Ireland, September 2023

My friend John C. is on a mission to visit all the populated islands in the British Isles (that includes Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Scilly Isles, etc).  I have already made a few trips with him to Scotland, the Channel Islands, and the Blackwater Estuary in England.  This trip to Ireland was going to be his last island.  He has visited some 220 islands over the past 2 or 3 years.

We flew from Manchester to Shannon on a ridiculously cheap Ryanair flight.  The car parking for 2 days was 70 pounds and was way more expensive than the flight.  As we flew into Shannon I was impressed by the patchwork quilt of small fields in the Irish countryside - so green.   At Shannon airport we rented a car and set off for our destination which was Foynes Island in the Shannon Estuary.

Foynes Island from the mainland

Foynes Island was a private island and John had contacted the owners about our visit and they had arranged to meet us at the dock in the town of Foynes and to take us over to the island.  We drove through Limerick on the way - quite the tourist town.

We were at the dock right on time and shortly afterwards the owner of the island, Alison O'Brien, came over in a small motorboat to pick us up.  Since it was a damp day, she suggested we out on wellington boots.  She had a collection of them in a small shed by the boat dock.

John had been getting quite unsteady on his feet in recent months and he struggled getting down into the boat.  With lots of support and helping hands he made it on board.  We had a 3 or 4 minute crossing to the island and on the other side we were greeted by Alison's husband Stephen.  We helped John off the boat and walked up the trail to the house.  

The O'Brien Residence on Foynes Island

The house was a beautiful old house that might have been late 19th century or early 20th century.  It was in need of a little bit of care and attention - the paint was flaking and the entire house needed some decorating.  Still it was a fine looking house.

Stephen and Alison were very welcoming guests who seemed to be delighted that we would want to visit their island.  Unbeknownst to us they had driven that day from the other side of Ireland and their Dublin house all the way to meet us.  

Alison and John by the fire

They lit a fire in the living room and we sat around talking, mainly about John's adventures visiting various islands.  Stephen brought out the Bushmills' Black Bush and we sipped a little Irish Whiskey too.  Stephen told us about one of his ancestors, a Conor O'Brien, who was indeed a most interesting character.  Born in 1880, he was educated at Oxford and Dublin, and trained as an architect.  He was a climber and climbed with George Mallory.  He was involved in gun running for the Irish Volunteers (Republicans).  Then in the 1920's he was the first to sail around the world in a small boat by the three capes route (Good Hope, Horn and Leeuwin).  What an interesting life.

Lunch time

Alison had prepared food for us and we all sat down around the table for a delightful lunch (accompanied by the Bushmills).  

Me, Alison, John and Stephen

After a wonderful visit we were ferried back to the mainland.  Foynes is not the most picturesque island, and it is marred a little by the presence of a nearby Aluminium smelter on the mainland.  Large boats were being offloaded just across the water from the island.

Seaplane Museum

In the town of Foynes, we stopped at the Foynes Seaplane Museum.  For a short period in the 1940's Foynes was the eastern terminus of the transatlantic seaplane route - Newfoundland to Ireland.  The Pan Am Clipper aircraft made the crossing from Newfoundland to Foynes, the shortest distance between America and Europe.  It was a long journey almost 20 hours and it must have been cold.  They have a flying boat in the museum and you can walk through it to get an idea of how primitive flying in such aircraft might have been.  Spacious for sure, but, I would imagine, not that comfortable.

Seaplane Cockpit

All one class, first class

The bar in Foynes allegedly created the Irish Coffee for those weary travelers arriving at end or beginning of a long flight across the Atlantic.  When the flying boat service was stopped during WWII, the bartender moved to Shannon, and then to San Francisco, where today they claim to be the originators of the Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista Cafe.

We drove on from Foynes to our destination for the night in Killorglin in County Kerry.  Part of this route was the Wild Atlantic Way and the Ring of Kerry.  Being a bit grey and damp, it wasn't the best of weather for appreciating the beautiful countryside.

The perfect pint of Guinness

In the hotel, the Bianconi, we had a couple of pints of Guinness and a fine meal.  The Guinness truly does taste so much better over there and they take their time to pour it correctly - pouting 2/3 of a pint and letting it settle before topping off with a perfect creamy head.

I remember the old Toucan ads for Guinness

The next morning I had an early morning walk around Killorglin.  There were certainly a lot of pubs in the town and it looked like all of them served Guinness.  

Memorial to the fist East Uprising Fatalities

The Pier the misjudged at Ballykissane

Killorglin was famous, or infamous, for being the location of the first fatalities in the 1916 Easter Uprising.  Not quite the heroic event you might expect however.  Four Irish Volunteers were driving on a quest to take over a wireless station and communicate with Roger Casement and a German arms ship.  The driver misjudged the end of the pier at Ballykissane and the car plunged into the River Laune.  Three volunteers drowned, the driver survived.

We had an evening flight from Shannon back to Manchester so we had the rest of the day to take in the countryside.  Alas, it was again a little grey and rainy.  We drove around the Ring of Kerry which, of course, was quite beautiful, even on a rainy day.  We passed through Killarney, which was a little too touristy for my liking.  Lots of big hotels and lots of Jaunting Cars trotting along the roads.

Ladies' View, Ring of Kerry

We stopped for the obligatory photo at the Ladies' View overlooking Lake Killarney.  We continued along the northern edge of Kenmare Bay to Sneem and on to Waterville where there was a Charlie Chaplin statue (it was his favorite vacation spot).  Then it was around the coastline and over to Valentia Island and then the ferry across from Knightstown to the mainland.  

It was a real shame that the weather did not cooperate but, regardless, you couldn't fail to be impressed by the beauty of the countryside.  We drove back in the rain to Shannon for our evening flight back to Manchester.  Thank you Ryanair.