Working, Living & Travelling In Ireland

Tag: Burren Lowlands

  • New Start in Galway City & the Mark Fordham memorial walk

    New Start in Galway City & the Mark Fordham memorial walk

    Hello all,

    Writing this blog is fun, but from time to time I need a break, so it’s been a week or two or even three since my last post. During this break, we spent a week at the beach in Spain, I worked my last week at Magento and just last week I started a new job in Smartbear! Yiha!

    Changing jobs is a big thing, but after 5 years of working from home, I got quite excited to get the train into Galway from the railway station in Ardrahan.  Prior to last week, I think I have taken the train twice into Galway, partly because I have a car, and secondly because it’s very expensive. You’ll see the prices in my Facebook live video below.

    Luckily there is tax saving scheme called http://www.taxsaver.ie/ (Taxsaver) where you can offset part of the cost on your taxes, and then it becomes interesting! It also totally stresses less, you’re never stuck in traffic, and no parking fees in Galway. The downside is that there aren’t many trains, so this can mean that you are out of the house for 12 hours. I’ll be doing some tests to see what’s the best way to get into Galway before gridlock sets in.

    I’d seen a Facebook event to a memorial 1 mile walk for Mark Fordham at the Ballinderreen GAA pitch , and decided to take the boys to it. I remember reading about the tragic accident that occured late last year, and although I don’t know the family, I wanted to show my support of taking part in this walk.  I wasn’t alone. There was an incredible turnout and a solemn atmosphere. I overheard a lady explaining to her children that all participants were having the same thoughts, and sending good vibes to his family. We walked around the grounds twice and were met with an abundance of tea, coffee, biscuits, scones, and Nutella pancakes, made by friends and volunteers of Firstlight, which is an Irish charity that supports suddenly bereaved parents and families.

    I took some footage, but missed on the (for me) most poignant image of the release of balloons, and how the kids all went to grab the balloons and either kept on to them or burst them! It brought tears to my eyes.

    Here are just a few impressions of the day. The weather has been very changeable this week, but it was meant to be that the weather stayed dry during the whole walk.

    more walkers

    Mark Fordham Memorial Walk

    Michael Leech
    Michael Leech
    Marie Fahy, Michelle Leyden
    Marie Fahy, Michelle Leyden

    pancakestand

    touchingwords

    memories

    rememberingmark

    To find out more about Firstlight, check out their Facebook page here .

    I’ll be continuing my series of interviewing small business in the West of Ireland. If you are interested to be featured, drop me an email to katleen(at)workinglivingtravellinginireland.com or come and say hello on my Facebook page about working, living , travelling in Ireland.

    Have a great start to your week.

    Katleen

     

     

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  • We are blue we are white, we are dynamite

    We are blue we are white, we are dynamite

    We are blue we are white, we are dynamite

    Hello all,

    We waved 2015 farewell and welcomed 2016! My best wishes to you and yours for 2016! Congrats to those that are still sticking with their new year’s resolutions, commiseration to those that have already lapsed, oh well, you are still a good person:). I am back to work, and during breakfast my eldest son asked me if I knew the slogan of the Ardrahan hurlers, and I said I didn’t. He was very quick to remind me that it is: We are blue , we are white, we are dynamite! I choose the above title, as I thought it symbolizes the spirit of the people in this area. We tend to have storms in the winter, and this year we have been “treated” to a few too many ! I wrote about #Stormdesmond in a previous post  and since #stormdesmond we have had #stormeve and the most recent one was #stormfrank, and unfortunately #stormfrank was the drop that made the bucket overflow, quite literally, as many were forced to leave their houses and farms due to flooding. We are no strangers to flooding, as some areas (traditionally) get flooded, and you’ll see lakes that aren’t there during the summer.

    The floods of 2009

    The area of Labane/Peterswell/Kiltartan was badly affected by floods in 2009, and I will never forget the community spirit I saw in 2009. People were marooned in, kids couldn’t go to schools, animals were separated from their owners, and couldn’t be fed. I saw people get together, assist each other to bring food and supplies to those marooned in, offer tractor rides, and get together to pump water out of houses.

