Destination Donegal
October/08/2008 Ireland Journal
Kilkenny is located in the south east of Ireland, and when we told some of the photographers at the IPPA Conference in Kilkenny that we were leaving the next morning for County Donegal, the northernmost county on the west cost, several expressed concern about two issues: the fact that it rains a lot in Donegal, and a concern that we were undertaking such a lengthy trip. The later issue was somewhat amusing to us, as a five-hour journey is nothing much for U.S. travelers. We made good time on the road, and the only thing that was frustrating to me was having to miss out on photographing a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. But we wanted to get to our destination as early as possible so that we could have a good look around.
By the time we got to Donegal, sure enough it was raining. But that didn't stop our enjoyment of the town. Near the carpark (parking lot), only a block from the town square, we observed an immense anchor that honors the town's seafaring heritage.
One of the nicest aspects of traveling in Ireland is the availability of tourist information posted in cities, towns, and villages. Like many seats of county government in Ireland, Donegal Town is a small town, and we could see from this sign board that it would be easy to see most of it on foot.
Irish churches are always interesting so we visited a few. This is St. Patrick's Church, which sits on a hill overlooking the upper main street. It was constructed from granite quarried from nearby mountains and is the main place of worship for the Catholic population of Donegal.
The Donegal town square is especially picturesque, and it was quite busy in spite of the rain.
We were pleased to learn that Donegal has a wonderful castle that is undergoing restoration. Visiting castles is a delightful rainy-day activity: You learn some history, and you get some great photo ops. Donegal Castle did not disappoint!
After our castle tour, we did some shopping on the town square, where I captured my favorite picture of the day: I noticed three American ladies who were quite animated in setting up a photograph, and the lady in the blue jacket was posing in a rather unusual body attitude. It took me a second to figure out what was going on. If you look closely above her head, there is a sign that reads "Magee." She is pointing to it with her right hand. Her left hand is pointing to another sign on the door that reads the same. Turns out she is an Irish-American named Magee, so she was literally pointing to her Irish heritage. Not a bad way to spend a rainy day in Donegal.
By the time we got to Donegal, sure enough it was raining. But that didn't stop our enjoyment of the town. Near the carpark (parking lot), only a block from the town square, we observed an immense anchor that honors the town's seafaring heritage.
One of the nicest aspects of traveling in Ireland is the availability of tourist information posted in cities, towns, and villages. Like many seats of county government in Ireland, Donegal Town is a small town, and we could see from this sign board that it would be easy to see most of it on foot.
Irish churches are always interesting so we visited a few. This is St. Patrick's Church, which sits on a hill overlooking the upper main street. It was constructed from granite quarried from nearby mountains and is the main place of worship for the Catholic population of Donegal.
The Donegal town square is especially picturesque, and it was quite busy in spite of the rain.
We were pleased to learn that Donegal has a wonderful castle that is undergoing restoration. Visiting castles is a delightful rainy-day activity: You learn some history, and you get some great photo ops. Donegal Castle did not disappoint!
After our castle tour, we did some shopping on the town square, where I captured my favorite picture of the day: I noticed three American ladies who were quite animated in setting up a photograph, and the lady in the blue jacket was posing in a rather unusual body attitude. It took me a second to figure out what was going on. If you look closely above her head, there is a sign that reads "Magee." She is pointing to it with her right hand. Her left hand is pointing to another sign on the door that reads the same. Turns out she is an Irish-American named Magee, so she was literally pointing to her Irish heritage. Not a bad way to spend a rainy day in Donegal.