Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 5

PART FIVE: Into The Heart Of The Isle

2016-03-12 to 2016-03-14

Slow shutter effects are one of my secret loves.

After a very chilled few days in the mid-west, it was time to move along into the heart of Ireland. We had realised that our trip would include being here for St. Patrick's Day, and so we had to make sure we were somewhere lively during that time. We decided our best bet, being in the west of the country, would be to spend it in Galway. As we were still a bit early, we arranged a detour inland to the city of Athlone to see what the middle of Ireland has to offer.

A cloudy morning greeted us on Saturday 12th March, but the temperature overall had started to steadily increase. So much so that I didn't bother with the thermal underclothes (UniQlo's very effective HeatTech!). They didn't pay me to write that, I promise!

We consulted our map and planned out a driving route. To the east of Ennis lies the expansive Lough Derg, a widening of Ireland's mighty River Shannon. We drove through towards the town of Killaloe at the south end of the Lough. Consulting our Rough Guide book, there wasn't really much that took our fancy in Killaloe, so we just continued on through. Our map noted the route along the Lough, heading north, was a scenic drive. On occasion, there was a nice view over the water, but not too many places to stop along the way to soak it in. Still worth a look, though.

The view over Lough Derg from north of Killaloe.

Continuing along the Lough to the north, we weaved around through Scarriff and Mountshannon. Taking a detour to the west, we attempted to find a small town named Derrygoolan from where one of mum's university friend's ancestors came from. While signposted and featured on our maps, there doesn't appear to be anything there except some farms! Oh well - it got us off the beaten track and got us a view through the small hills along the side of the Lough. We continued on, eventually making it to Portumna at the north end of the Lough. Stopping to stretch our legs, we walked to the Castle. It isn't open at this time of the year, but we admired the grounds briefly and then returned to the town. 

The grounds leading to Portumna Castle.

Considering, but then deciding against, a coffee break, we continued along the way. We had our GPS plan a route for Clonmacnoise, one of the most important and famous monastic sites in Ireland. Established by St. Ciáran (pronounced Kieran) in the 6th century, the main attractions here are the exquisitely carved High Crosses; two of the three remain in tact (but weathered), while one is left only as the shaft. All were moved inside in the 1990s to prevent further deterioration, and replicas have been placed outside where they once stood. The exhibit begins with a video explaining St. Ciáran's life, the establishment of his legacy and the constant raiding and pillaging that occurred here through until the 1500s. In the museum area, the first High Cross stands proudly and majestically, surrounded by information about its mason-work and the meanings behind the carvings. It has survived in incredible condition since its commissioning somewhere between the 8th and 10th centuries.

Clonmacnoise's Cross of the Scriptures (original, from 8th - 10th century AD).

Clonmacnoise's Cross of the Scriptures (original, from 8th - 10th century AD).

Proceeding outside, you can wander and explore the site around the churches and buildings that still stand in the original positions - albeit, restored where necessary. An important pilgrimage site over the centuries, even now there are church services held on the grounds here on St. Ciáran's Day in September.

Clonmacnoise's church and cemetery grounds.

The west door of the main monastery at Clonmacnoise.

Clonmacnoise grounds.

The replica of the Cross of the Scriptures.

Finishing our journey, we drove up to Athlone and weaved our way through the streets to find our accommodation at Murphy's Law pub, just around the corner from Athlone Castle. The self-described gastro pub at the ground level was bustling with customers, even at 2pm in the afternoon. We were taken upstairs to our room on the third floor; it was simple but comfortable, complete with a small en suite.

Our accommodation in Athlone: Murphy's Law B&B.

Sean's Bar holds this illustrious record.

In the evening, we walked past the Castle to visit the much anticipated Sean's Bar: listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest pub in Ireland, reportedly established in 900AD, though it appears this is an ongoing debate! Arriving at about 6:30pm, we found the cozy little pub packed with patrons. In the front corner as we entered sat a band of about 6 people, joyously pumping out traditional Irish music including accordion, fiddle, flute and other instruments. It was an incredible atmosphere as we squeezed up to the bar to get some drinks; I sampled their "900AD" lager while mum tried "Sean's Special Stout". Both very tasty! We managed to find a small table in the back corner and settled in to enjoy the environment for an hour or so. We will definitely be visiting again before we leave Athlone.

