Galway, Connemara, and Cong: A Journey Through Ireland's West

After years of dreaming, Michael and I finally did the impossible. We visited Ireland! Michael tried once on his own. Then when Michael and I got married we tried twice for a honeymoon once in 2020 and again in 2021 (you can probably guess why). But thanks to Michael's Uncle Kevin, a travel agent that specializes in trips to Ireland, we finally made it! We so happened to be a part of a tour group that adventure to Ireland for the Christmas Markets. It was a whirlwind adventure, starting with a hop cross the Atlantic with our toddler, Lizzy.

Getting ready to board the plane. Lizzy is excited!

We landed in Dublin, where we greeted our tour guide and bus driver, Patrick, and the rest of the group. Our first destination was Galway but we made a couple of stops along the way. One highlight was visiting Sean's pub in Athlone, the oldest pub in the world. Dating back to 900AD, we were in a classic Irish pub. I enjoyed a whisky and ginger ale, one of the bartender's specials.

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Galway welcomed us with its charming streets and sites. We embarked on city tour while Michael, Lizzy and I missed any information gleamed from the tour. We enjoyed the sites especially that of Galway Cathedral, one of Europe's youngest stone cathedrals, dedicated in August 1965. Lizzy was most fascinated with the grotto-like nativity scene. Outside, a very determined (that's a nice word for it) toddler refused her coat as we crossed the Salmon Weir Bridge over the River Corrib. We explored the rest of the city.

After checking into the hotel, we walked to the Christmas Market. Lizzy was amazed at all the lights. We quickly went through the booths. The highlight of the Christmas market on this day was the carousel ride or as Lizzy said "horsy ride." So, Lizzy and I went to ride the horsy. The sign said galloping horses and boy they sure were! Lizzy was so excited and screamed with delight. She then wanted to do the Farris wheel, which was a sight to behold since we could see all of the Market from below.

The next day we boarded the bus to explore Connemara region seeing the mountains, bogs, grassland and woodlands. We stopped in Lettermullen, a meaningful visit for Uncle Kevin and Michael. Uncle Kevin’s grandmother which is Michael’s great-grandmother and Lizzy’s great-great-grandmother, Margret Mullen was born in 1884 in Lettermullen. So, the church and school we saw there were ones she would have attended. With a stop, we by happen chance got to go into the Heritage center to find out more about where she grew up. Also, Michael got asked if he wanted to buy a cottage. Sadly, we passed up on that offer.

We continued through the Connemara region until arriving in Cong, which is on the bordered of May and Galway County. This village was made famous by the classic movie with John Wayne and Maureen O’hara, The Quiet Man. Unfortunately, the museum for The Quiet Man was closed when we visited but that didn’t stop Michael, Lizzy and myself from exploring the village. We walked over a bridge towards Ashford Castle, which was once home to the Guinness family but is now a high-end hotel. As we walked back towards town, I noticed that St. Mary of the Rosary Catholic Church boasted stained glass works of Harry Clarke. Not knowing who that was I suggested we pop in to take a look and I’m glad we did because the stain glass was beautiful. Harry Clarke (1889-1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist.

From here we ventured into the 12th century Cong Abbey ruin. This was built on site of an earlier 7th century monastery. It was beautiful to walk through but the most striking was the lancet windows. Also, the floor is paved with tombstones. Lizzy loved exploring the “castle.” We walked through the remains of the cloister towards the river, where stands the monk’s fishing house. This fishing house was built in the 15th or 16th century to make the task of catching fish easier. It is built on a platform of stones over a small arch to allow the river to flow underneath the floor where there is a trapdoor, that may have been used for a net. From Cong, we made our way back to Galway and another ride on the galloping horses.  

After a ride around, we walked to get some Fish and Chips. After dinner it was time to visit a pub. We picked The Quays, since it had music already playing. Michael and I enjoyed some beers, while Lizzy danced the night away!