We continued on to our coastal drive of the day, in the stunning north west of Donegal. Ireland Tourism put together a 2500 km driving route along the west of Ireland, which they have called the ‘Wild Atlantic Way.’ Well, the astonishingly fierce wind today, made for a wild Atlantic. It was utterly magnificent and had us screaming and shouting about the crashing waves, all day long.
Our first stop was Horn Head, which is a sea cliff that juts out into the Atlantic. The place is remote and is reached by a narrow twisting road up to the cliffs. We followed a sheep path through the heather to the cliff edge to get better views. The wind was blowing so hard, we had to be careful opening the car doors.
Horn Head
En route to the next peninsula, called Rossguill Peninsula, we stopped at Doe Castle. Doe Castle is set on the shoreline of Sheep Haven Bay, it is surrounded by water on three sides. This is our type of ruin, open just to roam through on your own, and with excellent, and unobtrusive information boards situated throughout the castle.
The name Doe comes from the Irish word tuath, which translates as territory. The castle was built by a branch of the MacSweeney family, early in the 16th century. The MacSweeney family became known as MacSweeney of the Territory or Doe. The MacSweeney clan came from Scotland and were Gallowglass or mercenaries, that fought for the O’Donnells. The MacSweeneys held the castle for about 200 years.
Doe Castle
On the Rossguill peninsula, we came across an incredible beach. The beaches in this part of Ireland are so beautiful, because they formed in bays, which gives them a pleasing curvature. The light was perfect for a photo of this beach, and the depth of the beach caused the water to form a film across the sand, as though it was glass. This also caused the clouds to be reflected on the beach, it was amazing.
Rosapenna Beach
This is the 6-inch gun, recovered from the Cruiser HMS Laurentic. The Laurentic was built in Belfast in 1908 for the White Star Line, by Harland and Wolff. Although she was a merchant cruiser, she was converted to an Armed Merchant cruiser during WWI. In January 1917, she was en route to Canada, carrying 43 tons of gold ingots, when she hit two German mines and sank within 45 minutes, 2 miles off Fanad Head. 354 lives were lost when the Laurentic went down. The gold was recovered over the next 7 years, but the gun was not recovered until 2007.
HMS Laurentic Gun
The next peninsula was Fanad, which juts way out into the Atlantic. The Fanad Lighthouse sits out on a chunk of rock in the most stunning location you could imagine. The wicked wind was a benefit today, as the waves coming in were heavy, and the smashing of the water against the rocks was exhilarating.
We met a group of young people down on the rocks, they are international students, studying in Dublin. They were thrilled with the landscape as well. They were all so beautiful, I couldn’t help but dish out the compliments, interestingly, the French women know how to take a compliment, and they did so with grace. The Chinese woman responded in kind, telling John that she was envious of the fact that John could be so agile at his age hahahahahha, in their view, I am sure we looked like a couple of ancients. Of course, I had to chide the German male for his attire, which is not like that of the French, he laughed and said the Germans are not known for their dress, I said we aren’t either. It was great fun talking to them, they want to hike Errigal tomorrow, I warned them that it would destroy their shoes, but it would be worth the sacrifice.
Fanad Lighthouse
The next beach, Ballymacstocker Bay, which is down the west side of Lough Swilly, is one of the loveliest beaches in Ireland. It is huge, the sand is the colour of ochre and it is sheltered. The hills rise high above the beach and the view from the cliff is dramatic.
Ballymacstocker Bay
We stopped in Rathmelton and asked a guy on the street where to go for coffee. We usually have to ask, or we would never find anything, as this nice little place was hidden away on the river front. Then we dropped into the town butcher shop and talked to the friendly butcher forever.
This was quite a day, north west Donegal put us into landscape overload with endless beach, cliff and sea views. Tonight, we were wondering why it is that we are going so completely overboard with travelling here, as we are to the mats every day. I suppose it is because it feels untamed, and there is a wildness to the beauty of the place.
The History of Ireland Continues...
In 1798, rebellion broke out once again, although there was a victory in Co. Wexford, the rebellion failed. The British government used the rebellion to push for union, they offered the Protestants security in return for giving up their Parliament, since the Catholic majority could take control. The Orange Order opposed Union, fearing it would lead to Catholic emancipation. Those involved in trade and industry were pro-Union as were the Catholics, as they hoped it would lead to their emancipation. In 1800, Union passed, but ironically, during this time, England and Ireland were moving farther apart in terms of agriculture, industry, demographics and religion. England was becoming wealthier and Ireland poorer, due to rapid population growth among the impoverished Irish.
Prime Minister Pitt and the pro-Unionists planned to deal with the Catholic question and allow Catholics to have seats in the united Parliament. However, this was blocked by King George III, thus, making him highly popular among the English, the Orange Order and the loyalists in Ireland.
Under the leadership of O’Connel, the Catholics tried several times to repeal the union and to achieve Catholic emancipation. In a stroke of brilliance, O’Connel ran a sympathetic Protestant candidate in a county election against a candidate who was hostile to Catholic claims. The priests got involved and urged the Catholic freeholders to vote for their religion and not in the interests of their landlords. The sympathetic Protestant candidate won the seat and then O’Connel ran in an election himself, even though he would never be able to take his seat, he won handily.
There was a Protestant backlash over the elections, British Prime Minister Peel knew he had to act to avert civil war; therefore, Catholic emancipation was finally granted in 1829. From 1830 until 1921, the political history of Ireland involved movements either for or against the Union. The Unionists opposed Home Rule as they viewed it as a route to separation and a Catholic conspiracy.
In the 1840s, a group of young Protestant anti-Union activists formed, calling themselves ‘Young Ireland.’ They had a reverence for the notion of Ireland as a nation and promoted the Irish as separate from the English, due to Irish history and language. The Young Ireland joined with O’Connel and his Catholic group in support of repeal of the Union. However, O’Connel believed that Catholic was synonymous with Irish, since the Catholics were in the majority, they should rule. The two groups bickered and eventually split.
Young Ireland rebelled in 1848, but it was a failure. A former leader, James Stephens fled to France, when he returned he formed a revolutionary society known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Another former leader, Patrick O’Mahony fled to New York and formed the Fenian Brotherhood. The Fenians were not opposed to using force to establish an Irish republic. There was a lot of hatred directed toward the English by Irish immigrants in the USA and they were highly politicized.
No comments:
Post a Comment