Blacksod lighthouse, Céide Fields then Ballycastle - 10 May 2023

10 May 2023 - Blacksod lighthouse/Céide Fields visitor centre/Healy’s pub in Ballycastle

Yes, it was one of those moments - last night we walked into Mc Donnells pub - and everyone looked around! However, the natives were all friendly. Padraig comes and shakes your hand, asks where you’re from and says you’re very welcome. He also plays his guitar and sings along - a nice voice too. Seems to have a side kick who turns up the volume on the guitar, Tintin thinks he heard Padraig saying he wasn’t allowed whiskey - obviously a blighter when drunk! He did have stitches in his eyebrow too - we struggled to understand him!

€5 for a pint of the black stuff. It’s interesting - Tintin hasn’t had one single hangover from draught Guinness whilst here, yet sometimes even a half seems to poison him…

We didn’t stay that long, just wanted the experience. Apparently a lady called Siobhan from Belmullet has been working in Guernsey for decades in hospitality - tried to Facebook stalk her, but couldn’t find her!

Dave was rocked around a fair bit last night, wind must have changed direction.

Tintin reluctantly relinquished control of driving - so me today. Over 2 hours in total.

First, quick stop at Trá Oilí - once again would be great in the right weather!

Then 30 minutes drive down (or out!) to Blacksod Lighthouse. Pleasantly surprised by the quality and width of road! The lighthouse is an iconic landmark and an important navigational aid for ships in the area. It was originally built in 1864 and consisted of a granite tower with a height of 14 meters (46 feet). It was designed to guide ships safely through the waters and warn them of the treacherous rocky coastline. The lighthouse was manned by keepers until it was automated in 1988.

In recent history, Blacksod Lighthouse gained significant attention during World War II. On June 3, 1944, it played a crucial role in weather forecasting for the D-Day landings in Normandy, France. The weather reports from Blacksod Lighthouse helped General Dwight D. Eisenhower decide to postpone the invasion by one day, thus influencing the success of the operation.

Blacksod Lighthouse continues to operate as an active aid to navigation, using modern automated technology.

There was a tour for school children going on, and we managed to listen in for a while. The man doing the tour was the grandson of Ted & Maureen Sweeney, the people who helped change the course of history. Our landlord from last night said that Ted has died, but his wife is still alive - she’s 97 - and he knows all this being the resident undertaker!

On the way whilst driving we saw a hare! No picture - whizzed by in a blink of an eye. Also, whilst on the train out of Galway last week I saw two foxes which totally surprised me.

We then tried to park at Céide Fields Visitor Centre - did think it strange there wasn’t much parking - I’d had to reverse park up a little lane - when we went in, we were advised of our error - and moved to a bigger carpark around the corner - oops!

Anyway €9 admission for us both. We were there for a couple of hours in the end. Preserved beneath a blanket bog, this area is the most extensive Neolithic site in Ireland, containing the oldest known field systems - dating back nearly 6,000 years.

We quickly tagged onto an outside tour. Very chilly in that wind! And then it started to rain again, so went back to Dave for lunch - then returned to complete the interactive visitor experience.

The pine tree in the centre of the building is over 4,300 years old!

Maybe it’s one of those places you had to be there - but it was quite interesting and hopefully if you click on the notice boards you’ll find out more!

Especially like the layers of soil analysis and interpretation of how old trees are!

Our next destination - Downpatrick Head kept coming and going from view due to the weather - so will visit tomorrow.

We’re off to the pub again tonight! At a place called Healy’s with a beer garden out the back and space for a couple of mohos. The food gets excellent reviews - will report back 🙂

Did have to smile this morning - we were reading Jason & Julie’s blog - Our Tour. They were the ones many years ago that Tintin used to read about, touring around in their old moho called Dave. When we eventually bought our moho many years later - it just had to be called Dave, as Tintin had spoken about their blog so much! Anyway, they’re currently in Ireland - starting off at Kinsale like we did, already re-evaluating how much of the WAW they can do, and really complaining about the roads - to the extent that Jason’s back is hurting. Would be lovely to actually meet up with them - Tintin has messaged them a couple of times - but they haven’t replied yet!