Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Ireland – Ennis – Clare Museum

    The impressive Clare Museum in Ennis, located in the former Sisters of Mercy convent. I was ultimately quite impressed by this free museum, although disappointed that nothing of the original building appears to have survived internally and there was little information inside the museum about the former convent either.

    This is a human pelvis which has an embedded tip from a projectile. Since there is no evidence of healing around the bone, that means that the injury must have caused the death of the individual.

    Not a very good photo, but this well was used by the Sisters of Mercy and it was only discovered when the building was being converted into a museum. I hope that it was discovered in a way which didn’t involve someone falling into it.

    The panel says that this is a carved panel from a Spanish Armada ship, dating to 1588, but it appears to be in exceptionally good condition for that age.

    A large piece of bog butter, which is butter which was buried to try and stop it from going off. Apparently this was a practice which took place in Ireland and the UK, although the last time I saw something like this was in Dublin, so perhaps it was more common in Ireland. There are marks on the exterior which suggests that it was stored in a wickerwork container and it was found at the appropriately named Boghill.

    This stone animal head dates to around the twelfth century and comes from St. Brigid’s Church.

    This is a Sheela-na-gig and there was an interesting article on BBC News last week about these and it’s something that I’d never previously heard of. This one was found near Ballyportry Castle and dates to the late fifteenth century.

    The Bell of the Burren, a thirteenth century bell from the Cistercian Abbey of Corcomroe, which was in use until 1860.

    A little bit of political history, this is a letter written in 1828 by Daniel O’Connell to Andrew Stackpoole. O’Connell was asking for Stackpoole’s support in the by-election in the Parliamentary constituency of Clare, which was a contest that he was to win.

    And some more political history, which is always a delight. This is the registration form from the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis which was filled in by Constance Markievicz. Markievicz was the first female MP when she was elected to the House of Commons in 1918, but as a Sinn Fein representative she decided not to take her seat. She marked her occupation on this registration form as “a rebel”. I can imagine that she was quite a forthright politician….

    I like political history, but railway history also intrigues me, and this is a ceremonial spade and barrow made of Irish oak and silver. It was used by Charles Stewart Parnell in January 1885 to cut the first sod of turf for the West Clare Railway. The railway was in operation between 1887 and 1961, when unfortunately it was closed down. Some of the line has since been re-opened to be used as a heritage rail service.

    I don’t pay any attention to football today, but I do remember hearing the score of the 1986 FA Cup final between Everton and Liverpool. This shirt was worn in that match by Kevin Sheedy, the Irish international football player.

    A Guinness World Records certificate given to James Devine for the fastest rate of tap dancing, which is apparently 38 taps per second. I have no conception how anyone can tap dance that quickly, although the record has now been beaten and is 1,163 taps during the period of one minute.

    Given that there is no admission charge it’s not surprise so see that the reviews of the museum are nearly entirely positive. However, there is one review which is negative about the contents….

    “I am truly shocked at the fact that this collection of articles and displays can be classed as a museum – it is an embarrassment – there is no logical order – the displays are inadequate – the information sparce and badly written – a sorry testimont to a county with a wealth of history”.

    Hmmmmm.

    Overall, I thought that this was a charming museum which had a modern feel to it and a wide range of different exhibits and themes. The museum could easily justify a small admission charge given what there is to see, but it’s always positive to see that a community is able to offer a free museum to local people and visitors.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Centurial Sphere 1916 Memorial

    Located next to the 1966 memorial which marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter 1916 uprising is this artwork which marks the one hundredth anniversary.

    The sculpture is known as the Centurial Sphere and was commissioned by Clare County Council. It was designed by Paddy Murray and is made of galvanised steel. The text on the sphere is from songs about County Clare and its cultural heritage.

     

  • Ireland – Ennis – Street Signage

    Many of the side streets in Ennis seem to have this substantial piece of signage on the pavement to indicate the street name. The signage in many places is almost as wide as the actual road that it’s signing. An interesting concept though.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Pat McHugh

    I took this photo in case this was a local figure of historic interest, but it’s more recent and it’s the very kind effort of a friend of Pat McHugh, a local busker who died a few years ago. The friend was Michael McTigue, an Irish sculptor and it’s a piece of black granite set on limestone. It’s a lovely gesture to make to someone who has died and McTigue carved it whilst he was moving along a parade in Ennis on St. Patrick’s Day.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Cooks Lane Cafe and Deli

    On the hunt for a breakfast that wasn’t some greasy fry-up, this cafe was well recommended on-line, although is just slightly hidden down a back street. When I went in I was the only customer, which isn’t necessarily a particularly good first impression.

    The welcome was lovely and the cafe was clean and comfortable, with the staff member being engaging and helpful. The cafe never got busy, but there were several more customers who entered whilst I was in there, so it clearly isn’t entirely unpopular.

