Did you know Gort has its very own greenway? A friend of mine mentioned there is a safe way to cycle from Gort to Coole Park. This was totally new to me, and until then I had never known about it. So I set out to find out. I have called it Gort’s mini-greenway! Greenways are ever so popular these days, so I am hoping the title of this blog post will trigger enough curiosity for people to explore it. It’s mini, as it’s not very long, but it IS there, ready to be explored. So where is this mini-greenway???
Join my Facebook Group Gort Cycling Trails and let me know if you cycled or walked any of the trails, what you thought about them, and if there are other cycle trails that should be mapped in the #burrenlowlands
For a full list of #SafeCycleTrails and maps I have mapped so far, click here
Start of our trip
We met up at the Supervalu’s Carpark in Gort ( hello Karen!!), so we could easily unload our bikes.
We then headed for the roundabout, taking the slip road L85311, which runs parallel with the motorway.
Taking the exit L85311
There is a bit of bend in the road, and a steep descent. You’ll feel your bike picking up speed!
Karen going down the hill, the view is amazing.
The road then gets a bit bumpy The Road has been resurfaced since I wrote this article! The road is narrow and when you come to the end of the road, you take a right.. ( Taking a left isn’t really an option, as there is a fence).
As you take the right, you are on a gravel road, with fences on both sides.
Apart from a tractor, we didn’t come across any traffic.
At the end of the straight stretch, there is another bend, and then you come to a fork, you take a right.
As you cycle along you’ll pass a few houses and a ruin of an old house, it would be interesting to find out what this building once was. As you look at the ruin, you can see the bridge over the motorway to your right.
You are now on the road/avenue that leads to … Coole Park. You’ll see the new bridge over the motorway on your right.
Now all you need to do is cycle/walk to Coole Park. Head for the Tea rooms, I hear they are serving coffee/tea/cakes and lots of other goodies. Check out their Facebook page to their latest menu.
This Cycle/walk is just over 4 kms. from Gort to Coole Park.
Next time I’ll show you how this route connects with the Golden Mile in Gort…
As I am still working on a few small business interviews, I thought I’d write a blog post on the travelling part on this blog.
Some of you readers may be looking at job opportunities in Galway City ( Go check out the Job Expo event, 11th of Feb)and deciding where to live, and may not be familiar with the traffic congestion in and around Galway. Gridlock in the city is not getting any better and may start to affect investment in Galway as this article suggests or workers choose to work elsewhere to spend more time with their families. Although I don’t quite see a resolution for the city gridlock at peak times, there are some positive developments for the bottlenecks south of the city.
There is the long awaited motorway between Gort and Tuam, due to open as early as November this year, 3 months ahead of plan. I drive past the roadworks every day, and it’s starting to look like a motorway! And then there is the option to commute by train/bus if you are living south of Galway City.
This motorway will allow traffic to flow freely from Gort onwards into Galway, bypassing the bottlenecks at Kilcolgan, Clarinbridge and Oranmore. ( If there is a sizable funeral in Clarinbridge you can add 1 hour to your journey, unless you know the dark backroads in that area). once complete, Gort will be + -30 minutes from Galway City, and just over 40 minutes from Shannon Airport.
The Galway City Commute by Car
So I started to work in Galway City in May ( I live just under 30 kms south of Galway, also known as the Burren Low Lands)and and was all excited about getting the train from Ardrahan into Galway.
The morning trains worked out great ( leave 7:23 AM, arrive 8:10 AM), the evenings less so, as the first train that would work for me was at 5:50 PM, arrive 6:40 PM which was too long of day for me. So I resorted to drive into Galway by car and park (55 Euros a month), joining the thousands of other commuters. To avoid traffic in the mornings, I had to leave the house at 7 AM to hit Galway City at around 7:40 AM. The evenings were not so pleasant, even if I left the office at 4:30 PM I was never home before 6 PM. Christmas traffic was particularly heavy, some evenings my commute was more than 2 hours and a half…. I was not a happy camper.
