course we wanted to spend as little as possible on airfares (doesn’t everyone?). Luckily for us, we found that we could fly to Dublin from our home city of Adelaide with Emirates, transferring in Dubai. This was significantly cheaper than the other airlines that mostly transfer through Asia. The downside, of course, is that the first flight is a reasonably mammoth 13.5 hours in length; that was a little bit painful! But, after about 23 hours in transit, we made it to Dublin.

Mountains along the edge of Lake Van in Turkey, as seen from the plane.

We picked up our car, a Sköda Fabia, which we had pre-booked with Budget. This involved catching a designated shuttle bus to the pick-up lot somewhere away from the airport, so that was a bit of a new experience for me. Our plan for the trip is to stay at various centres for 3-5 days, seeing and doing what the area offers before moving along. Our first stopping point was a quaint little town (which is more of just an intersection) called Donore, a few kilometres outside Drogheda.

Our room in Daly's Inn, Donore.

We arrived around 1pm and checked into our room at Daly’s Inn. We opted to relax for a while, as it had been a long haul to get here. In an effort to adjust to the time zone change, we needed to stay awake through until a somewhat decent evening time, and so we decided to take a bit of a walk around Donore. As it turns out, there’s not a lot to be seen! Some very pretty traditional Irish cottages and pubs, but not a lot else!

Daly's Inn, Donore.

Taking a stroll around Donore.

As a perfect end to our first day in Ireland, we decided on an early dinner in the pub adjoining our accommodation. Dinner starts at 5pm at Boyne Brasserie, but it’s not specifically traditional Irish fare. They do, however, dish up a Beef & Guinness Pie, which mum and I both opted for; mine accompanied with a pint of Guinness and hers with a glass of red. What arrived at the table certainly did not disappoint! A light and crispy pastry crust sealing the heat of the stew inside the pot; a stew that was delicious and creamy with a fragrant flavour of thyme. The beef in the stew was beautifully soft and simply melted in my mouth. A fantastic meal to finish off a chilly first day in Ireland!

Beef & Guinness Pie: good for what ails you!

We woke on our first full day in the country and made a slow start, enjoying some coffee in the room before wandering over to the pub where breakfast is served. We both decided to kick things off with a full Irish breakfast, but knowingly agreed that this would probably be once-a-week at most. And rightly so, as we were each greeted with plate of sausages, eggs, baked beans and white and black pudding – nothing like a hot plate of excessive calories to get your day started!

The pub and breakfast area in Daly's Inn.

Full Irish Breakfast to start the day!

Stomachs full and coffee coursing through our veins, we made a start on the day, heading north to see Monasterboice, the ruins of an old monastery and still an active cemetery. My mum has been studying the symbology and traditions of graves used by Irish immigrants in Australia for her Master’s degree, and so part of the itinerary of our trip here was to check out some of the original artefacts. For me, well I am a bit of an architecture and history nerd, despite having never studied either, so I enjoy checking out these old buildings and learning about the history. The main attractions at Monasterboice are the round tower and large Celtic crosses, embossed with extensive engravings of religious significance. The tower was used as part of the monastery, and also to attempt to hide valuables and for protection during Viking raids; the doorway was accessed by a removable stairway, and was set 15-20 feet off the ground. Nowadays, the doorway sits about 6 feet off the ground, as the ground level has been built up with the burials in the grounds.

Monasterboice.

From Monasterboice, we continued south to find the Old Mellifont Abbey. The Visitors’ Centre here is only open from late May to early September, but the Abbey (or rather, its ruins) are still open for you to walk around. Probably a little prettier when the skies are clearer and the temperature warmer, but nonetheless, an interesting walk around what remains of the floor plan of the old Abbey – some of these structures are incredibly big, given the building techniques available 1000 years ago.

Old Mellifont Abbey.

After the Abbey, we went back via our lodging town of Donore and headed for the Newgrange Monument, also known as "Brú na Bóinne". From a distance, this fairly unassuming-looking hill could be easily missed. However, when you get a bit closer you can get a better idea of the immensity of the structure. In the Visitors’ Centre (which is just down the road from Donore), you can read all about the history and archaeology of the site. The prevailing theory is that Newgrange is a tomb (or maybe some kind of church) constructed by the Neolithic people living in the area about 5200 years ago. The base is constructed of massive “kerb stones” that could weigh up to 10,000kg each. On the inside, a small chamber which can fit about 15 people at maximum branches off in three directions. Excavations in the mid 1900s found the remains of up to 5 people.

