Kilrush

Monday 26th May
Today I had tentatively booked a tour with Dolphin Watch Carrigaholt.  Waiting for a call from them to confirm whether the trip would go ahead.  The weather was fine, so I was optimistic, but unfortunately received a text in the morning saying they were not going out that day.  On the off-chance, I rang Dolphin Discovery, Kilrush, to see if they may be going out.  The lady I spoke to said they hadn't been out in 3 weeks, due to unsuitable weather, but that today may be ok - she would check and confirm.  A little later, and I was booked for an afternoon trip.

I went for a walk around town to orientate myself, and to check out the location of the Teach Ceoil, the former St. Senan's Church of Ireland which has now been restored for use as a community centre.  It is located in the Kilrush Old Church of Ireland Cemetery, and is the venue for my talk to Kilrush & District Historical Society the next evening.



Site of soup kitchen from Famine times, in the churchyard.
The plaque on the left is a memorial to the soup kitchen
The stone monument is to all those, named & un-named, buried within the grounds.

The Old Cemetery is located in the old Church of Ireland churchyard, but burials there are not confined to those of the Protestant faith. It is currently undergoing a restoration project by a dedicated group of volunteers, and as I wandered down the path I saw a group hard at work with line-trimmers and mowers.  Among them were my "Facebook friends" Kay Clancy & Paul O'Brien, and Michael O'Connell who I had met when I did the walk at Carrigaholt on the first day of my trip.

Kay showed me around the Cemetery, including a Pilkington headstone connected with my family.

Erected by Francis Pelkington, Gower,
in memory of his beloved wife
Elizabeth Pelkington alias Walshe
who died Jan 5th 1893 aged 55 years
R.I.P.

Francis Pilkington (1823-1896) was a son of Richard Pilkington & Maria Blood, and a nephew of Thomas Pilkington of Cragleigh.  Francis (Frank) and Elizabeth married quite late in true Pilkington form, and didn't have any children.  It is very likely that Frank is also buried in this plot, but no-one ever arranged the addition of an inscription.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the enormity of the task in front of them, I left the workers hard at it.  They have been trying for some time now to obtain funding and support for an ongoing program of maintenance to minimise further degradation of this important historical location.  Just after my visit, some funding became available from the late Kilrush Town Council, which was put to good use clearing blocked drains which had caused the graveyard to flood.

So, off to the Kilrush Marina for my dolphin-watching expedition.  While dolphins are always fabulous to watch, my main interest in doing this was to see the coastline from the water.  Just lucky for me, then, that the skipper announced he was taking the boat in a westerly direction rather than their more usual easterly one.  This took us out of the harbour, past Scattery Island then down-river to the level of Carrigaholt, where the castle was easily visible on the shore. 

Kilrush Harbour is of interest - the lock gates operating to keep the harbour full of water, and provide safe anchorage at the marina.  Prior to the construction of the lock in about 1990, the Kilrush Creek area would have consisted of extensive mud flats and only been navigable at high tide.


Kilrush Creek Lock

Once through the lock, we passed container ships and storage tankers moored, waiting for clearance to go up-river.  After a little time, we did come across some dolphins, and enjoyed their antics.  Trying to photograph them was a challenge which I gave up on very soon, and settled for watching them as they frolicked around the boat. 

The return trip took us closer to Scattery Island, (Inis Cathaigh in Gaelic), providing a tantalising glimpse of the history contained there.

Scattery Island

Scattery was originally settled as a monastic colony in the 6th century, and in the last few centuries has played a role in the navigation of the Shannon, being home to generations of river pilots.  At one time it formed part of the Keane estate, and features in Charlotte Keane's 19th century diary, where she writes fondly about boat trips to the island and its inhabitants.

Returned to Kilrush with time for a coffee and then a quick change before the drive to Ennis to catch up with Larry Brennan for my next adventure!

The waterfront at Cappagh, on the way back into Kilrush



County Clare - Day 1: Ennis & Carrigaholt

Monday 5th May
Why is it that you would never in a million years consider drinking Guinness at home in Australia (because it tastes like ****), yet in Ireland you not only drink it and think nothing of it, but actually enjoy it too?  Anyway, it was to be a fitting end to an amazing first day.

The Rowan Tree Hostel, seemingly growing out of the River Fergus, is an elegant building which was in a former life the Ennis Club.  In the 19th century, the predominantly Protestant landed gentry and professional men of the county, including my ancestors, would have met here to enjoy a drink and a smoke, to discuss matters of import and the state of the county.  Perhaps the 19th century equivalent of the 21st century Mens Shed movement?

Rowan Tree Hostel

In its current life it is a comfortable hostel providing centrally located accommodation to visitors from far and wide, and is my base for the first stage of my Irish adventure.

So, it's from here that I set off on my first morning, headed for Carrigaholt, on the Loop Head Peninsula, by the Shannon River.  My purpose is to take part in the Famine Walk, commemorating the lives of the 41West Clare people who drowned in the Cammoge ferry disaster in December 1849.
The people were famine victims, starving and desperate, and had walked miles from their homes to catch the ferry across Poulnasherry Bay to Kilrush where they sought assistance at the Workhouse.  Unfortunately, they were turned away and with no alternative they were forced to return to their homelands.  Catching the last ferry of the day, they set out on the return journey, but misfortune struck only metres from the opposite shore, when the overcrowded and unseaworthy ferry capsized and sank.  In their poorly clad and emaciated state, they were no match for the harsh winter conditions, and if they didn't immediately drown they would have rapidly succumbed to hypothermia.

The Famine Walk began last year as part of the activities planned when Kilrush hosted the 2013 National Famine Commemoration.  The walk followed in the footsteps of those lost, and a memorial was erected on the shore at Cammoge.  It is anticipated that the walk will become an annual event as part of the Loop Head Walking Festival which takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

We set off from Carrigholt as a group of 12 or so, under the guidance of Michael O'Connell, a fountain of knowledge on the Cammoge incident and on all things local - both historical and contemporary. After completing 11 or 12 kilometres, passing through locations with names familiar to me from family tales, we were compelled to abandon the walk just a kilometre or so  from the endpoint, when we were caught in an absolute deluge of rain.  Help was called for and very soon 3 cars arrived to carry us back to Carrigaholt where we retired to the Long Dock restaurant and warmed up with some delicious food and good company.

Wonderful to meet up with Paddy Waldron too, after an email correspondence of a couple of years.  Paddy is, I am convinced, related or connected to every single person in or from Ireland!

And so, back to Ennis, to meet up with Larry Brennan with whom I collaborated on the Waterpark booklet project, and an enjoyable hour or so spent with him over the afore-mentioned pint.