The Galway City commute by rail from Oranmore
A colleague of mine mentioned that he was thinking of getting the train from Oranmore and that there were more regular trains. So I went to investigate what trains there were to Galway, and more particularly what trains there are from Galway to Oranmore as it was that part of my day that really was making me miserable. Check out the website called “Transport for Ireland” to get all transport options near you, I would recommend you take a look at the app, it’s quite good, and gives you live options,options you may not have been aware of. Below is the most up to date timetable from Oranmore to Galway and back.
There is an Oranmore Special Fare – We have a special adult day return fare from Oranmore to Galway for €6 and a special child day return for €4. This is only available from Oranmore to Galway and not in the opposite direction (Info from Irishrail’s website). Best to check with your employer if they offer tickets under the taxsaver scheme.
So now I leave the house at 7:30 AM, park my car( free so far) at the Railway station in Oranmore, and get the 8 O’clock train, getting me into Galway City at 8:10. The evenings are quicker( downhill?), leaving Galway city at 5:20 PM to be in Oranmore at 5:27 PM, getting me home around 6 PM. It really has made a difference for me, and every evening when I step on the train, I smile to myself, and think it’s the best #7minutecommute ever and grateful I am out of my previous commuter hell!
It’s time for another #smallbusinessinterview in the West Of Ireland!! Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Hays from Hays Vegetables. I met Catherine for the first time last year at the Summer Market and I can see she’s going from strength to strength. I arrived home quite late on Thursday, and decided to head to Gort on Friday morning ( before heading back to bed) to pick up some fresh vegetables. I love making soup, and picked up potatoes, leeks, onions and some home baked bread from her stall. I can’t wait now to make some wholesome soup :).
In case this is your first visit to my blog, I have started to interview #smallbusiness in the West of Ireland, as I’d like to give them a helping hand to make them shine and also show to the outside world what the West of Ireland has to offer.
Please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland! If you would like to be interviewed, please drop me an email to katleen@workinglivingtravellinginireland.com and I’ll be in touch.
I always ask to supply me with a few pictures ( or if you have a video, even better). Catherine gave me a few pictures, and I made a small video using Google Photos.
Tell us a bit about yourself & where you are located in the West of Ireland.
My name is Catherine Hayes & I grew up on a dairy farm just outside of Gort, Co. Galway. I am currently running a market garden business ( free from chemicals) on some land 2 km from Gort and selling my produce at GortFridayMarket every Friday morning.
How did you get started in this business?
I started growing properly about 1.5 years ago (January 2015) and my first market in Gort was July 2015. Previous to this I had studied analytical science to PhD level & had spent a number of years working in research in Sweden as well as Ireland. At some stage I decided I wanted to come home & managed to find a position that would suit me. As circumstances would have it, on returning to Ireland the position fell through & I found myself at a loose end. I decided to take a year out from science & try something new. I got a place as an intern on BeechlawnOrganicFarm in Ballinasloe and remained there for 1.5 years (till Nov 2015) when I took up my own enterprise full time. At present I am also attending a Market Garden Course run by Jim Cronin in Bridgetown Co. Clare to improve my skills in this area, with a view to expanding my business and market.
How do the social, economic, environmental, technological, legal and political environments impact your business?
It’s hard for me to comment on outside influences on my business as I am not very long “in the game” but if I were to guess the main influences would be social & environmental – people need a certain amount of disposable income to buy fresh vegetables, and its hard to compete with the loss-leaders that the multinational supermarkets advertise on a weekly basis. However environmental issues are making people more aware of what they are consuming & more concerned about buying vegetables that have been grown without the use of chemicals.
Do you know who your competitors are?
At present in Gort the main competitors are the large supermarkets – however I do believe that a certain amount of competition is necessary & if anything people are becoming more aware of naturally grown, organic vegetables and this raises demand.
How do you market your business? How are people aware of your business?
