We live for early mornings… Well, we live for the experiences early mornings bring. Our most recent trip began at 7 AM and took us to four different places, so I’m splitting this one into two posts!
Stop 1: Mullingar
A while back, I was perusing an Ireland guidebook (thanks, Diane!) and came across a mention of Fleadh Cheoil (often just called the Fleadh – pronounced “flah”), the largest traditional music festival in Ireland. I, of course, made note of it, knowing it’d be something Tim would probably enjoy. This year, the Fleadh was in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, in the Irish midlands, and from Armagh, without a car, it’s not the easiest place to get to.
We got the 8 AM bus to Dublin – I packed coffee in my bag – grabbed the 11 AM train to Mullingar, and were at the Fleadh by early afternoon. Tim had booked the Wednesday evening concert, and we planned to wander the festival, taking in the atmosphere all afternoon. Though the festival ran for a week and around a half million people were expected to visit during that time, things were pretty quiet on Wednesday afternoon. Most of the buskers were children, and though some of the high school groups were good, they weren’t of the caliber I had heard in Dublin or would be hearing in Galway. And though I had read something about food trucks somewhere, we only saw a few, and they were selling hot dogs. No thanks!
We did, however, grab some drinks (Tim had a cider and I had a bubble tea 🙃) and listened to Fieldsy, accompanied by two musicians, on the public stage. In a bid to kill the time until dinner, we sat in Adoration for a while. Then Tim and I parted ways; he was after some Chinese takeout, and I wanted a salad.
The 7 PM concert was held in the Cathedral of Christ the King; it was odd to hear trad music performed in a Catholic Church – it gave the place a whole new atmosphere.
Téada, a traditional Irish band performed first. The five men (on fiddle, accordion, flute, guitar, and bodhrán) were accompanied by a young woman who played the piano and did a bit of Irish dancing. Séamus Begley, who’s apparently well known here, sang a few songs with the band as well. Good music and a great example of the Irish sound, but after two or three songs, it all sounded the same to me. 😅
Ímar, a group from Glasgow, Scotland, was up next, and this is where all the fun was! The five (playing bodhrán, bouzouki, concertina, uilleann pipes, and fiddle) had a TON of energy, and Mohsen (on the concertina) was throwing his head all over the place – he could’ve had whiplash by the end of the concert! Fun fact: uilleann piping is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. They ended their selection with “Be Thou,” their rendition of “Be Thou My Vision,” a hymn based on an Irish poem and traditionally sung to the Irish folk tune, “Slane.” I would definitely recommend giving it a listen!
lisztomania (n): the need to listen to music all the time
Then we made haste to our Airbnb – we were lucky and got one of the last available – to prepare for another early morning. We were both glad to have gone to the Fleadh, if only for the chance to hear Ímar play “Be Thou” and to experience the way time seemed to stop as you fell into their music.
Stop 2: Galway
The 7:45 AM bus took us to Athlone, where we grabbed the 9 AM train to Galway (after the station master tried to convince us we missed it, despite being 20-30 minutes early). After dropping our bags off at the hostel and getting a cup of coffee (anyone notice a pattern here? 😅), we joined a “free” walking tour of the city. For “free” tours like these, no money is paid upfront; instead, you’re expected to “tip” the guide after the tour based on how well you think they did.
Roisin (pronounced Rosheen) showed us around the city and told us about the history and legends of Galway’s 14 tribes who ruled the city in medieval times. Apparently, the people of Galway also like to move things for no reason. A castle wall was moved across town. Railings from the city green were moved to St. Nicholas Church, and a wall was moved two meters further from the road. Why? Who knows. 🤷♀️ Columbus may have been in Galway at one point, and those from Galway like to claim the Irish wolf hound the city gave him made it to the New World before he did.
After the tour, we:
- Grabbed lunch at Lidl (Yes, we’re cheap; no, we’re not sorry. Besides, they have the best scones you can buy for 40¢ 😋)
- Visited the Claddagh museum – this was just a small exhibition in one of the city’s old jewelry shops, one that claims one of the earliest of the Claddagh ring makers
- Visited the Galway City Museum, which added to our knowledge of Celtic history
- Walked the Long Walk (which is actually very short)
- Walked to Salt Hill
In Salt Hill, we visited Micil (mick-il) Distillery for a tour. They’re known for their poitín, which is sometimes referred to as “Irish moonshine.” The family had been distilling the stuff illegally since 1848 and up until 1997 when making it became legal. Now, the stuff is distilled in big fancy pot stills, so it’s quite smooth and mixes well with Poacher’s ginger beer – they call it a Micil Mule.
We were the only ones on the tour, so we had a very personalized and fun experience. Tom, our host, let us in on all the family secrets (including how Micil sold his poitín to the police), showed us into the distillation room, and poured us a taste of everything on the shelf.
The Heritage Poitín smelled of peat (which was unique) and burned my throat going down. Tim enjoyed it immensely, though he also likes whiskey, and I don’t. Because of this, Tim tasted their whiskey as well; I passed. They also have a gin, flavoured with botanicals from Connemara, but after the “no empty glasses” policy at the Listoke gin school, neither of us finished the gin and tonics he poured us. (We liked the Listoke better anyway… That experience is an Instagram-only post.) The real star of the show, however, was their Irish cream. They found a way to make their grandmother’s recipe shelf stable; sweetened with honey and lightly spiced with poitín, it was perfectly creamy and sweet. We both thought it beat Bailey’s. They should be distributing to the US soon…
We walked off the alcohol on the way to Mass. The Galway Cathedral was completed in August 1965 and claims to be Europe’s youngest cathedral. We were both stunned by its beautiful interior and loved the way the evening light shone through the brightly colored stained glass. The ceiling was paneled in Californian red cedar and the floor was laid with Irish marble.
After Mass, we:
- Visited the quadrangle at the university. Roisin said it had Harry Potter vibes, so of course, I had to check it out!
- Had fish and chips for dinner, our first since being in Ireland. The fish was delicious, but the chips weren’t quite greasy enough – never thought I’d be saying that!
- Walked the pier to the lighthouse for what we hoped to be a spectacular sunset. The clouds blew in, so we only got a little bit of color, but we still got a beautiful sky!
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this trip!
Mullingar & Galway mile count: 22.7 miles
Mile count so far: 210.7 miles
The Logophile's Bookshelf 