Sean's Bar, Athlone. Obviously it didn't look quite like this in 900AD!

Sunday morning has proven to be quite the sleepy time throughout Ireland; shops generally don't open until 10 or 11 at the earliest and it's rare to even see people walking in the streets. I suppose they need some time to sleep off their Saturday night of whiskey and Guinness (and to go to church to say sorry for their whiskey-and-Guinness-induced activities!). This Sunday in Athlone, we went for a nice long walk around the town, crossing the Town Bridge and meandering through the winding streets on both sides of the River Shannon. Rarely did we find a shop open, but the town did start to come alive a little closer to lunch time. We did stop for a quick coffee at Beans & Leaves, a small cafe set just back from the riverbank.

Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral, Athlone.

Some local bird life down by the river.

Town Bridge over the River Shannon.

The bright colours of Bastion Street.

Athlone (Adamson) Castle.

Delicious meals and generous portions at Murphy's Law.

We returned to the bar of our accommodation for lunch; Murphy's Law has a varied but concise menu, and they really pump out the orders. The kitchen is on the second floor, below our room, so they do a really good job in such a confined space. Not a lot in the way of Irish food is on offer, but that was okay. Sometimes it's nice to mix it up a bit. I decided to go with a chicken carbonara pasta, and mum sampled the seafood chowder. I couldn't fault my dish, it was simply delicious. Mum's seafood chowder was equally impressive, with ample seafood including calamari so soft and thin that it almost dissolved on your tongue. I've never seen calamari so good (but maybe I've just been eating in the wrong places!).

As an aside, the specials menu during our visit offered mammoth 35oz steak - that's 1kg for my metric friends. While I appreciate a tasty steak, not even my 6'3" frame is game to tackle such a beast! Another amazing menu item is the Breakfast Challenge. Containing 4 sausages, 4 bacon, 4 eggs, 4 hashbrowns, 4 white pudding, 4 black pudding, 4 slices of toast, a bowl of fries, a bowl of beans and a bowl of mushrooms, this 8000 calorie monster will be yours for free if you can finish it within 30 minutes. I have no intention of even attempting it!

The colourful Murphy's Law pub.

In the cool afternoon, we decided to check out Athlone (Adamson) Castle, just around the corner from where we were staying. We almost didn't go because it wasn't included on our Heritage Card and cost €8. However, as it turned out, apart from the extensively informative exhibit in and around the castle, the admission fee comes with several discounts at other locations, so it suddenly became a much better deal. We had already planned to drive out to the east the next day, and three of the deals were at places out that way; the Hill of Uisneach does not actually open for tours until April, though. But we could easily take advantage of the Kilbeggan Distillery and Belvedere House offers. The irish coffee at Sean's Bar? Well that would be used before this day was through!

Special offers provided with the admission fee to Athlone Castle.

The self-guided tour through the Castle includes a large volume of information, telling the story of the struggle for control of Ireland. The Siege of Athlone links back to the Battle of the Boyne, the visitor centre of which we visited earlier (see this post). Interactive displays, information boards, dress-up costumes and a short video summary of the Siege will keep you busy for an hour or so. At the end, you can venture up to the roof to overlook the River Shannon and the Town Bridge from the lookouts of the Castle.

Cannon's-eye-view of the Town Bridge.

Of course, in the evening, we returned to Sean's Bar. There are other pubs in Athlone, but we enjoyed the atmosphere so much that we didn't see any point to explore around! We were only there three nights, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Of course, as mentioned above, we also had a voucher each for a discounted Irish Coffee. When I inquired about the "25% off a coffee" voucher, the barman cautiously informed me, "You know it's an Irish coffee; there's whiskey in it"...! I replied, "Yeah, I don't want a boring coffee!". And they do make a good coffee at Sean's. Warming and comforting; perfect for a cool winter's evening. Backed up by a pint, we enjoyed another cozy evening - no music until later on this occasion, so we just relaxed in the corner before calling it a night.

Sean's cozy fireplace.

