Beyond the Pale
Photo Gallery - Ireland 2016
Bothar Alainn (Beautiful Road) B&B, where we stayed in Navan. Photo by Martha Clark.
View from the Hill of Slane on Saturday night -- we took one look at the dark cloud and decided to come back the next day
View from the Hill of Slane on Saturday. We could not easily see the Hill of Tara in the distance, and with rain heading our way, we decided to go have dinner instead.
Roberta with a pint of Guinness at the Coyningham Arms hotel and restaurant in Slane.
Roberta gets ready to take a sip of Guinness...
It's pretty clear that Roberta is not a big fan of Guinness (more for me!)
We enjoyed our dinner at the Coyningham Arms in Slane. We imbibed in this delicious dessert of panna cotta with raspberry coulis.
On Sunday morning, we attended Mass at St. Patrick's church in Slane. The first hymn ("Be Still") was the same hymn sung at St. James church in Washington, IA, when Mother and I attended there on Mother's Day.
Inside St. Patrick's at Slane. Photo by Martha Clark.
Blessing of the graves in the church yard of St. Patrick's at Slane. We found the red-headed altar to be irresistible! Photo by Sara Burrus.
Sunday morning, the view from the Hill of Slane is spectacular with the golden fields of rapeseed in bloom. The mountains in the distance are the Wicklow or Dublin Mountains.
View from the Hill of Slane on Sunday morning -- the Hill of Tara is the small high point slightly to the left of the midpoint of this photo.
Churchyard ruins at the Hill of Slane. It is believed that sometime around 433 A.D., St. Patrick, the first Christian missionary to Ireland, lit a celebratory fire from this hill, which got him hauled before the High King at Tara. Much later, a monastery was founded on this hill, but the ruins of this church date from the establishment of a 1512 Franciscan monastery on the spot.
Hill of Slane (cows of Slane), looking southward toward Tara. Small subdivision of Slane is visible below.
Bell tower at the Hill of Slane. On our trip their trip in 2003, Tom, Sam and Molly climbed to the top of the tower to see Tara.
Trinity Sunday, the day we visited Slane, is a traditional day for blessing of graves. Many families were cleaning gravesites and bringing fresh flowers. The gravemarkers in Ireland are a genealogist's dream -- they often contain extensive information about the family.
At the Hill of Slane
Martha stands beside St. Patrick at the Hill of Slane
Martha beside St. Patrick at the Hill of Slane
Annis snaps a photo from the window frame of the ruins of an old college at the Hill of Slane
Leaving Slane -- on the left, just near the red car, is the entrance to the B&B where Roberta, Sara and Molly stayed in Slane during their visit in 2001.