I market my business in two ways at present – FaceBook & word of mouth. I have an active FaceBook page for my stall HayesVegGort & GortFridayMarket, where i post at least twice weekly, with my product range, recipes or updates on how things are going on the farm. But I also find that in a rural community such as Gort, word of mouth is very powerful. I have numerous customers who come & say “I heard you had lovely carrots” or something like that. So consistently good quality & good customer service are working for me as well at present.
Any special things planned for 2016 or further ahead?
I hope to expand in the next year or two. At present I have one large polytunnel (20 ft x 64 ft) and about 1/4 acre of outside veg – this will grow to another large tunnel & maybe another 1/4 to 1/2 acre outside. In 5 years I hope to maybe have grown to 3/4 tunnels & also have one full time person in employment. In 10 years – hard to say, but i should have a very successful veg (and possibly fruit) business with perhaps a shop.
Do you plan to compete in the global market place? If yes, how? If no, why not?
The global market is not a viable option for me as my product is perishable, but I can envisage competing on a national scale within Ireland.
How has technology, such as computers and the internet, impacted on how you conduct business?
Computers, technology etc are very important to me, in all aspects: communications, marketing, sales, record-keeping, finance, research etc. Overall technology is an integral part of my business. Working outside (or inside in the tunnel on a rainy day).
What do you love about the area you live in/do business in?
The satisfaction of seeing something grow, of sitting down to a meal of my produce. I also love the interaction with the public at the market – its my favourite part of the week. The people of Gort & the surrounding area have been very supportive of me in this venture & they show this support by consistently turning up at the stall every week.
Whom do you seek advice from for your business/ do you meet up with other business owners? If so, where?
I have a network of other organic farmers that i have developed over the course of my internship. I am also in the process of setting up a network of small growers in Ireland specifically to cater for people like me who are starting out or are early-stage. We have already met a few times and are currently setting up a schedule of Farm visits around the country so we can chat about successes & problems on small market garden holdings.
Can you describe your customers & why do they choose you over other suppliers.
My customer base, geographically is Gort & its hinterlands. I have every age group and social economic background but the thing they have in common is they all seem to appreciate the taste & quality of my produce. They understand that I sell mostly my own veg and I stand over it all, its grown locally without the use of chemicals, and freshly harvested for the market. It is a physically demanding job.
Is this just about planting and harvesting vegetables? What challenges do you face?
There is also a lot of strategic planning that needs to go into an enterprise like this – for example, April & May are known as the “hungry gap” when the last of the winters crops have finished but the summer crops aren’t ready – this needs to be planned a year in advance to have crops to sell in this time. I am at the mercy of the weather – this year, sowing is very late due to the wet spring that we’ve been having.
What keeps you going, when the chips are down?
When I get down, I either take a walk through my crops or look at photos from last year, especially my tomato plants – that’s enough to make me want to do it all over again this year!!
Do you support local charities? If so which is your favourite charity and why?
At present I am involved in a number of local community groups on a volunteer basis, GaillimhTheasComhalatas and BurrenLowlands. At some stage the stall holders at Gort Friday Market would like to organise a special market day for the town – music, barbecue etc to showcase the market.
Any tips for someone who is thinking of starting their own business?
For someone starting their own business? Believe in yourself – you can do anything you put your mind to.
What did you learn from this interview?
I learned that I have actually achieved quite a lot in a short space of time. Thanks for the interview!!
Please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland! If you would like to be interviewed, please drop me an email to katleen@workinglivingtravellinginireland.com and I’ll be in touch.
Last week I interviewed Philip Gleeson from Quickest Fox Marketing, and this week I am excited to share the interview with Jackie Queally from Earthwise. I would recommend you listen to her talk about the Burren, and lot’s of interesting aspects of the Burrenlowlands.
Please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland!
Tell us a bit about yourself & where you are located in the West of Ireland.
