Cliffs of Moher

Today we went on a tour of the Cliffs of Moher, an abbey, 2 castles, the County Clare coastline, and a pub. We started out driving south of Galway and the first major stop was at the Concomore Abbey in the Burren. It was hidden up in the hillside and built in the 11th century! It was absolutely beautiful. We were able to walk through the graveyard in the front, and through the ruins of the old church. Our bus driver told us a story about a man with the name of Cromwell, who did not believe in religion. Back in the 12th century he attempted to kill every priest in Ireland, and in doing so he would approach the abbey or church, kill the priest, and ignite the thatched roof. Throughout many of the churches that we drove by today there were many that lacked roofs.

The next stop was a a grave site in the Burren. When farmers died it was said that they wanted to be buried so that they could watch over their land, so there are many famous sites of stone structures above ground, simulating this. (see picture below) After the gravesite we drove by the Leamanagh Castle, which seemed a bit run down but still was quite an impressive site. We continued driving through the countryside until we stopped at Fitzpattricks Bar in Lisdoonvarna. It was delicious! They served a traditional lunch, in which I had the best corn beef, cabage, and other vegetables. They also served a Guiness stew which looked delicious as well.

After lunch we headed up to the Cliffs of Moher. Apparently the Cliffs of Moher are the most popular tourist site in all of Ireland. They were absolutely breathtaking. It was a little windy and rainy there, but it didn't stop us. We hiked up to O'Briens tower at the top of one of the cliffs, and got some great pictures! I would love to go back when the spring time rolls around. Unfortunately there were too many deaths off of the cliffs so in the past 2 years they have built a fence so you are not able to go as far out, but that didn't obstruct the gorgeous views.

We drove back through a town called Doolin, where we were able to work on the limestone out to the rocky coastline for a few minutes. We then traveled up to the Dunguaire Castle that had some beautiful views as well. Overall, I thought it was a great tour, and we had a really fun bus driver. I have posted pictures below of all the sites from today!