Gráinne O'Malley, St Patrick and Matt Molloy

We covered off three Irish legends today, paying tribute to Gráinne O'Malley, the so called "Pirate Queen" of Ireland, Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, and Matt Malloy, member of the Chieftains since 1979.

Gráinne Mhaol (Grace O'Malley) is a well known figure in 16th century Irish history. Grace's family were based in Clew Bay and her father was Chief of the Clan Ó Mháille (O'Malley). It's likely that Grace lived on Clare Island as a child. After her marriage and the subsequent death of her husband she became leader of the clan and built a reputation as a fierce warrior and pirate queen, forcing ships entering Clew Bay to pay their way or have their cargoes seized. It is the stuff of legend that in late 1593 Grace met with Queen Elizabeth 1 at Greenwich Palace to seek her recompense for land taken from her by the English invaders and to secure the freedom of her sons. Apparently the records show that the Queen acceded to her demands! From then on you can imagine how the facts and folklore about Grace O'Malley have been embellished down through the ages.

We drove west along the edge of Clew Bay this morning as far as Roonah Point Quay and caught the 10.45 O'Malley's (of course) Fast Ferry across to Clare Island where it guards the entry to Clew Bay to this very day.

It took barely 15 minutes to cross the bay to this remote island. It has a tiny population of around 138 people (2022 census) - but many more sheep than people from what we could see.

Right near the quay is the remnants of one of Grace O'Malley's castles (just the tower).

Tourism is undeveloped on Clare Island. A few people well set up for hiking came over on the ferry with us but there is very little information available on the island, few marked tracks and NO COFFEE or food available today. There are quite a few things of interest on the island - the Clare Island Abbey where the O'Malleys are buried, the old Lighthouse and a number of archeological points of interest. They all involved l-o-n-g hikes however so we decided to do a shorter walk (4klm) to try to see as much of the eastern end of the island as we could before the return ferry left at 1.00pm.

Looking over towards Achill Island from the northern side of the island.

We left Clare Island to the remaining O'Malleys, on the 1.00pm ferry.

Driving back along the edge of Clew Bay towards Murrisk. we got a relatively clear sighting of the summit of Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy mountain - with a little tiny speck of white at the top where the summit rim meets the cloud cover - a far off view of the little white church at the top of the mountain - St Patrick's Oratory. Apparently the church is repainted each Spring (after the hard winter) and it was really glowing white today (though not all that obvious in this photo!). 

We stopped in Murrisk and joined the other pilgrims for a little while in their ascent of the holy mountain.

In pre Christian days the mountain was a focus of ritual and harvest festivals, later becoming associated with Saint Patrick, who is supposed to have spent 40 days fasting on the summit (in 441AD) as part of his effort to convert Ireland to Christianity. Here on the mountain St Patrick is credited with driving snakes and demons out of Ireland into the sea.

Up to 40,000 pilgrims climb this mountain every year, taking up to 3-4 hours on a rough stony path that has significantly degraded over the years. On the last Sunday in July each year over 25,000 pilgrims climb "The Reek" where they honour Saint Patrick by celebrating mass at the summit. Some pilgrims still climb barefoot or on hands and knees apparently - ouch!!!

We walked up to this point today  - taking around 30-40 minutes ...... but still with a long way to go. Even at this point it was tricky getting back down, balancing on the steep incline with its loose rocks and wet surfaces.

We got a great view though of the 365 islands in Clew Bay - one for every day of the year. Apparently John and Yoko bought one of these islands back in 1981 - intending to use it as an escape from their hectic life. Unfortunately that was not to be!

And one last view out to beautiful Achill Island from Croagh Patrick.

The National Famine Memorial is in this small park on the bay in the village of Murrisk. The sculpture is based on the so called "coffin ships" which many Irish people ended up on as they tried to escape the ravages of the famine. The images up close are horrific and we just wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible. We both thought the  memorial to the famine victims in the churchyard we visited at Ardess near Enniskillen was much more sensitive, sad and thought provoking.

Matt Malloy is just one of many legendary Irish musicians. Matt plays the Irish flute (among other instruments) and in 1979 was invited to join the renowned Dublin band the Chieftains. He also owns a pub in Westport - the iconic Matt Malloy's. There's live music here every night and many musicians have recorded live sessions here too over the years. Famously, Joe Biden even visited Matt Malloy's one night in 2016 to enjoy a live music session. (Joe Biden has family connections to County Mayo.)

We enjoyed a pint at Matt Malloy's tonight - and a good long chat with another couple travelling Ireland like we are. A big crowd gathered as the night wore on - so crowded in this tiny pub, it even got uncomfortable....

...and then the music started - which was wonderful.

Our little cottage is near the Westport Quay - which was looking very pretty late this evening.

I took this pic of our Airbnb cottage earlier today between rain showers. Although it's newish it fits in really well with the ivy covered stone (bigger) cottages along this road.