My father is from the coast, close to Lahinch (Moy), and I moved over from Scotland where I lived for about 20 years to be nearer him. He is an elderly widow now. I used to run a very successful small tour company in Scotland that took people to ancient sites – anything from prehistoric to the Middle Ages. It included a lot of Templar places and I also wrote specialist guides, including two to the world-famous chapel Rosslyn just south of Edinburgh. I used to run workshops there too. I have always been involved on teaching adults and healing/therapies.
Can you provide me with a description of your business?
I adapted the knowledge I had used in Scotland as there is some overlap, to create local Irish tours that take people to hidden spots in nature. There we learn to dowse (divining energy lines and water lines), and also experience sound healing, using drums, gongs and voice. It helps people become more present. Most of us need to be more in the moment. These are slow tours as opposed to the speedy ones you can easily find that go to busy tourist spots.
I have written three books on the Burren in the last three years, and in the seven years since I came to Ireland I have written two other spiritual books too (nature photography with my poems and ley lines). Another aspect is the workshops I run along pilgrimage routes I create, using mindfulness techniques, sound healing and dowsing. Dowsing has many applications. You can learn to dowse for healing, or for making decisions. People find it very interesting.
How long have you been in business? In this business? In other businesses?
I started this business in what I call sacred geography in 1999. I’ve been running local and all-Ireland tours as a guide since 2013. However I’ve also trained in sound healing, sonic acupuncture, naturopathic deep massage, tuning fork balancing therapy and gong healing. So I like to incorporate sound into my tours and also workshops. For instance I gave a group a sound healing participatory workshop recently. These were MS sufferers who loved it. I also do one-one sessions with the tuning forks and instruments. Clients find it is a very effective form of therapy. I used to teach reflexology and was a spiritual healer before I started the tours in 1999.
I give talks on many subjects, including the Burren landscape from a more spiritual perspective. This year I am giving a wide range of workshops and talks in Nova Scotia! I gave two talks recently in England too, one of them on the Burren’s mystical landscape.
How did you get started in this business?
That’s a fun question. In Edinburgh an elderly friend who since has died asked me to research the Picts and the Celts – after writing for six months we decided to offer day tours based on emerging local sites we discovered. I studied human ecology when young and I felt the early Celtic saints embodied the qualities we were advocating for human survival in the future!
Is this your full time job, a hobby or a bit of both?
I would say the talks and workshops are a hobby that pays. The tours pay more but are sporadic depending on when the discerning tourist is here. My aim is to do more tours this year so it becomes more lucrative. I was selling my books at Kinvara market last summer but that was to entice people to come on my unique tours. Unfortunately the market is held on a Friday when often people are returning to where they came from the following day.
Really I am combining various interests (healing, sounds, writing, trave)l into one overall business. The connecting theme is a deep appreciation of our earth as a living entity -so I changed the business name to Earthwise to encompass all that. I am also diversifying into Waterwise with a highly experienced engineer so we can educate people about the ways in which they can purify and enliven their water, as water is not in a good state often these days. Most diseases including cancer derive from the unsavoury water we drink. There is much that could be done using little money to improve our domestic water. We are not just looking at what is killed off in the water, but what healthy elements the water can contain. So many of the current products on the market are expensive and not so good for the water ultimately.
How did you get the background and skills necessary to run this type of business?
I love giving talks and my first one was when someone asked me to talk on the Celtic trees at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1999. I took people through the nature reserve in Holyrood Park and we visited each of the tree types. It’s been a theme I continued. Walking and talking and listening to nature.
How do the social, economic, environmental, technological, legal and political environments impact your business?
I arrived at the time the recession was starting up, intending to take a sabbatical from the tours. Socially there has been and still is a lot of social changes occurring. People in rural Ireland seem to have surplus money to spend on things that are considered luxury items. That is why I am concentrating my writing and talks on the international market more. Tours and workshops are still aimed of course at the local market, but probably more toward Dublin. I also am starting to work with the corporate market but that is slow to take hold, offering them eco-wellness tours on electric bikes for instance. Generally things are slow here as there is not a captive audience like you have in a large tourist city such as Edinburgh where I used to live.
