Ireland

Athenry Dominican Priory Ruins

AthenroyAbbeyPanorama

Dominican Priories in Ireland were normally built outside the town walls, but here in Athenry, the first Priory was built Inside the town walls, on the opposite side of the river from the original castle fortress. (You can see more about that here.)

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The same founder of the Athenroy castle, Meiler De Bermingham also is credited with purchasing the land to present to the Dominicans. He bought it in 1241, and then gave them the money, knights, horses, wine and cloths for the building itself. When he died in 1252, Meiler was buried here.

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Over time, the native Irish and the Normans extended the complex, creating a seperate dining hall, dormitory, infirmary, and the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The chapel was enlarged in 1324, and in in 1425, the tower was added.

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The building was destroyed in 1652, by Cromwellian soldiers (who also destroyed the nearby castle).

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Today, it’s a fairly quiet little ruin – where the tourists may visit – but the local cats choose to hang out and bathe in the sun.

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Athenry Castle

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Located in county Galway, Ireland, Athenry (or Town of the Ford of the King) is a relatively small town. The main attractions are the castle which was built before 1240 (the Medieval curtain walls are among the most complete and best preserved in Ireland ), and the Dominican Priory ruins which date back to 1240’s as well.

Clarin River / Athenry water supply

The castle originally guarded the ford (or crossing point) over the Clareen (Clarin) river nearby. It was first built out of wood, and later stages allowed for a stone castle (started in 1235 by the Norman Baron Meiler De Bermingham), parts of which still exist today. Amazingly, there was only one entrance into the castle from the town when it was originally built.
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The castle itself was destroyed in the 1300’s, expanded to include 5 gates around the larger town, and then destroyed again 1570’s and one more time in the 1650’s. Today it’s been restored and belongs to the Office of Public Works, in Ireland, and is known for the stunning curtain walls that still surround the central keep and town.

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The keep itself went through 3 phases of building –

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and when the Office of Public works (OPW) took it over it was a ruin.

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Today, it’s been restored and you can see the difference that has been made – to both the outside and the inside.

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Below you can see some of the ancient window decorations, and one of the window seats they surround…

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And of course, there’s the open “loo” in the castle guardrobe, where you not only did your “business” but also aired out your clothes if you were the lord / lady of the manor.
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From here, it’s only a short walk down the road – to the next attraction – the Dominican Friory Ruins.
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Jeanie Johnston boat

I’m obsessed with travel. Always have been, and thank goodness I have had the opportunities in my life to make this happen. I think because of the enjoyment of travel, I also find it fascinating to see all the different ways that people travelled in the past. One of my favorites is by Tall Sailing ship.

Jenny Jameson Boat

There’s an element of romance to the thought of hopping aboard a sailing ship, battling the ocean, the waves, and navigating the world by the stars. The reality, however, is much different. It was dangerous, it was dirty, it was crowded, it was smelly. And more to the point – people did not always travel because they wanted to. Sometimes they travelled because they had to.

Here in Dublin, there’s a replica tall ship that sits in the harbour – named the Jeanie Johnston.
Back in February, I took my friend’s daughter on a little adventure to go check out the ship and take a tour.

Me & Charlotte

The Jeanie Johnston is an exact copy of a 408 ton cargo ship purchased in Liverpool in the mid 1800’s. As famine gripped Ireland, the “original” ship ferried over 2,500 immigrants from Ireland to North America to start a better life. It was captained by James Attridge. Inside the boat, there’s a museum of how life was with several mannequins in various positions. You go in with a guide, who was pretty cool because he took an hour telling the group lots of stories of life on the boat and the passengers lives before, during, after they arrived at their destinations. This included stories about how people crammed 6 – 10 to a bunk (see the feet behind the mannequin) and slept in shifts to make due as they crossed the Atlantic. The center “tables” were designed for eating, entertainment, and sleeping on.

Inside the boat

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There were plenty of things onboard that were prohibited for the safety of passengers and crew. Things like open flames and fires, fighting, cursing, gambling, spitting, and alcoholic beverages.

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One of the most impressive things was the story about how the captain hired a surgeon, named Dr. Blennerhassett, to travel on the boat – to take care of the passengers – and make sure everyone stayed healthy. The captain did this out of his own pocket and because of this – the boat is one of the very few who can boast that no life was ever lost on board the ship.

For more information, please see:

http://www.jeaniejohnston.ie/

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