    Some modern design without trying to make the cafe into some over-designed boutique environment.

    The latte was at a temperature that I could drink and had a rich taste, so my expectations were met there.

    And the breakfast, which was bacon, tomatoes and poached eggs on top of a sourdough bread base, with rocket placed on top. This was excellent, the bacon was cooked properly as there’s nothing more irritating (in breakfast terms only, as there are many more irritating situations in the world at the moment) than bacon which has just been wafted vaguely over a heat source. The bacon also wasn’t fatty, which saved me spending ages trying to cut the fat off, and the eggs were perfect so they were runny when cut into. The rocket added a peppery flavour and the tomatoes were plentiful and had some taste to them, not the watery taste variety that is far too common. The sourdough bread also had a pleasant taste and there was a quality across the ingredients, with a clean and simple presentation.

    The breakfast and coffee cost around £8, which for the quality entirely met my expectations. The service was engaging, warm and attentive, and the cafe perhaps deserves to be much busier in the mornings. All very lovely.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Independence

    A copy of the proclamation of independence from the Irish Provisional Government. It’s located next to the Centurial Sphere which was installed to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Easter Uprising.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Knox’s Pub

    I’ve been to many pubs in Dublin over the years, but this is the first pub that I’ve visited in Ireland outside of the capital city. It claims to be the oldest pub in the town of Ennis and was also well reviewed and looked like it had plenty of character.

    Looking down from the first floor down onto the bar, a mix of contemporary style without removing the character and historic charm of the interior.

    There was plenty of character in the pub, it felt all very Irish, which it should since it’s in Ireland. So it was just what I’d hoped for in terms of the general ambience. And the welcome was equally friendly, a swift acknowledgement and then an engaging and really helpful staff member. Indeed the service was friendly and welcoming throughout, so I can see that both visitors and locals would be content visiting here.

    Later on the staff member asked politely why I’d opted for this and not Guinness, but much as I like Dublin’s finest, I prefer Murphy’s. I think there’s a debate about this matter across the whole country, but this has a more chocolate milk and sweeter flavour for me. So it’s Murphy’s in the day and Guinness in the evening.

    Fish and chips, well presented and everything was hot and of a decent quality. I suppose the chips could have been cooked for marginally longer, but they still had a pleasant taste. The batter on the fish was rich and is apparently made using Western Herd beer, which I think explains the darker colouring. It was crispy and the hake had a subtle flavour. The salad element had some mustard dressing on and had a variety of tastes and textures.

    The bill came to around £15, which I felt was reasonable given the quality of the food and drink, as well as the friendliness of the service. For my first visit to a pub in Ireland outside of Dublin, I was though very satisfied and it met my quite high expectations. I can only hope that the other pubs on this trip will be equally as charming and welcoming.

  • Ireland – Ennis – River Fergus

    Just some photos of the River Fergus, which runs through the heart of Ennis.

  • Ireland – Ennis – Steele’s Rock

    This quirky little memorial marks where Tom Steele, a friend of Daniel O’Connell, would sit so that he could look over the river to try and see Matilda (Eileen) Crowe who lived in the house opposite. Matilda was the love of Tom’s life, but she didn’t acknowledge him and so after a while he went instead to Spain feeling just a little desolate.

    Steele, also known as Honest Tom Steele, certainly appears to have been a bit of a character, and I might have seen his grave in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin as it’s near to that of Daniel O’Connell. When O’Connell died in 1847 the loss hit Steele hard and he tried to commit suicide in London by throwing himself off a bridge into the River Thames. He was saved, but died shortly afterwards.

    And the rock which Steele sat on…..

  • Malta – Gozo – Victoria – Gran Castello Historic House

    Formerly known as the Folklore Museum, this museum is formed from several former residential properties in the Cittadella. The properties would have been for the more wealthy local residents and were rather grand townhouses. They were merged together to form a museum in 1983 and there are displays about various trades and skills.

    Graffiti on one of the walls, 1848 if my knowledge of Roman numerals works out…

    The view over the rear gardens.

    A view of the rear of one of the properties.

    Some, er, equipment.

    Clothing as it might have appeared in the eighteenth century.

    I can’t disagree that there are a lot of stairs in the buildings, but I’m intrigued as to what on earth this person thought that the museum could do about it. I suppose they could have demolished the buildings and constructed a new one without stairs. This must be one of the few properties that Heritage Malta have where putting a lift in would be next to impossible and they’d also likely need to put three lifts in.

    I’m not overly engaged by folklore museums, but this location had the advantage that it was located within an interesting building with plenty of history of its own. The museum is well laid out and tries to tell the story of how people lived and worked in Gozo over the centuries. It was a bigger museum than I had expected as well, with plenty of hidden corners to explore around the buildings.