I would not invest in my own transport again as local companies warned me they tried and failed even during the boom times.
Environmentally the lack of access to places can be off-putting. I was used to the right-to-roam in Scotland. However there are places where farmers are very congenial and that helps. Also we don’t walk too far. I remember visiting Holy Island with a group on a sunny Sunday and we had the place to ourselves last Autumn. I prefer to pick a few places and take our time soaking in its atmosphere and interacting with the place more. It’s important to do this.
I find Senator Lorraine Higgins in Loughrea a hard-working local politician who really wants to help her constituents find rewarding work that will keep them here.
Do you know who your competitors are?
I am unique. I do try to help people in businesses that are related if they are starting out and need advice – and for more established businesses or individuals they sometimes ask me for help from a specialist knowledge base.
How do you market your business? How are people aware of your business? Where can people find you? Website, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, Pinterest, etc. Please provide details.
FB Burrenspirit (Spirit of Burren Tours / Creative Ireland)
FB earthwise books (Earthwise Publications)
FB earthwiseconnect (Earthwise)
CelticTrails (Celtic Trails)
Youtube: Jackie Queally
Pinterest: Earthwise Ireland
Linked In – Jackie Queally Dedicated to being Earthwise
Where do you see your business in the next year? In the next five years? The next ten years?
I hope to write a few more books that will be more international in flavour. These will sell more than local topics do. I also would love the waterwise business to take off as I passionately believe in its aims. Since I hope to travel more in the next ten years I have no long term plans for the business. The beauty of what I do is I can live elsewhere and continue my research. I have enjoyed the last seven years here. It’s a quiet and easy-going place to dream and create in.
Do you plan to compete in the global market place? If yes, how? If no, why not?
My customers have always been global for books and tours and talks. I have no plans to expand as I am based here for now due to my father being here. Neither does my kind of work lead to expansion as the product really is myself in various forms! The waterwise business is different- we would need to employ others if it expands.
How has technology, such as computers and the internet, impacted on how you conduct business?
I am not finding Facebook so easy to get actual customers through the door. It is time-consuming. I have heard that other media may be better. It is a full time job and I can’t afford to employ someone to do it… yet!
What do you love about the area you live in/do business in?
Every day is different according to who gets in touch and for what reason. It is demand-led to some extent you see. For instance, since beginning this article an international artist asked me to create an audio meditation for her jewellry website. I obliged with an Imbolc meditation created at a secret site that ties in with Brigit.
Whom do you seek advice from for your business/ do you meet up with other business owners? If so, where?
I use various meet ups in Galway for networking, occasional training from Galway Rural Development, and Enterprise Ireland in Ennis and Galway, and the local Bank of Ireland manager Damien Gardiner holds local business days. He also lets you have a stand in his bank on Friday mornings if you book it. I also meet tour business owners from around Dublin once a year.
Can you describe your customers?
Genuine, loving, intelligent, resourceful, and varied.
Why do your customers select you over your competitors?
Reputation and especially the book Spirit of the Burren
What are the biggest challenges for running this business?
All the admin and time spent on computer. It is hard to eat and exercise properly but one has to. This means the days are full just keeping it all going!
I also like to visit friends and family who live away from time to time and that can break the rhythm of the days.
What keeps you going, when the chips are down?
As a preventative to this occuring: Meditation – right now I am qualifying in mindfulness but have taught synergy meditation for 10 years and also Gaia Touch. If down, a hot bath, a walk or reading a good book, that inspires me with its spiritual knowledge. Also gardening and baking when I have the opportunity. I like mushroom foraging and seaweed foraging too.
Do you support local charities? If so which is your favourite charity and why?
I recently supported a local woman who created and then organised a supply of rocket stoves for refugees in the awful conditions at the camp in Calais. (https://www.gofundme.com/stoves4calais) Also Vincent De Paul here. I dislike extreme poverty and pity those who are searching for a better quality of life and are trapped at a young age due to political or social barriers to success.
Any special things planned for 2016?
