Westport

We took our leave of Gurteen (we thought) and headed out to see megalithic tombs at Carrowkeel. We had been told this was a bit of hike. It was a long hike, but really worth it. We walked very high on top of a hill to see three on 21 megalithic tombs. They are all around on top of the hills. Pretty amazing. They are older than the pyramids. Although it was a foggy and misty day, we had terrific views all around. Very much worth the time and effort.

Friendly Sheep on the Way Up Carrowkeel

Megalithic Tomb

We got back on the road and headed for Westport. We can call these days in Ireland “Burning Up the N5.” We got to our B and B, which was just a couple block from the centre. We walked around for a while and scouted out dinner and music. We had a “Stick with Rick” dinner at a place called Mangoes, which was excellent - beautiful fish/seafood. Then we went and hung out at Matt Molloy’s to wait for music. We got there around 8:30, claimed two seats in the music room and ordered a couple half pints of Guinness. Mine was Guinness and Black, which is Guinness with blackcurrant juice, Yum! Learned it from the Australians in Gurteen.

Matt Molloy is the flutist with the Chieftans, and he started this pub a few years ago. He wasn’t there, but we figured that’s a good pedigree to attract really good players. Even our twenty-something server at the restaurant said, “Matt Molloy’s” when we said we were looking for music. It got crowded and more crowded. People were coming and going to two other spots beyond the room - a smokers place and another outside bar. (The weather was finally turning for the better. It rained all summer in Ireland. Everyone talked about it everywhere we went.) We were perched on two stools right on the edge of where everyone walked. My knees touched stranger’s body parts in unexpected ways. Eventually, the musicians started arriving. When they were all gathered, there were two boxes (accordions), two bhodrans (drums), three fiddles, and a guitar. The lead fiddler started a tune and then they all joined in. It was grand. We are so happy we took the time to do this. A great experience.


We got in late to our B and B after a truly wonderful evening.