Moore Hall in County Mayo, Ireland

Ireland has many beautiful ruins tucked away in the countryside. Many of these were country houses of the English that were burned during the Irish Revolution of 1919-23. A total of 275 “big houses” were destroyed between 1920 and 1923. The ruins of Moore Hall stand near the shore of Lough Carra in County Mayo, … Read more

Kilkenny, Ireland

We spent our last weekend in Ireland in the lovely city of Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh). I can’t believe that we waited 2 years before visiting the “Sunny South East”. Kilkenny is only 230 kilometers away from our former home in rainy Leitrim but what a difference in climate! Despite the clouds in my photos below, … Read more

Trim Castle in County Meath, Ireland

It’s another Sunday afternoon with a fussy baby. Hey, let’s get in the car and drive 121 kilometers to look at another castle! And here is where I made a sad mistake in not researching where we were going first and missed a site I would have loved (more on that later). We were already … Read more

Achill Island

Achill Island is the largest island off the coast of Ireland, connected to County Mayo by a bridge. It is a four hour drive from Dublin but only two and a half hours from our home in Carrick-on-Shannon. The name Achill comes from the Irish word acaill, meaning eagle. In the past, golden eagles could … Read more

Roscommon Castle

Roscommon Castle might not see many tourists but it is worth a look if you are near Roscommon town. The town of Roscommon is about a 30 minute drive from Carrick-on-Shannon or a 1 hour drive from Sligo. The castle and surrounding park is located just outside Roscommon town. Roscommon castle was built in 1269 … Read more