Yes I met with a UN official in Gort recently as the creator worldwide of the geoparks wants their artist for peace Marko Pogacnik to start workshops in each of them, starting with the Burren geopark. Since I worked with Marko last Spring in Derry he invited me again to work with him again on this project. He is coming to the Burren as his first port of call and I am running some workshops to introduce people to his Gaia Touch exercises. The first one is on Saturday 27h February from 10am til 1pm and people must book through me at info@earthwise.me. These exercises help people work with the multi-dimensionality of the land as a way of helping the earth cope too with the many changes it is undergoing right now. Marko is well known internationally and this is an honour for me to help him. Also I am very excited about my work trip to Nova Scotia that is so connected to my old work in Scotland too.
Any tips for someone who is thinking of starting their own business?
Follow your heart and don’t worry too much. Be prepared to work long hours though. If you have family demands too it is hard as the admin has increased so much compared to even the 90s so you need support in other areas of life to counteract the tedium of the emails etc.
What did you learn from this interview?
My life is busier than I thought, though I don’t do any one thing all the time and only do one thing at a time. I have a lot to be grateful for. Because I love what I do I don’t consider it a drain on my time.
Just a quick reminder, Please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland!
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.
I am just back from a great event which was held at Thoor Ballylee, which is located (almost) around the corner from where I live.
The event was organized by the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society and consisted of an auction that started at the rooftop of the castle, and continued inside. We were also treated to some traditional music, performed by Coole Music.
Check out my new blog article about the auction at Thoor Ballylee yesterday, we had great fun! Below some fragment of the music played by Coole Music!http://www.workinglivingtravellinginireland.com/2015/06/thoor-ballylee-auction-castle-to-be-reopenend-13th-of-june-2015.html
Posted by Workinglivingtravelinginireland on Monday, 1 June 2015
It’s been a long time I have been inside the castle, as it was badly flooded in 2009 and a lot of damage was done, and has been closed ever since. The castle ( or Thoor in Irish) is very central in the life of Yeats and his family, as he bought the castle in 1916-1917 and lived there with his family from 1921 to 1929. You can read more detail about Thoor Ballylee here.
The castle then fell into disrepair, and was reopened on Yeats 100th birthday, 20th of June 1965.
50 years later, thanks to the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society, Thoor Ballylee is being reinvented and today’s fundraiser will go a long way towards the reopening later in June!
There were many items for auction , and a last minute submission of a letter & book by Maud Gonne fetched an amazing 5200 Euros. It was a nail-biting auction, and the items were very close to go to Dublin when a local couple from Salthill put in the winning bid! There was roar of applause and the buyers shed a tear of relief, as they wanted to keep these historic items in Galway!
There was a stand outside with yummie burgers and hotdogs. The local youngsters kept the tea and coffee flowing. They had great fun!
The next event is taking place on the 13th of June, starting with a picnic at Kiltartan Museum and then the official re opening of Thoor Ballylee.
If you are interested to become a friend of Thoor Ballylee, or join the society, please follow this link.
Really happy we went and supported this worthwhile community event!
Katleen
So today is Mother’s day in Ireland, so happy mother’s day to all the mums in the world!
Mother’s day is celebrated around the world, but not necessarily on this day, as I found out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother’s_Day and from my experience, in Belgium(specifically in Antwerp) there are two days that it is celebrated on .The Second sunday in May and or the 15th of August. Risk is then it never gets celebrated as one always says, oh no, that’s not when we celebrate it!
So to avoid that all together, I’d celebrate my own mother’s day three times, I gave her a call today to wish her a happy mother’s day and I”ll be doing the same again in May and in August! She deserves it!
So, to get back to today, it was a most beautiful day to day, blue skies, sunny, but not the warmest.
