Ireland Trip - Last Day and back to Dublin Airport

For my final day, I was hoping to squeeze in a few more interesting sites.

The Glenveagh Castle at Glenveagh National Park.

  

I was there early for the tour, so I was able to walk along the grounds and part of the park for a while. It is an interesting place, and since October is the off season it was quiet and you could just look and reflect. 

Next was the Dunfanaghy Workhouse. 

  

The tour tells of a woman Hannah who spent some time in the workhouse during the famine years. This was around the same period my great great grandparents and family left and settled in the US.

My flight was for the next morning but due to poor planning I didn't realize I'd need to be on the road at by 3 AM to get to the airport. Besides, I would rather be able to see the countryside and any interesting places to stop rather than drive in the dark so I decided to leave that afternoon.

Not long after heading out I came to I think the village of Dunfanaghy  With it being cold and rainy the beach was deserted. 

Along the way I saw many ruins like this. Unfortunately, most I couldn't see a way to stop and explore. This was one of the larger ones and from the window to the left on the first picture, I'm guessing it was a church. 

It would be fun to research these buildings, find out how old they were and who lived in and around the area back then, but that's a project for another day.

There were a lot of other things I wanted to do but didn't have the time. I'll definitely need to come back someday.

Ireland Trip - Day 11

There were quite a few things I wanted to see and do in the area, unfortunately I wasn't able to get to all of them. Many of these historical markers and objects were out of the way on non-paved roads or trails. It had rained almost every day of my trip so far, I decided not to go after dark since I didn't see any lights at most of the places and didn't want to get my car stuck anywhere with poor phone reception.

My first stop was the Coughaneely Stone.

The legend is that this is the stone on which Balor, the one-eyed mythical king of nearby Tory Island, decapitated the local chieftain, Mac Aneely.

Next I stopped by the ruins of the late medieval Tullaghobegley Church and graveyard.

The birthplace of Saint Columba 521-597

As I did this I wandered around and just took in the scenery. The pictures really don't do it justice.

I really wanted to hike or bike this mountain and area.

I'll just need to come back someday.

Ireland Trip - Day 10

This was my final day to do research in Ireland. I visited the Donegal County Library in Letterkenny. It was about a 45 minute drive from Falcarragh.

I didn't find anything about my family but did a lot of reading on the area and its history. I also found several more names to look into to see if there is any relationship.

After finishing at the library I did a little self-guided walking tour. I'll definitely plan to come back here someday and spend a little more time.