9th July 2024

Hi,

After about four years of stalled planning, I finally got around to visiting Eileen, a friend of over thirty years in the County Westmeath in the Republic of Ireland.

Travelling with Catherine, another friend of fifty years (minimum), we flew from Glasgow to Dublin Airport on June 24th. Our destination was Moate in Westmeath.If you think of Dublin on the east coast and Galway on the west, County Westmeath is almost half way between in the Midlands. The bus journey to Moate was about two hours to from the airport. Thankfully the bus didn't just go along a boring motorway but passed through small towns such as Clonard, Kinnegad, Miltownpass, Tyrellspass and Horseleap some of which had colourful buildings and kept the interest up.

Moate is a small town with a population of about 3,000. I'm afraid to say that I didn't take any photos of the town as every day we were being whisked off elsewhere by our host and I only realised I hadn't taken any when I got back. However the town has a wide main street indicating that it was a market town. A good place to stay!

We did a lot of driving about and I'll mainly let the photos do the talking but will highlight a few places that we visited which you might want to consider if you are in the area.

We spent a bit of time in Athlone, the nearest city with a population of just over 20,000 and situated on the banks of the River Shannon. There is a Castle and the Church of St Peter and Paul's. We didn't go into the castle but were told it was a good experience.

The countryside around this part of Leinster is flat and mainly rich arable land. To get some perspective we gained some height and took in views over Lough Ree.

We took a day trip into the nearby County of Offaly. We drove out to Charleville Castle but just missed the guide tour, which is the only way of getting in. It is a 19th Century Gothic pile which looks derelict, but apparently it has an amazing interior. We had dinner (recommended) at Kinnitty Castle Hotel in the Slieve Bloom Mountains, the only time we climbed any serious hills!

I suppose the major tourist attraction we visited was the Clonmacnoise Monastic site, a spectacular ancient collection of buildings and gravestones on the banks of the Shannon. It was founded in 544. We took the guided tour which is well worth it if you visit. The camera was very busy!

Anyway, although we did see a bit of the Midlands, the main impetus for the trip was to visit Eileen on her home patch for an overdue catch up. Thanks are due to Imelda for the use of her house and to Morgan and Kate for visits to their family homes. Most of all a big shout out to Eileen, our 'host with the most' for hospitality shown.

I hope you enjoy the photos. I await corrections if I've got some place names or spelling wrong.

All the best

Murdo