Another great night in Sean's Bar.

We had planned to indulge in our weekly Full Irish Breakfast on Monday morning, but found that our local pub don't start serving their's until 10:30am. Opting to delay by a day and partake before departing Athlone on Tuesday, we drove east around 9am. Our first destination for the day was Belvedere House, a stately mansion south of Mullingar, about 40 minutes' drive from Athlone.

Belvedere House, County Westmeath.

The original Earl of Belvedere, Lord Richard Rochfort lived here in the mid 1700s. Based on all accounts, he was a bit of a bastard to his family and others around him! A few years after taking his second wife, who was 16 at the time, he accused her of having an affair with his younger brother, Jonathon (who was, himself, otherwise married). Facing little to no opposition to his accusations, he was allowed to imprison his wife at one of his family's smaller houses on their estate. She was not allowed to travel off the grounds and had little contact with other people for 31 years, eventually going a little mad because of it.

The interior of Belvedere House, decorated in the style of the 1700s.

At a later date, his other younger brother, George, had the "gall" to build a mansion larger than Belvedere House barely one-kilometre away. Richard spent £10,000 building a wall simply to block his view of George's house. It became known as "The Jealous Wall", and was one of the reasons that Richard died with very little money to his name.

"The Jealous Wall".

Following a self-guided walk through the ground level of the house, we wandered through the grounds of the estate. There are several marked trails that you can take, shown on signs around the grounds and on the map provided at the reception. It was a very pleasant morning and the weather was just perfect for such a stroll.

Inside the Walled Gardens on the Belvedere House estate.

The Gothic Arch to the north end of the Belvedere House estate.

Overlooking Lough Ennell from Belvedere House estate.

Finishing up at the estate, we went back via the M6 to the town of Tullamore. Our main reason for stopping here? Why, a whiskey tour, of course! But first things first - we couldn't go drinking whiskey on an empty stomach. Taking a stroll up High Street through the middle of town, we investigated a few pubs. Coming across The Brewery Tap, we had to go inside to check their menu. At first, it wasn't too inspiring, but we mulled it over and eventually decided to go with it. We each chose a Stuffed Baked Potato, mine with spicy chicken (which wasn't spicy at all), cheese and a sauce with onions and capsicum. It was a very simple pub meal, but very tasty, nonetheless.

A good serve of carbs at The Brewery Tap before tasting some whiskey.

We walked back to the canal and turned left to visit the Tullamore D.E.W distillery. The plan had been to join a tour through the factory, but we were informed that they were "having a problem with the tours" and so they could not continue at that time. Instead, we could pay €5 each for a tasting session. We were given a nip of three different Tullamore whiskeys and the employee gave us a very good explanation of the process that goes into the manufacture and blending of whiskeys, as well as the differences between the styles of whiskies around the world. It was a very informative session in lieu of not being able to take a full tour.

Tullamore D.E.W. Visitor Centre.

Whisk(ey) me away.

As mentioned earlier, we had been given a set of discounts with our entry fee to the Athlone Castle; Belvedere House had been one of these, while another was a 2-for-1 entry to the Kilbeggan Distillery. We hadn't heard of this brand before, but found it to be quite close to Tullamore. We proceeded here after out tasting session. The tour at Kilbeggan was self-guided, but with a quite informative booklet. Most of the tour goes through the old distillery, explaining the different equipment along the process. It was very interesting to see how the factory used to operate using the old-style technology, so this was a bit different to visiting a modern day distillery for a tour. Finishing off at the Whiskey Bar, we were given a taste of one of their blended whiskeys. For me, it was a little bit harsh on the palette; a bit more like a scotch whisky (which is not my favourite style of whisky/whiskey). Nevertheless, it was good to taste some new brands. We also were given the small tasting glasses to keep as a souvenir, so that was a nice gift to remember our visit.

The mash tun, where ground grain is mixed with water to make wort.

The old steam engine would power the distillery's processes when the water wheel could not.

Kilbeggan Distillery.

And that about sums up our time in the midlands. We completed the hat-trick of nights with a final visit to Sean's Bar in the evening. Next up, we head west to Galway for some St. Paddy's day frivolity!

Maps of our travels