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| Friday, May 4th |
| Yesterday was a very long day and after extensive searching we finally found our B&B about 8 o'clock last night. Leaving the car behind we walked about 2 pleasant miles alongside Galway bay into the town of Salthill and had a late evening dinner. After dinner the boys thought they would find a pub and sample a little Irish music . I decided to call it a night and take a cab back to the B&B. Teresa McDonagh made us all a fine breakfast and suggested we tour the village of Cong . The drive was very pleasant and the town was very quaint and uncrowded. After years of hearing their mother and I talking about the "Quiet Man" movie the boys really took to this town. As had been one of the themes for the past week it seemed like a good time "to have a good cup of coffee and a nice piece of cake". Our first stop was the Quiet Man Coffee shop. |
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| The woman that owned the shop was very hospitable and made us all feel welcome. Upon leaving we told her that one son was not feeling well and we wanted to take something back to him. She said she had just the thing to fix him up. A mixture of a product called Lemsip and hot water together with a scone and some jam was provided by her insisting that was the least she could do. Her compassion would not let her charge us for it. She was right, as soon as Brian drank it he started to feel better . The remainder of the morning was spent meandering around the village of Cong where the film was shot with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. |
| Pat Cohan's Pub scene of the big fight between John Wayne & Victor McLaughlin. |
| Home of the dying man who rose up to see the fight. |
| The Celtic Cross |
| The general store visited by Maureen O'Hara |
| When we left Galway that morning, Teresa our B&B hostess, advised us to make sure we stopped at Kylemore Abbey so that was our next stop after Keane's. Kylemore Abbey is the Irish home of the Benedictine Nuns. Built originally as a Castle (1868) it is one of the best examples of Irish neo-gothic architecture, the estate features include a Victorian Walled Garden, restored Abbey reception rooms, Gothic Church, tranquil walks, craftshop, pottery, and restaurant. Knowing that our trip was winding down some of us thought it might be a good place to buy some peace offerings. |
| A walk down the lane in Cong |
| Keane's Pub |
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| Kylemore abbey |
| Kylemore Gardens |
| The owner of the Quiet Man Coffee Shop strongly advised us to stop at Keanes Bar in the small village of Maam for lunch. It was an authentic old pub not frequented by tourists. It made you feel like it was 50 years ago. We had the Toasted Special and Guinness next to a peet fire. This is one of the pubs I would be sure to return to on my next trip. |
| It was now into late afternoon and time to head back to Galway by way of the picturesque town of Clifden. After arriving back at the B&B we immediately left for downtown Galway for dinner at Maxwell McNamara's. Another long day for me but the boys spent the rest of the night at a pub called Taaffes. This was Friday night, the start of a bank holiday weekend, so the pub was very crowded. They had a good band made up of guitar, fiddle, accordian and drum. Tomorrow we will head back to Doolin for our final night of fun. Not bad for 1 Day |
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