Wrapping Things Up In County Mayo

On our last day in County Mayo's town of Westport, we thought we'd break down and see if an official "genealogical search" could be done on our ancestors at the "Clew Bay Heritage Centre."

No such luck, however, when we gave them the 1820's, 1830's, and 1840's dates. Their computer database of local records didn't go back that far---so, we saved 90 Euro (or $135) at least.

But we did get to view their museum of local artifacts and antiques.

An interesting collection, especially considering it is an all volunteer, all donated operation.

Since we weren't having any luck with pinning down more details on the Prendergast's, we decided to take a little drive to the south to see if we could look up a Peter Keane who had ancestors coming from the Connemara region of northern County Galway where one of my "DNA" matches also came from.

The sky was overcast most of the day, but the rain held off until later in the afternoon.

We even saw a field of hay being made "the old-fashioned way," by stacking it in the fields for drying, then harvesting it later, still in loose piles.

We got to Tourmakeady to look for Peter Keane at his mineral water bottling plant. We found the "Fior Uisce" plant, but no Peter Keane and nothing going on at the plant. ("Uisce" is Gaelic for water and we assume "fior" is Gaelic for mineral or pure.)

We only got into an empty reception area and the other areas of the plant that we could see through the windows in the doors were at a standstill. Nobody came when we rang the service bell, even though the lights were all on in the area. 

We're thinking the plant might have shut down and is an indication of the economic troubles that Ireland and the United Kingdom are experiencing, just like in the USA. We may have been ahead of them by a bit, but now on the evening news, we are hearing the same economic concerns that we have in the USA.

Construction has slowed tremendously, jobs are not as available, and the government is expecting a 2.8 billion Euro shortfall for the year in tax revenues. People we've talked to in the area have similar concerns and noted a marked reduction in tourists as well.

So, with no luck at the bottling plant, we decided to get a closer look at the very large Lough Mask which is very nearby the little town of Tourmakeady.

In spite of what our cousin Margaret told us, based on her earlier travels in Ireland, we went ahead anyway down "a road with grass growing down the middle" which led to a boat launch and picnic area for Lough Mask.

It's a huge lake, so with the strong wind that was blowing, we didn't see much activity going on.

We did see one boat going out later on, but they seemed to be struggling against the wind. And the boats are quite substantial, not the lightweight, aluminum boats we would be fishing in.

This town of Tourmakeady is where Robert Shaw lived out his life, even though he was originally born and raised in Wales. He was the crusty old sea captain in the movie, "Jaws."

So, striking out a second time on the genealogy trail, we thought we'd swing by the "Ballintubber Abbey" on our way back to Westport.

Michael and Bridie told us to see it if we had the time. And this is the church where they were married.

And, wouldn't you know it, when we arrived there was a wedding ceremony just finishing up. We were told that the couple were originally from the area and had come back here to be married, even though they were both working in China.

We listened to a videotape that told the story of Ballytubber Abbey in the gift shop and were amazed that it is the longest continuously functioning Catholic Church in Ireland and probably the world. They have had services here since 1216 A.D., two hundred years before Columbus sailed to America.

After Cromwell and the British destroyed much of the structure and surrounding buildings, the parishioners continued to have services here without stopping---even after the huge roof had been burned off.

Now it is mostly restored. The "batismal font" below is believed to have been part of the original church. Every year on the last Sunday in July, pilgrims will walk 18 miles from this Abbey at Ballintubber to Croagh Patrick and then climb that small mountain.

In keeping with inflation and the stature of the facility, "penny candles" are 1 Euro here---but well worth it if we can stay free of accidents along the way.

Then we headed back to Westport to get a few groceries for our stay next week in an apartment in Salthill, a suburb of Galway City, followed by dinner and a swim and packing up for tomorrow morning's drive.

We aren't sure of the availability of internet services in the Galway City area, so if you don't hear from us right away, it's because we are still looking for a "cyber cafe," or, better yet, a "cyber pub."

Which reminds us of a story we heard about a young man by the name of Tony Mahoney who was renting a cottage in a small town near here where, as in most small towns, everybody knew everybody else's business. One night Tony drove his rental car to the local pub and really got to know some of the locals very well and tried to keep up with consuming the Guiness and buying a few rounds. So much so that Tony knew he shouldn't and couldn't drive even the short drive back to his cottage. So, he left his car there and walked home.

Well, the very next morning a well known busy body by the name of Mrs. Walters,  living a few blocks down the street from his cottage, stopped by, all serious looking and said, "I heard at Mass this morning that you were out at the pub last night and your car was seen there until all hours of the morning, and I'd like you to know that we don't think much of tourists who come here and drink to excess and give our town a bad name! Please see that it doesn't happen again."

And poor Tony, through his hangover and groggy head, apologized to the lady and said it surely would never happen again.

"Well, it better not," said the lady, "because you're the talk of the town now, and it will only get worse, until we'll be asking you to leave."

So, Tony walked back to the pub and picked up his car now that he was in a sober state. Then that evening, with no plans to get into the same trouble again, Tony drove his car down the road a few blocks and parked the car in front of Mrs. Walters house---and walked home. 

He couldn't wait to hear what the news would be at Mass the next morning.

So, maybe it's better you stay out of trouble too right where you are..."Left Behind In America."