Day 10 Northern Ireland

On day 10 we toured the coast of Northern Ireland where we experienced beautiful views of the shoreline and old castles.  

We walked the Giants Causeway where we saw many beautiful creations of Mother Nature.

Here was the boot.  

We also toured the Bushmills Distillery where we had a tour and sampled some 12-year old Bushmills Whiskey.  No pictures were allowed on the tour.  

We finished up the day with mass at St. Peter’s and limited pub-crawling in Belfast.  

Day 10

On Thursday we started out by visiting an early Irish village.  One stop on the tour showed a blacksmith making horse shoes, cooking utensils, etc. 

These pictures depict an early ship that was used by Irish emigrants going to the USA.

These pictures depict an early ship that was used by Irish emigrants going to the USA. 

In Londonderry we walked around the city walls encircling the city

Ireland Day 9

Today we stopped at the Glendalough monastic city. From there we went to Trinity College to see the book of Kells.  We followed this with a guided tour of Dublin, including a stop at St Patrick’s Cathedral.  We had dinner, music and dance at the Abbey Tavern.

Rock of Cashel

Inside the Rock of Cashel and Glendalough tour

Day 7 and 8

Because of Hurricane Ophelia we spent day 7 (Monday) in Killarney.  We did manage to have mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral but we all got soaked from the horizontal rain on the walk back to the hotel.

On day 8 we moved on to Dublin via the Blarney Castle.  We did not get to kiss the Blarney Stone because the castle was closed so they could clean up from the hurricane.  There were a lot of trees and branches down in the area around Cork.  We did spend a “little” money at the Blarney Wollen Mills - the largest gift shop in Ireland.

From there we went to the Rock of Cashel - religious buildings dating from the 12th century.

We ended the day by having mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Dublin.  We are headed to dinner now.

All is well

Just a quick note to say the pilgrims are safe and sound. They are staying put today and will continue on their way tomorrow.  They will wait until Ophelia effects have at least moved onward.

Hurricane Ophelia shut us down for a day so we had an Edventure in Don and Helen’s room - a lot of joke and story telling along with some refreshments.

Day 6 Ring of Kerry

Today we took the Ring of Kerry Tour where we stopped at the Kerry Bog Village. We saw spectacular views of the coastline. We had numerous stops for shopping. Last night in Killarney we watched the big football game - Vikings vs. Packers. The big winners ($) were Paul, Shannon, Connie and Jon.

Day 5

Today we toured the western most peninsula of Ireland. The winds were already picking up as Ophelia approaches from the southwest.  Hopefully it will not impact us too much late Sunday and Monday.

  We also visited a 1300 years old stone building - Gallarus Oratory.

Day 4 Cliffs of Moher

On Friday we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher.  For our evening meal we had a traditional Irish dinner at the Knappogue Castle where the Lords and Ladies fed us and also provided excellent singing and dance

Mass at Knock

Fr. Schmitz said mass at this chapel near the Knock Basilica

before we headed toward Galaway.

Overnight at Knock

We arrived at the Knock House Hotel last night and all got a good nights sleep - much needed. On the way to the western coast of Ireland we stopped at Kylemore Abbey that started out as a private castle and was later converted to a Benedictine Abbey and girls school.

The Journey Begins

The St James Coffee House group arrived safely in Dublin. 

Everyone cleared customs and collected their luggage 

where we met our lovely coach/tour driver, Johnny.  

On the way to the Knock House Hotel we stopped 

to tour a very old monastery at Clonmacnoise.

go dtí go gcomhlíonfaimid arís (Until we meet again) from Ed and company!

To Ireland!

The St. James Coffee Ireland Pilgrimage left this morning with hot coffee in hand and ready for a prayerful adventure. Please keep these 19 pilgrims in your prayers through October 22nd.