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Near Ballynacally,
County Clare
September 24
Churchyards such as this were common throughout our travels. The
church dates to the thirteenth century and was used through the
mid-1800s. It is now in ruins, but the surrounding graveyard is
still in us. Many of the graves are family plots, with plenty of
inscription space remaining on the headstones.
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Carrigafoyle Castle
Near Ballylongford, County
Kerry
September 25
This is a photograph of a sign near what remains of the castle. It
was built in the late fifteenth century and was thought to be impregnable.
But in 1580 it was garrisoned by rebel Irish and Spanish soldiers and
besieged by the English. Three days of constant cannon fire reduced
the western wall to rubble, and it remains a gaping hole today. The
garrison was executed, and the castle's valuables were shipped to England.
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The north wall, perhaps five feet thick.
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Outer courtyard wall.
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Near Kilkee,
County Clare
September 26
Facing southwest from the mouth of Kilkee Bay, along the see cliffs of
Loop Head. The weather was cool and drizzly, with a strong wind
blowing off the ocean from the southwest.
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A holy well encircled by a low earthen wall, above the sea cliffs
southwest of Kilkee. Inside were several wooden crucifixes,
moldering Virgin Mary pictures, broken rosaries, rodent droppings
and a spider or two. The planter in front is a white-painted
tractor tire.
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Near Cross, County Clare
September 26
Every field, road, paddock, and farmyard in the country seemed to be lined
with a stone wall, and many of the walls were draped with a thick mat of
blackberry vines. This one was all but invisible beneath the
greenery. I climbed it for a view of an adjacent farm and nearly
tumbled over the other side when I stepped onto what looked like solid
stone and found my foot supported by nothing but vines.
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Carrigaholt Castle
Carrigaholt, County
Clare
September 26
This is another fifteenth-century castle. A sign inside states that
small tower-castles of this sort were fashionable among wealthy noblemen
at that time. County Clare has about 250 of them, in various states
of decay.
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The round turret is not concurrent with the rest of the castle. It was
added some time in the eighteenth century.
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Kilkee
September 27
Not sure when last this boat saw water. The beer kegs supporting it
are very rusty. Allison stumbled upon it while I was bicycling Loop
Head on the 26th.
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The keg boat is twenty feet to the left.
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More....
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