    Local vet being towed in a boat to see to some sick cattle
    Local vet being towed in a boat to see to some sick cattle in ’09

    It was one of the most frightening experiences I ever went through,  especially when the road that connects us with the main road was flooded and we were effectively marooned in. The road at Kiltartan was flooded and Gort was not passable. My husband wasn’t able to get to work, as all the main roads were flooded. Fast forward to 2016, and unfortunately the same is happening.

    South Galway Flooding 2015

    I took below video at the same place

    A local aerial photographer Sean Brady took following footage, to give you an idea of the extend of the flooding. Click on the next link  by Sean Brady Aerial Photography. on Monday, 28 December 2015 that shows the extensive flooding at Kiltartan.

    A number of dignitaries visited Labane/Ardrahan today, including the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins. Our youngest son was all set to meet him and get his signature, and his wish got fulfilled, and my husband was interviewed for the radio. Glad to see that some local politicians  Ciaran Cannon and Joe Byrne got together to dig a channel to ease some of the flooding in the Kiltartan area , so water can flow into the sea at Kinvara.

    It’s not over yet, and hopefully the rain will stay away,   the water can flow back to the sea or  evaporate and a strategy can be developed to deal with such disasters. If you are affected by  the floods, you can apply for emergency funds here ( no longer valid). If you would like to support those affected by the floods, you can donate to the Irish Red Cross here ( no longer valid)

    For my part, small business is always on my mind, and is the backbone of many communities in Ireland. Getting your business featured  to a greater public or talked about in local media/TV/Radio is difficult,  is hard to measure and is very costly.  I have decided to start talking to small business in the West of Ireland, listen to their stories , challenges and successes ,and hope that this will contribute to creating more awareness of what small business has to offer in the West of Ireland. if you are a small business in the West of Ireland, get in touch by emailing me katleen@workinglivingtravellinginireland.com.  It will be the best email you have sent in 2016:)

    Cheers, Katleen

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  • Ardrahan Christmas carols & Switching on of lights

    Ardrahan Christmas carols & Switching on of lights

    Hello all,

    My last post was about the floods in and around Galway, and although the water has receded in many places, unfortunately many places are still flooded, and more rain is expected. Galway County  Council has come up with a map that shows where there is flooding.

    Switching on of the lights

    I was very excited to be part of Ardrahan’s first Christmas carol event , organized by Ardrahan Camogie, and really brought the Ardrahan/Labane community together on a dark evening.

    It all started with the lightning of the Christmas tree, decorated with memorial cards.Beneath the tree were lit up red candles.

    Christmas Carols 

    Followed by a beautiful rendition of Hallelujah. It may have been cold and dark, but to hear that magical voice accompanied with the thin whistles, we all fell silent,  a few tears were shed, but above all we all enjoyed the moment of being together, and thinking about those people that have gone before us. May they rest in peace.

    Just over 2,000 Euros was raised selling ribbons and candles. The proceeds of the sales of ribbons and candles will be split between the local Camogie Club  And Galway Hospice. The Camogie club rallied around and spent quite a few evenings practising the songs with the kids, rehearsing the thin whistle songs, together with the guitarists. The kids ( all from Labane National school)  really delivered a great performance and got lots of well deserved treats, which they really enjoyed. I think a tradition has started!

    Well done to all!

    Cheers,

    Katleen

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  • South Galway Floods in 2015

    South Galway Floods in 2015

    Dear Reader,

    It’s been a busy time in Ireland storm wise, as we have had storm  Abigail, Barney, Clodagh and then the latest one is just gone, storm Desmond! There was terrible flooding in South Galway in 2015, resulting in nearby Thoor Ballylee getting badly flooded.

    The storm was fierce, with very strong gale force and the rain was relentless. As the storm developed, the footage was being shared via Social Media.

    The first video I can across was this one, of two guys going for a swim in Salthill. Absolutely scary, so please never ever repeat this, it’s just too dangerous!!!

    Theresa Mannion reporting from Salthill

    The weather only got worse, and that’s when Theresa Manion was reporting, also from Salthill.

    Below is the “original” version!

    I think the  “rap” version is quite funny!

    Closer to home in South Galway, I have blogged a few times about Thoor Ballylee, unfortunately got  flooded again. I say again, as it got flooded in 2009. Go check out a more recent blog article I wrote about a loop cycled – you can see the area then when it isn’t flooded:)

    Another video highlights the floodings both in Gort, Thoor Ballylee and Craughwell.