We loaded up the boy’s go carts and drove to Coole Park. Coole Park was once the home of Lady Augusta Gregory, dramatist, folklorist and co-founder of the Abbey Theatre with Edward Martyn of Tullira Castle and Nobel prize-winning poet William Butler Yeats. Coole Park, in the early 20th century, was the centre of the Irish Literary Revival. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge and Sean O’ Casey all came to experience its magic. They and many others carved their initials on the Autograph Tree, an old beech still standing today. Although the house no longer stands, one can still appreciate the surroundings that originally drew so many here.
Yesterday was St Patrick’s day, which is the celebration of the patron Saint St Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. Watching the news, it seems it’s celebrated around the world, great to see all the various monuments around the world turning green! We live very near Gort, and not too far away from Kinvara either, so I thought I’d catch two parades( that should keep us going for another year!)
This is a clip of a part of the parade in Gort
And below are some images in and around Kinvara.
As we are all off tomorrow, we are either heading to Portumna or maybe to the Clare Coast.. Time will tell:)
I wrote about http://www.irexo.com/ a while back. The National Pilot Project of the Ireland Reaching Out Project is being developed in South-East Galway from Sept 2010 through to June 2011.
The website will be going live, and you are invited to a Parish a meeting in the Lady Gregory Hotel in Gort, Co. Galway to kick start this project tomorrow, the 3rd of February at 8 PM.
I am enclosing the details I received from their latest news letter.
Special Guests: We are delighted to confirm that David McWilliams, economist and broadcaster, John Concannon, Head of Strategy, Fáilte Ireland and Joe Hackett, Head of the Irish Abroad Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs will also address the meeting. Please ensure that your parish is well-represented – everyone is welcome!
Ireland Reaching Out (IrelandXO)
South-East Galway Parish Meeting
Thursday, 3rd February – 8pm
Lady Gregory Hotel
The Ireland Reaching Out project team invites you to the first parish meeting of 2011. The project steps up a gear this week with the launch of the website www.irelandxo.com. Comprehensive details of the planned IRO training programme for the parishes of south east Galway will also be presented as well as progress updates from selected parishes and the latest on the Week of Welcomes. The event will be attended by a number of the programme’s sponsors including representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
All are welcome and new participants are particularly encouraged to attend. This is an ideal opportunity to introduce new parish team members to the project as well as meet other parish welcome team volunteers from communities across South-East Galway.
Ireland Reaching Out (IrelandXO) is also now on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ireland-Reaching-Out-HQ/174664185909213?v=wall
It’s a fabulous morning here in Galway, which is in the West of Ireland!
The sun is shining, blue skies, hopefully this is the beginning of a lovely summer….
There has been a lot of talk of Ireland being expensive, so I thought it would be a good idea to give you an example of how you can stay in a hotel at budget rates, so you can enjoy the sights, food, people, music and much more..
I live very near a market down called Gort , and every day I drive through Gort, I see this sign!
Sullivans Hotel is situated in the centre of Gort, overlooking the square, adjacent to the bus stop, post office. Sullivans Hotel is known for its award winning Food, and all rooms have got tea/coffee making facilities, Power Shower, Very comfortable and Clean rooms, and it’s family ran.Cots available for children/babies and most importantly it is ideally located between Galway and Ennis, so you can use it as a base to visit the likes of the Burren, Ennis, Coole Park, Kinvara, Loughrea, Kiltartan Museum. Thoor Ballylee and much more.
Once the railway is re opened, you’ll be able to get the train from Gort to get just about anywhere in Ireland..
So I had a chat with the owner to find out exactly what the conditions are , so here you go..
Single Room Rate ONLY 29 Euros – room only
Double Room Rate ONLY 40 Euros – room only ( max. capacity is 2 people, so 20 Euro per person) Available Monday – Till Thursday
If you are staying on other days in a Double Room( ie 2 people), the room rate is 75 Euros, and includes a Full Irish Breakfast( so that’s 37.5 Euro per person).
You can contact Sullivan hotel on + 353 91 63 1257 or send a fax on + 353 91 63 20 57
Or send your enquiry by email: sullivanshotel@eircom.net
Hope to see you soon!
Have a nice day!
Sunny Greetings from Galway..
Katleen
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