Newgrange Monument.

Unfortunately, photography inside the structure is not allowed. However, looking to the ceiling inside the chamber, you can see the careful placement of the large stones to form a domed or pyramidal roof structure – all without the use of concrete or any other primitive mortar substance. Incredibly, the roof has not leaked a single drop of water over the 5000 years it has stood, which goes to show that they knew very well what they were doing! Reportedly, the most incredible experience at Newgrange is to watch the sunrise during the Winter Solstice (December 18-23). On these days, it is impossible to visit by buying tickets – you must enter the lottery in an attempt to win a ticket because it is simply too popular. If you are lucky enough to win, you can experience the sun rising just after 9am to shine in through the “sun door”, which sits above the main entrance. The light will penetrate from this door into the main chamber where it will scatter throughout the room and light the whole chamber up like a Christmas tree. It is thought that the reason the construction was done to honour the Winter Solstice relates to the belief in rebirth of souls, linking to the winter months turning and coming back towards the warmer months when food can again be grown. This spirituality was applied to tombs, with archaeologists theorising that the magical union between the male god, the Sun, with Mother Earth could help to bring their loved ones back.

Carvings in the rocks at Newgrange Monument.

The entrance and, above it, the Sun Door at Newgrange Monument.

Having done a good amount of sightseeing for the day, we decided to head into the main city in the area, Drogheda, for a look around. We (eventually) found a park not too far out of town (following a drive in and around the town itself!) and wandered in. Drogheda sits straddling the River Boyne. We walked up to the main strip through the middle of the town and strolled up West and Laurence Streets, catching a glimpse of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church (there’s a Church of Ireland also called St. Peter’s just around the corner) and the St. Laurence Gate. To be honest, it wasn’t a particularly interesting street! There’s a few cafes and bars, as well as a major shopping centre with cinema, but nothing much of interest to see beyond the scattering of old buildings which sit in various places around the city.

St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Drogheda.

St. Laurence's Gate, Drogheda.

Irish coffee.

We decided to head back towards the river and then made our way along Dyer Street, stopping at a restaurant at the corner with Stockwell Lane called Brú. Our full Irish breakfast had got us through until 4pm, so we thought a later lunch / early dinner here would sort us out through until tomorrow. Not an overly Irish-inspired menu, but delicious food anyway! I had the fish and chips while mum got stuck into a plate of “traditional bacon and cabbage”. Washed down with a nice warm Irish coffee, it really hit the spot!

Making our way back to Donore, we stopped in at the pub for a whiskey to help us warm up and then retreated to the room for the evening.

On the morning of our second full day, the clouds parted and a brilliant blue sky greeted us, along with lots of lovely sunshine. However, this also meant there was nothing holding the heat in, and the morning air was a rather brisk 4°C. We piled into the car and made the relatively short trip to the Battle of the Boyne visitor centre. Based in a house and estate that was built around the mid 1700s, the centre explains the happenings when King William III faced off with his father-in-law, the previous King of England (whom William had kicked off the throne), James II. The two arrived in Ireland at opposite ends of the country and faced off from opposite sides of the River Boyne, with the ultimate prize being the English throne. Including a laser show describing the battle tactics used, and a short movie explaining where each side won and lost parts of the battle, it’s a good little history lesson.

Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre.

Battle of the Boyne: cannons on display in the courtyard.

Following on from the Battle history and artefacts, you can wander outside to explore the grounds of the estate, which was built a few decades after the Battle took place just a stone’s throw away. The exhibits talk about the original house and gardens, and the work done to restore and preserve it. While a very pretty garden and a mildly interesting insight into life in the 1700s, it was less engaging than the Battle history.

Battle of the Boyne: estate gardens.

From there, we drove south-west to the town of Trim. Planning to stop for some lunch before visiting the Castle, we wandered through the town for a while before we ran into the Castle wall from an alternative direction. We followed it around and decided to proceed inside, mistakenly thinking there was a Visitor Centre cafe inside. In the end, we signed on to join the guided tour of the Trim Castle Keep at 12:00.