    Severe flooding in Craughwell and at Yeats Tower (Thoor Ballylee) in Gort today (Video: Joe O’Shaughnessy, Connacht Tribune)

    Let’s hope the water recedes soon, and the next storm will be kinder to us..

    Katleen

    PS. Check out this link to find out what other storm names are planned for the rest of this winter. Let’s hope we don’t get to the end of the list.

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  • Google is great, my friends are better

    Google is great, my friends are better

    Hi all,

    I  came up with this title, as wanted to share my experience with you how I went about to source a bouncy castle for 2 birthday parties we held a few weekends ago. Both boys have their birthday in June, so we decided to have a birthday weekend, and have two separate birthday parties.

    I sure like the idea of having a joint birthday party, and when the kids were younger we had a few of those , but now that they are older they prefer that only “their” friends come to the “their” party , we decided to have separate birthday parties( and probably our last experience of having 25+ kids cooped up in David’s workshop , horizontal rain and cake fights also helped to have two separate parties instead.)

    To get back to my quest for a bouncy castle, I decided to put Google to the test ( as time was running out very fast), and keyed in “Bouncy Castle”. Got quite a few results, but as I could see that  some were in Dublin, I changed it to “Bouncy Castle Gort”, to get something nearer to where we are. I saw an add of a Bouncy castle place in Loughrea, with a little map to indicate where this business was and the very handy button to actually call them. This was all rather very convenient , so I called this business, and he provided me with a quote  of 170 Euros for a very large obstacle type bouncy castle. I had hoped to spend less and was able to reduce it a bit, but it was still above my budget.

    I then remembered I had been at another birthday party very recently and my friend told me where she had gotten her bouncy castle, and told me that  she paid 100 Euros. She also told me checked she’d used him before, so she was a repeat customer. We are not comparing apples with apples now, as the castle she  had was not as big as the one I got a price for. I texted my friend, who gave me the number and I rang up. The bouncy castle my friend had was no longer available, but he did have a few other options, one being the slide, which I think I had seen once before. I checked with the boys, they were all for it, and once we established that the cost would be 100 Euros, the deal was done.

    Below some pictures of the birthday parties and cake.

    086-2537052
    086-2537052 Kearney’s Castles Ltd

    Rueben coming down the slilde

    Alex coming down the slide

    Birthday Cake

    Rueben's 11th Birthday cake
    Rueben’s 11th Birthday cake

    Just  to show you that people buy from people and that if your friends recommend you a business, there is a good chance that you’ll buy from that business.

    I used to run a business myself ( a few years ago at this stage) and if there is one thing which is hard in business , is to get free PR when you have just started as no one knows you. When I was in business the choice was pretty much to buy an ad in the paper, pay a considerable amount, and it was very difficult to measure if that did anything for your business.

    These days you can do all kinds of things, such as online advertising, so you can measure how often your ad was clicked and if your site is E-Commerce enabled, you can then check if all those that clicked through also bought. It’s a very interesting field to explore!

    As a little project, I am going to start featuring some small businesses in the area, to give them a chance to do their story. I have also found some local businesses that is specialized in video and photos, so if the interview wishes, they can get their 90 seconds elevator pitch and professional images taken. It’s just an experiment to see what comes out of it, and for me to learn how to collaborate with others, and have a win – win situation. I hope to start this in September or maybe even a bit earlier:) If you are interested to be featured, feel free to drop me a line katleenworkinginireland (at) gmail.com

    For now though, I am having a small break to recharge!

    Have a great day!

    Katleen

     

     

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  • Picnic at Kiltartan Gregory Museum followed by re-opening of Thoor Ballylee

    Picnic at Kiltartan Gregory Museum followed by re-opening of Thoor Ballylee

    Hi all,

    I admit, it’s been a while I dressed up, but I had great fun sourcing my Victorian clothes for the Picnic at The Kiltartan Gregory Museum in Co. Galway earlier today.

    As I mentioned in my previous post , I wanted to go to the Picnic at Kiltartan Gregory Museum, and as they wanted people to dress up in Victorian clothes, I called into our local second hand store called Carecharityshop, who happened to have an across-the-board 1 Euro  sale, so I went in to  see if I could pick up a few pieces!

