Saturday, December 5, 2020

#10 Trinitarian Abbey, Adare

 

Trinitarian Abbey, Adare

Driving through the pouring rain to Dublin, we stopped to stretch our legs in the village of Adare, in County Limerick.

          Looking out our car window, we saw the Holy Trinity Abbey Church, founded in 1226. We figured the Abbey would be dry inside and we would be able to walk around without getting soaked. As with almost every place we’ve encountered in Ireland, it was an amazing place. In fact, the 1856 restoration kept a portion of the original medieval nave! The original eight hundred-year-old stone walls and timber ceilings still stand in sharp contrast to the later additions.

          We read all the plaques and other information posted around, outlining the history of the abbey. We could feel the history of the building as we touched the walls and breathed in the air. The fact that so many important things occurred under the spots where we stood gave us chills. These feelings, which we put in our book, would hopefully accompany our characters as they travel through the country in search of the truth for Patrick Lyons..

  

 To see more of the inside of the church click below.

http://monastic.ie/history/adare-trinitarian-abbey/

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

#9 Milltown, County Kerry

 


Milltown, County Kerry




We spent our first three days of our Ireland adventure in Milltown, County Kerry, population, 928.



          Milltown is a small village with a huge Catholic Church. The B & B we stayed in was upstairs from Larkin’s Pub. It was comfortable and warm. In the evening the Larkin’s Pub came to life. During the week they had a  jukebox (even though this was 2014) which people played while enjoying a drink...or two...or three. Later in the evenings, there would be more people and lots of music. Occasionally, someone would bring a guitar or another musical instrument and play old Irish songs. As noisy as it was in the pub, it was dead quiet in our upstairs room.



          Interesting enough, throughout our travels, we stopped periodically to stretch our legs and get either something warm to eat or, herb tea, or cold, bottled water. Local pubs seemed to be the place to share news of the town or the world and discuss politics or world affairs. Basically the hub of the town. The bigger the town the more pubs and taverns.

          When the music was going full blast, the dance floors were crowded, shoulder to shoulder (it was a small dance floor!). Then it hit us. This was a perfect place for a murder and body dump.