County Donegal, Ireland – August 15-18, 2024
In 1970, at the age of three, Ken made his first trip from Chicago back “home” to Donegal. We say “home” because for his parents, Patrick and Eileen, County Donegal in Ireland was home, literally. Ken’s parents hail from Ballyshannon (Dad) and Laghey (Mom). It is these two places that Ken would return to every summer for the next 15 years, and then again for college in 1985/86 and with his own family in 2002 and 2006. Then life took over and we didn’t return until this past week, eighteen years later. We also call it “home,” because when Ken sees his family in Ireland for the first time on returning, they never say “Welcome to Ireland” or “Welcome to Donegal.” They always say, “Welcome home.”
Many things have changed over the years. When he first went “home” most of the houses didn’t have a TV, then over the years the occasional black and white TV would appear. None of the houses ever had a phone. There may have been a phone box in town if you needed one in an emergency. Now everyone has cell phones. To chase away the darkness of night, we used to use an oil lamp or in later years a gas (propane cylinder) lamp. Today, every house has electricity. Back in the day, homes were heated with a (turf/peat) fire in the fireplace or in the Stanley range. If there wasn’t a fire “on” then there was no heat and no hot water. Today homes have central heating. We used to have to walk to the spring well in a nearby field and carry buckets of water back to the house for drinking, cooking, or bathing. Today water is readily available with just the turn of a tap. These are just a small sampling of the changes that have taken place over the past 50 years. But, in all these years, one thing hasn’t changed; the warm Irish welcome. The hearty handshake or hug, the smile of a family member, and the “Welcome home” greeting that was heard…this hasn’t changed. Nothing will make your heart happy like a warm cup of tea, some biscuits (cookies), and brown bread while sitting around catching up on life and meeting new additions to the family.
Our trip to Donegal took us down all the old backroads where Ken walked, worked and played back in the day. It brought us past the remains of homes where family used to live, and past homes where new families have taken over. Our travels took us to several grave yards where seeing your family name on the headstone makes your heart heavy, and yearn for just one more chat, and just one more cup of tea, one more story or one more tall tale. There are no more aunts and uncles living in Donegal, but many cousins and second cousins help to carry on the family and fill the void.
There is way more to Ireland than County Cork or County Mayo; way more than Dublin, the Blarney Stone, and the Cliffs of Moher. There is Donegal and though we are biased, you just haven’t lived yet, if you haven’t experienced the incredible rugged mountain views, the peaceful ocean tides, and the hairpin turns and twisting backroads that make Donegal “home.”
Someone once said, “Home is where your heart is.” This honestly couldn’t be more true for Ken as Donegal is definitely where his heart is.
“There’s no place else on earth just like, the Homes of Donegal”
This is St Brigid’s Church in Ballintra, County Donegal. This is the church where Ken’s Mom and Dad were married.
A side view of St Brigid’s Church. In Ireland, the locals are buried in the graveyard at the church where they belong.
We walked along the strand of the beach at Rossnowlagh, County Donegal. This is on the west coast of Ireland and that water is the North Atlantic Ocean.
Another view of the beach at Rossnowlagh. When Ken was a kid, he and his cousins spent hours at this beach.
The OG – KCMSBSL
A view of the beach from where we were looking for a geocache. It was a DNF (Did Not Find).
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Friary, in Rossnowlagh. It is, and always has been, run by the Franciscan Friars.
Inside the Franciscan Friary.
A better view of Creevy Pier. If you zoom in you can see steps going down into the Atlantic where there is a guy taking a dip!!
Ken’s absolute most favorite place on earth…Creevy Pier in the townland of Creevy, Ballyshannon. Today the sea was calm. But it is an AMAZING place to be when the sea is rough and angry. Ken’s Dad used to go swimming off of this pier when he was a kid.
The “fences” between the fields in Ireland are made from stones that tenant farmers pulled from the rocky fields so they could plant crops hundreds of years ago. The walls are intricately built. Just think of all the labor and hours it took to clear the land of the stones and build the walls. The walls now define the plot of land on legal records. It is illegal to remove the stone walls.
OK…Just one more!
The remnants of a home that used to be the home of one of Ken’s relatives.
The back strands at Mullinasole. Ken has first cousins who live just down the road from this place. Imagine!!!
This is a panoramic photo of the land where Ken’s mom was raised. At one point there was only one home on this property and it had a thatched roof. Unfortunately, the chimney caught on fire and led to the roof burning off. Then a new home was built in front of the “old house”. Today, other relations of Ken’s have built homes on the land. It is absolutely a little slice of Heaven on Earth!!
This is the view from the roadside along where Ken’s family lives in Trummon East, Laghey.
This is Rio looking back on us as we walked up the lane to the “old” house.
This is a “Famine Pot” from the days of the “Great Hunger” or “Great Potato Famine”. Even though the Irish tenant farmers crops were ruined, the English landlords had no mercy and still evicted them from their homes. Then, apparently from a tinge of conscience, they decided to offer a hot soup once a day. Unfortunately, too little, too late.
No relation to Ken, but this pub is in Donegal Town which would be the main shopping area for some of Ken’s family.
This is the “Atlantic Guest House” in Donegal Town. This is where we stayed while visiting Donegal. The room was perfect and the breakfasts were OUTSTANDING! It turns out that the owner was the flower girl at Kens’ cousin’s wedding 50 years ago!!
A typical rural Irish lane. This one passes through Ken’s family’s land.
These are some of the recently sheered sheep owned by Ken’s second cousin.