    1 Euro Sale Carecharityshop Gort
    Carecharityshop the Square Gort

    I found a hat, coat  and matching shoes that I think might have been from that era and Carie (who is the part-time manager of the shop) gave me an outfit she wore for the St- Patrick’s parade, so I was all set!

    Joe and Bridget May Orford at the picnic at Kiltartan

     

    I took my friend’s kids from the Dollytub along along to the picnic. (Take a look at her blog, I have been pestering her to write on her blog, and she’s finally doing it!!)Rueben didn’t want to be in the picture, but in the end he did show up (he’s the head popping up behind the wall!) Alexander insisted to wear his communion suit, hey, I guess it’s great to see he’s getting some wear out of it!

    Poetry reading at Kiltartan Gregory Musuem
    Poetry reading at Kiltartan Gregory Musuem
    Check out the ladies to the right!
    Check out the ladies to the left!

    I then dropped off Alex to a birthday party, and made my way to the opening of Thoor Ballylee!! Yohoo!! We went to the auction which was fab, so I couldn’t wait to be at the official opening.

    It was packed at the auction and I remember parking in a nearby field, this time it was much more packed and the field was full(!) so I ended up parking rather close to a stone wall.

    Full Car park at Thoor Ballylee
    Full Car park at Thoor Ballylee

    We arrived just in time to see Yeats himself arrive on his horse( aka Colm Farrel, one of the local auctioneers), and he read ” Wandering Aengus” whilst sitting on the horse. As you can see we were in the front row! Luckily the horse behaved:)

    Colm Farrel on a horse
    Yeats, aka Colm Farrell arrived on horse to read “Wandering Angus”

     

    Wandering Aengus, By William Butler Yeats

    I WENT out to the hazel wood,
    Because a fire was in my head,
    And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
    And hooked a berry to a thread;
    And when white moths were on the wing,
    And moth-like stars were flickering out,
    I dropped the berry in a stream
    And caught a little silver trout.
    When I had laid it on the floor
    I went to blow the fire aflame,
    But something rustled on the floor,
    And some one called me by my name:
    It had become a glimmering girl
    With apple blossom in her hair
    Who called me by my name and ran
    And faded through the brightening air.
    Though I am old with wandering
    Through hollow lands and hilly lands.
    I will find out where she has gone,
    And kiss her lips and take her hands;
    And walk among long dappled grass,
    And pluck till time and times are done
    The silver apples of the moon,
    The golden apples of the sun.

    Big shout out to the Thoor Ballylee Society committee members, “dreamers” as Fidelma Healy Eames said, who kept pushing  and made it a reality that Thoor Ballylee would continue to exist and will be open again to the public again!

    The reference to this quote was also touching:

    “I have spread my dreams under your feet.
    Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
    W.B. Yeats

    The speech of Joseph Hassett, who donated a 31 ooo Euros to help the reopening of Thoor Ballylee referred to how Yeats was present, referring to the empty seat he(Yeats) was sitting on. But also how your children and grandchildren can visit Thoor Ballylee, which is a beautiful building where Yeats wrote many of his poems!

    And then it was time to pick up Alex from his birthday party.

    What  a great day! Big thank you to Kiltartan Gregory Museum and Thoor Ballylee Society!!

    Katleen

     

     

     

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  • Yeats ‘s activities around Galway this weekend

    Yeats ‘s activities around Galway this weekend

    Hi all,

    This weekend there will be hive of activity around the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats.  I was at the park during the weekend, and sat on a bench, overlooking the scenery, it was absolutely beautiful!

    The below tree, better known as the autograph tree, is located in Coole Park, where the poet spent a lot of time with Lady Gregory and many other famous people that were at the base of the then “literature revival“.

    Signature Tree in Coole Park, Co. Galway
    Autograph Tree, Coole Park Walled Garden Co. Galway

    autograph_guide

    It’s called autograph tree, as when the friends of Lady Gregory visited, they carved in their name on the tree. At this stage it’s hard to make out the names, so the above display which is at the base of the tree makes it just that little bit easier!

    As for me, I am going to the picnic at the Kiltartan Museum :

    Kiltartan Gregory Cultural Society is hosting a picnic in the Millennium Park at Kiltartan Gregory Museum to celebrate Yeats’ birthday on June 13th. Bring your choice of picnic, enjoy a recital by Coole Music Ensemble, poetry reading by local school children, face painting for the younger generation and a Trad session with Gaillimh Theas Comhaltas.
    ‘ Mr Yeats ‘ is on the guest list. Come in period costume. Time. 12.30 to 2.30 pm.

