North Along the Coast

It was a long day with much sight seeing.  It was rather dreary as we started out and by the time we reached Carrickfergus castle it was pouring rain.

Carrickfergus Castle with statue of William of Orange 

After we left Carrickfergus the rain stopped and it began to clear.  We had a rest stop at a place called Glencoy.

Then it was on to Giant's Causeway - very cool wind.

Wind blown

Our next stop was Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge.

Rathlin Island with hills of Scotland in background

We went on to the Dark Hedges in Ballmoney.

"This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century.

It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion, Gracehill House.

Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland.

In fact, the iconic trees have been used as a filming location in HBO's epic series Game of Thrones, representing the King's Road"  (http://www.discovernorthernireland.com)

We returned to Belfast and finished the day with a tour of the Crumlin Road Gaol which is now a museum.  We had supper there and the roast beef was delicious.

The internet site for the jail gives the following info:

" The Crumlin Road Gaol dates back to 1845 and closed it’s doors as a working prison in 1996. After extensive renovations the gaol has re opened as a visitor attraction and conference centre. Today you can take a guided tour of the prison and hear about the history of the site from when women and children were held within it’s walls through to the political segregation of republican and loyalist prisoners and learn about why the decision was taken to close the prison.
During the tour of the gaol you will be taken by your tour guide to visit the underground tunnel that used to connect the gaol to the Crumlin Road Courthouse, you will get a chance to sit in the Governor’s chair, view all the wings from the circle and of course pay a visit to the condemned mans cell before seeing the execution cell where the majority of the 17 men were hanged."

More Research

We went to the Ulster Historical Center and listened to some interesting speakers.  Then we got some help with our research, but had to leave too quickly to get much done.

We drove out to the Northern Ireland Genealogical Library and after having lunch in the building spent the afternoon going through their collection of  parish registers, etc.

We are in Belfast

Yesteray we left Dublin and drove north to Belfast.

We went to the Boyne Valley and learned about the Battle of the Boyne between William of Orange and King James.  We stopped at Newgrange and toured an ancient mound that is so old its purpose is unknown.  We had lunch at the Newgrange cafeteria before heading on to Belfast.

We toured the city and went on a tour of the Titanic Museum.  It is an amazing place.

Today we visited the Public Archives of Northern Ireland and didn't make any progress on our genealogy but now know some parishes where Thomas Jones was not mentioned.

Circles represent the sun

The Titanic Museum

Wall between the Protestant and Catholic sections of Belfast

National Museum of Ireland

Today I was going to go to the National Library of Scotland or the Church of Ireland Archives.  However, I was too tired, so we visited the museum instead.  Among the many things that we saw were prehistoric bodies or parts of bodies that had been pulled from the peat bogs.  It was quite amazing that they had been preserved all those many years. Many of the artifacts had been pulled from the bogs.

We learned about the history of Ireland - bronze age, Vikings, medieval period etc.  Very interesting.

I haven't adjusted to the time here so I came home for a nap while Bob went shopping.

Tombstone

St Patrick's Cathedral and Merrion Square

While I spent a useless day at the Archives of Ireland, Bob visited St. Patrick's  and Merrion Square.  I had a problem getting back to the hotel because I got off  the bus at the wrong stop.  Eventually I made it back. We had supper at an Italian restaurant near the hotel.

Johnathan Swift's Grave (He was in charge of St. Patricks)

St. Patrick

 ..

Oscar Wilde

School girls in the Park

We are in Ireland

We arrived at the Dublin Airport and were picked up by our guide (Austin) for the tour.  We went to the Glasnevin Museum and had lunch at the museum cafe.  We had a tour of the Glasnevin Graveyard and saw graves of some of the people who are historical figures in modern Ireland.  Later we went to the National Botanic Gardens and then for a drive through the city.  I was tired and stayed on the bus instead of touring the Botanical Gardens.

Bob at the Airport

The Tower is Daniel O'Connell's Tombstone

Mid April

We did our last missionary apartment inspection and turned over  the books and keys to our replacement couple.

Sue-anne, Bob and I made a quick trip to Edmonton for Aunt Fran's funeral.

The tulips and some of the iris are in bloom. We have had warm weather and cool weather but little moisture. Bob has dug the garden.

It is a beautiful day to start our Irish adventure. We are on the way to Calgary to catch a flight to Toronto.