Trim Castle's Keep.

Inside the Trim Castle Keep.

Trim Castle was used as a set for some filming of the movie Braveheart in 1994. Thanks to the movie hype, a lot of restoration work took place and the Castle was excavated and prepared for public exhibition, first opening for tours in only 2000. Our tour guide gave us a lot of information about the Castle history and the layout of the Keep. We gradually made out way up through the three stories of the Keep, ending up on the roof, from where a lot of the surrounding landscape can be seen. I quite enjoyed the tour, which lasted an hour; it was great to learn about some of the history of the site, and would definitely be worth adding to your list of things to see.


View from the roof of Trim Castle Keep.

View from the roof of Trim Castle Keep.

The stairs back down from the roof.

After our tour, we found the cafe: Welcome All Cafe – it was actually back outside the gate at the road. Simple and tasty food to stave off what had turned into a decent hunger by 1pm. I went for the warm chicken wrap and cafe latte; nothing to get excited about, but still quite enjoyable!

Warm Chicken Wrap at Welcome All Cafe.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument.

Bellies sated for the moment, we drove a further 40km out towards the north-west of county Meath, towards the town of Oldcastle. Turning off shortly before actually arriving to the town, we followed the signs to visit the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre. Sitting majestically at the top of a hill (which you have to climb by foot!), the main monument is essentially just a big pile of rocks.

Its use is actually similar to the Newgrange monument – there is an entrance at one side that leads into the depths of the monument. The entrance is much smaller than Newgrange, but otherwise looks very similar. It was quite clear that the monument, along with the several smaller “satellite” monuments scattered around the top of the hill were used for tomb and/or worship purposes by the Neolithic people who once lived in the area.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument - one of the satellite tomb entrances.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument - the view from atop the monument.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument.

Loughcrew Megalithic Monument - the view over the surrounding county.

Having appreciated a very nice view on what turned out to be a perfect day, weather-wise, we made our way back down to the car before driving an hour or so back to Donore for a relaxing evening.

On our last day based in County Meath, the clouds returned and opened up to drizzle constantly throughout the day. On the plus side, we had already seen basically everything we had planned to see in this area, so we just decided to drive around to some of the local towns. We started with a trip out to the coast by Clogherhead, just to see if there was anything to see there. On a clearer day, we may have been able to see the England coast across the Irish Sea, but on this day, there was nothing much to look at.

A visit to the beach in Ireland is a bit different to one in Australia!

We continued north to the next town, called Dunleer; also not a whole lot to see here, just another sleepy country town! But we parked the car and stopped in at The Franklyn Cafe for a coffee and a bit of morning tea. For a nice hot cup of coffee and a selection from the “daily bake” – I went with the fruit scone – it was a bargain price of only €3.50, so that was a nice way to warm up for the morning.

Coffee and a fruit scone at Franklyn Cafe, Dunleer.

While sipping on our coffee, we consulted the map to see where we might be able to go next. Our book, “A Rough Guide to Ireland” didn’t mention anything of note in the next major town to the north (Dundalk). We checked a small town to the west called Inniskleen. The book said there were some nice old structures and that it was a quaint little town, so we stopped in for a look. As you can see from the rain on my lens (which I didn’t notice at the time!), it was continuing to drizzle.

Church and 10th century tower in Inniskleen.

We then decided to turn south and head for Kells. Again, our book didn’t point out anything of note to see in Kells, but it is the namesake for the famous Book of Kells, the oldest known book in the world, which lives at Trinity College in Dublin. We decided to head there and find a nice warm place for some lunch. We wandered around for a few minutes and found Headfort Arms Hotel. Inside, they offered a carvery lunch for €9.95, so that seemed like a good idea, and we sat down to a hearty winter’s lunch.


Carvery lunch in Kells.

The Lounge in Hedfort Arms Hotel, Kells, is a very comfortable place to relax.

Around 2pm, we got back on the road; with the rain continuing, we decided that was probably enough for the day. We had our GPS take us back to Donore via a stop at Tesco in Navan, where we picked up some small groceries. Back at Daly’s Inn, we relaxed for a while before heading over to the pub for a couple of drinks and to use the wifi before calling it a night.