Day 12: Sligo to Donegal, Ireland
The journey begins in London, England. We then proceed west through Southern England before crossing into Wales. The religion of England and Wales is Protestantism and the currency is the pound sterling.
We then take a boat west to enter Ireland. Ireland is a very independent nation where the main religion is Roman Catholicism. Their currency in Ireland is the EuroDollar. We travel through Ireland, including their capital city of Dublin.
We proceed north crossing into Northern Ireland, an important part of the United Kingdom where the primary religion is Protestantism and their currency is that of the United Kingdom which is the pound sterling.
We then travel by boat east to the Island of Great Britain (which is the countries of England, Wales and Scotland) back into England before proceeding north to Scotland. The religion in Scotland is Protestantism and their currency is the pound sterling.
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Once again, what a beautiful countryside as we departed Galway for our first stop in Sligo! When we got out of our coach, there was a beautiful, modern hotel built right on the edge of the river in Sligo. Ed, our guide, informed me that this is a chain of a famous posh hotel in other exact locations along village rivers throughout Ireland...check it out for future visits!
You can see below a box of 24 small photos. You can also see only 24 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 24 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 25 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Donegral Castle
For more detail, please see the photos below.
Sligo
Tobernalt Holy Well
Limerick
Off for lunch...
We proceeded on our way to our final destination for today...Donegal...by stoping for lunch where I had a great chowder soup on this cold day! Again, the countryside was just so beautiful!
As we continued along the coast, we stopped to take photos of the Classiebawn Castle, still the residence of a royal family that is related to the current King Charles. In fact, he recently came and stayed at this castle and had lunch in the local village!
Classiebawn Castle
We arrived in Donegal and were so lucky that our hotel was right at the city center called the Diamond! I took off on the city and was able to visit the most local Catholic Church as well as the Donegal Castle. Oh, and I found a great ice cream!
You can see below a box of 43 small photos. You can also see only 43 photos, but click on the #1 to #3 to view the next 43 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 43 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Tobernalt Holy Well
You can see below a box of 20 small photos. You can also see only 8 photos, but click on the #1 to view the next 20 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 20 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Classiebawn Castle
You can see below a box of 20 small photos. You can also see only 20 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 20 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 39 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Franciscan Abbey
Of course, I did find a gelateria, this time getting two great flavors...cream & cherry and Elderflower & strawberry!
See how they write "O'Connell" Street in Gaelic and in English!
What a beautiful, quaint village in Ireland!
Just outside of Sligo is the Tobernalt Holy Well. This spot is an ancient natural spring water location dating back to the 5th century. It started as a pagan meeting place and was continued by Christianity as a holy well to help those with important needs. It is such a beautiful religious site to visit!
One of the topics that I cover in teaching world history is the time of the split of Christianity between the Catholics and the Protestants. And Ireland was an important point in this split. We next visited the site of a Franciscan Abbey that when told that the Protestants would take over this site, the Franciscan monks destroyed the site. It has since then be used as a cemetery. But as you can see from the photos, this goes back to the 1500s!
Franciscan Abbey
Please see additional photos of this area down below.
Arriving in Donegal
Sligo
I also had the chance to visit the Donegral Castle. Like the Franciscan Abbey, much was destroyed when the Protestants took control and the English attacked, yet it is still a beautiful, historical site to visit!
Please see additional photos of this area down below.
You can see below a box of 24 small photos. You can also see only 24 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 24 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 24 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
In and Around Donegal
You can see below a box of 33 small photos. You can also see only 33 photos, but click on the #1 to #2 to view the next 33 photos. You can click on any photo to see it enlarged OR just click on the 1st photo and wait....it will present a slide show of all 33 photos that advances every 5 seconds.
Donegral Castle
