“Water, water everywhere. Nor any drop to drink”

 Coleridge

 

If you look at a map of Ireland, you may notice that most of the major towns and cities, and even the mountain ranges are near the coast. The centre of the island appears flat and uninteresting, a peat bog badlands not worthy of any further investigation.

 

So it was with a sense of adventure and a pioneering spirit that we set out from Cork city with Jane’s mum to follow the mighty river Shannon to the heart of the Emerald Isle. This sense of near recklessness was added to by the atrocious weather conditions, although to be fair, we did seem to miss the worst of the storm. (And even by Ireland’s wet standards this was a storm.)

The Shannon was in full spate, spilling across vast floodplains as far as the eye could see in some places. The radio warned of high winds and toppled trees blocking roads but we ploughed on further and deeper inland.

Due to a late start, a leisurely lunch and at least one wrong turn, it was dark by the time we reached Athlone. What a lovely town though! It was bigger than I expected and begged to be explored. The castle dominates the centre of the town. The medieval keep had been modified several times and the present incarnation is a hybrid of ancient castle and military fort. It’s dark, and squat, demanding not to be messed with. It was also closed for the winter.

 

The next day, we strolled along the banks of the Shannon, trying to imagine what it looked like when not in flood while giving a wide berth to an angry sawn with clearly evil intent (they can break a man’s arm you know…)We went shopping for warmer clothes then set off in search of the monastic site at Clonmacnoise.

It wasn’t hard to find. A beautiful jumble of ruined churches towers and graves overlooking the vastness of the flooded river Shannon, it was a lovely way to spend an hour, and totally deserted except for the staff and the birds. Pope John Paul II addressed a crowd of thousands here in the late 70s. The purpose built shelter and papal throne are still there but the people have gone and the place was silent as the grave. Literally.

Right next door to the site was the strangest castle I have ever seen. Once upon a time it must have sat proudly on its man-made hillock, or Motte to give it its proper name. Time and gravity have not been kind to the ruin though, and the whole structure has fallen apart in very large chunks. Some remained atop the Motte like jagged broken teeth. Other parts had toppled down the sides and lay in the ditch below. A sorry mess altogether.

I’m a sucker for signs pointing to ancient monuments and had to take a detour on the way back to the main road t investigate the intriguingly named Clonfinlough Stone. What we found at the end of a short wooded track was most peculiar. It was a large flat stone, lying on the ground and covered in carvings- round indentations usually called cup marks, crosses and several other bizarre shapes including one that could only be a footprint. There was no information sign and ever since I have not been able to establish when or how this rock came to be carved in such a manner.

 

The following day we visited Dublin. As far as I’m concerned, it always rains in Dublin. It’s a nice city really, just a bit wet for my liking. We viewed the must see attractions of the city by ticky-tacky tour bus narrated by a wise cracking Dub with a song and a mother in law joke for every occasion. We must go back to Dublin before we leave, if only to find the Phil Lynott statue which I’m sure is deliberately hiding from me.

 

We returned to Cork on the Sunday after saying goodbye to Jane’s mum at Dublin airport. The homeward journey was notable for a couple of things. We found a stunning example of a round tower just off the main road and had a good old wander round the churchyard. Then we stopped for lunch at Cahir castle, one of my favourite castles but one that will now always have painful memories for me.

I slipped on some wet stairs and fell on my arse. Since then I’ve been walking a bit funny and trying to discover new ways to sit that don’t involve my tailbone.

Ouch.