    And after that, I am heading to the official opening of Thoor Ballylee.

    The Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society invites you to the re- opening of Thoor Ballylee on the occasion of W.B. Yeats 150th birthday.
    With special guests:
    Senator Healy Eames, Chair of Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society, Jimmy Deenihan, TD, Minister for Diaspora Affairs, Joseph Hassett, Yeats Scholar and Thoor Ballylee Benefactor
    Niall De Burca, Internationally acclaimed story teller will perform at the event
    Followed by Community BBQ

    So my next quest is, where I am going to find “period” clothing as seen below!! Help!!

    picnicatkiltartanHope to see you there!

    Katleen

     

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  • The Song of Wandering Aengus, read at O’Sullivan’s Hotel in Gort, Co. Galway

    The Song of Wandering Aengus, read at O’Sullivan’s Hotel in Gort, Co. Galway

    Hi all,

    When I was at the Auction at Yeat’s tower last sunday, I heard about the initiative from Yeats Galway 2015 to read a Yeat’s Poem a day at O’Sullivan’s hotel in Gort, Co. Galway during the month of June. Maybe instead of an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a poem a day keeps the doctor away 🙂

    I decided to head over to O’Sullivan and listen to the reading of Els Van Hout, who read a beautiful poem called “The Song of Wandering Aengus”, written by Yeats in 1899.

    I recorded the reading, and you can read the poem below.

    “The Song of Wandering Aengus”, written by Yeats in 1899.

    I went out to the hazel wood,
    Because a fire was in my head,
    And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
    And hooked a berry to a thread;
    And when white moths were on the wing,
    And moth-like stars were flickering out,
    I dropped the berry in a stream
    And caught a little silver trout.

     

    When I had laid it on the floor
    I went to blow the fire a-flame,
    But something rustled on the floor,
    And someone called me by my name:
    It had become a glimmering girl
    With apple blossom in her hair
    Who called me by my name and ran
    And faded through the brightening air.

     

    Though I am old with wandering
    Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
    I will find out where she has gone,
    And kiss her lips and take her hands;
    And walk among long dappled grass,
    And pluck till time and times are done,
    The silver apples of the moon,
    The golden apples of the sun.
    Hope you enjoyed the reading !
    Cheers,
    Katleen

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  • Garryland Wood Trail to Coole Park Co. Galway

    Garryland Wood Trail to Coole Park Co. Galway

    Hello Readers,

    Today was another beautiful day! We had some sunny days last week, which I thought was the end of our Indian summer, however today was certainly another of those beautiful days. It’s on these days that you drop everything and venture out and let your eyes catch the beautiful colours in nature around us.

    We regularly go to a nearby park called Coole Park, it’s a big park , with many trails, but from time to time I get a little bit bored, so today I thought we’d venture to Garryland. Garryland is to the side of Coole Park, but is not as well known, but definitely a trail to keep in mind.

    Check out the below map, as there are no signposts to Garryland Woods. It’s pity as it’s a lovely walk.

    Coming from Galway, get off the motorway at Ardrahan and continue driving to Labane and take a right. You’ll pass the national school on the left, the community hall and Bradley’s bar on the right.. It’s a long drive but eventually, you’ll see the car park on the left-hand side.

     
    The trail is 4.6 Kms long, and that will bring you to the carpark in Coole Park. We didn’t do the whole walk, as didn’t want to have to walk all the way back, so  we walked from the car park at Garryland to the fence where Garryland meets Coole Park and then turned back. All by all it took us 1 hour and 20 minutes.
     
    The house you see below in Garryland isn’t a cake shop ( if only), it’s  a bathouse, ie it houses bats. Check out this link to find out more details about the bats! 

    The trail is very well signposted, so you won’t get lost! I am enclosing some pictures I took whilst I did the walk! The surface of the trail is excellent for cycling, but the trail is a bit hilly at times, so if you are pushing a buggy, you’ll definately feel it in your legs!

     

    So if you are looking for a change of scenery, check out the Garryland Woods Trail in Co. Galway.

    Till the next time!
    Katleen

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