On to Our Destination - Cong Ireland!

Cong Ireland, a village that straddles the borders of County Galway and County Mayo, was our final destination before we returned to Dublin and our flight home.  The good news was that we had 2 nights planned to stay in Cong and explore the area…

As we drove along N67 in a general northerly direction toward the city of Galway, we passed through the village of Kinvarra.  We just had to take this photo of the Merriman Hotel as we passed through the village.  This interesting structure easily had the biggest thatched roof of any building we saw in either Scotland or Ireland!  The Merriman Hotel’s website can be found at www.merrimanhotel.com/.

On the outskirts of Kinvarra, we passed Dun Guaire Castle, a tower house/castle that dates back to the 1500s.  The castle is named after the Dun (fort) of King Guaire, who was the legendary king of Connacht.  The castle’s 75-foot tower and its defensive walls have been restore and the grounds are open to tourists during the summer. 

    

Note:

·         Dun Guaire Castle was featured in the 1969 Disney movie “Guns in the Heather” featuring Kurt Russell.  It was also the Scottish castle home of the main character in the 1979 film “North Sea Hijack”.  This latter movie featured Roger Moore, James Mason and Anthony Perkins.

As we continued on our rainy day drive to Cong, we passed yet another ancient tower house, this one right beside the highway…  The startling fact is that there are over 200 tower houses in County Galway!  They were mainly built by Gaelic and Anglo-Norman land owning families.

…and of course there were plenty of green fields featuring another plentitude that is evident throughout Ireland…sheep!  FYI…we love rock walls!

…and then we arrived in Cong!  The rain let up a bit so we could enjoy our surroundings.  This is a view across the Cong River, one of the streams that flow on all sides of the center of the village.  That large white building was to be our home for the next couple of nights.  It’s Ryan’s River Lodge.  Check it out at www.ryansriverlodge.com.  Much more about on our bed and breakfast stay in my next posting… 

This is a map of Cong.  It shows the rivers that surround the village.  In effect, Cong is an island that is part of the isthmus that connects Loughs (lakes) Corrib and Mask.  

Notes:   

·         Lough Mask to the north of Cong covers 32 square miles.  It reaches a depth of 190 feet and it holds more water than any other lake in the Republic of Ireland.

·         Lough Corrib to the south of the village covers 68 square miles.  It’s the second largest lake in Ireland and it contains an amazing 1,327 islands.

With all of the water surrounding Cong, there is a lot of beauty in any direction that one looks… FYI, Cong in Irish Gaelic is ‘Conga’, from Cunga Fheichin, meaning “Saint Feichin’s narrows”.

I don’t know about you…but water, especially flowing water or waves, relaxes me and just makes me feel calm and happy!

Just a block or so from our bed and breakfast, we ‘discovered’ Cong Abbey.  It’s the ruin of a former Augustinian abbey that, for the most part, dates back to the 1200s.

Cong Abbey has been described as featuring some of the finest examples of medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland.  The first church was built on this site in the early 600s…reportedly by Saint Feichin.  To learn more about his history, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Féchín_of_Fore.

Another church was built here following the original structure but the second building was destroyed by fire in 1114.  Over the 20 years following the fire, Turlough Mor O’Connor, the High King of Ireland, rebuilt the abbey.  Then in 1137 raiders from Munster destroyed the buildings again.  They were rebuilt by King Turlough…

In 1198, King Turlough’s son, (Ruaidri Ua Conchobair), Rory O’Connor, Ireland’s last High King began construction of new buildings.  He actually lived here for the last 15 years of his life and was buried there for a while before his body was relocated.

In the 1200s the abbey was again reconstructed and then it was dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.  Cong Abbey has had a tough history!  It was suppressed in 1542 during the reign of Henry the III.  Although it was occasionally used by monks after that, it eventually fell into ruins.

The last nominal abbot, the parish priest of Cong from 1795 until his death in 1829, was also the preserver of the Cross of Cong.  This medieval cross and work of art was made ca. 1125 and it’s now on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.  

To learn more about the cross, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Cong.  It is a spectacular example of master workmanship!

Laurie took this photo… Those walls look like they would never fall down.  It’s hard to imagine the effort that went into the building and rebuilding of the abbey.

The first restoration of the abbey was started by Benjamin Guinness back in 1855, soon after he purchased nearby Ashford Castle.  FYI, Benjamin was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness and a grandson of the first Arthur Guinness who bought the St. James’s Gate Brewery in 1759.   After Benjamin’s father died, he expanded the business and became the wealthiest person in Ireland. 

The Cong Abbey is now a national monument that is under the care of Ireland’s Commissioners for Public Works.  The fact that it is open to the public and we could just wander around and explore the abbey is still a little mind boggling to me…  

One last photo… Laurie took this photo of the tiny ferns who seem to find a home on so many castle and church ruins in both Scotland and Ireland.  They are a fascinating reminder that, given the chance, Mother Nature will reclaim what is hers!

For much more about Cong Abbey, you can go to http://www.galway.net/galwayguide/history/wrwilde/chapter7/abbey.html.

The next posting will be all about our special bed and breakfast stay in Cong…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave