On Wednesday, despite the cold and rain, I set out for Enniscorthy. This is a very short trip - just 20 minutes down the road. I had driven around and through on my way to somewhere else so the time had long since arrived to check it out.
It never ceases to amaze me how towns so close together can be so different. Of course the topography determines a lot of how towns develop. I thought Bunclody was hilly but it can't hold a candle to Enniscorthy. The trusty GPS was called into service because of the twists and turns, on hills, that I could never figure out while trying to drive and still read signs. However, the voice from the box, sometimes sounds quite urgent when she says "turn right". Usually I try to turn at the next corner. That's not usually the right place to turn. Unless I consult the map on the device I don't see that it's meant to be 200 meters down the road. I've seen some very nice streets and side roads because of these turns.
With the directions set for the 1798 Rebellion Centre I was determined to find out the stories behind what happened. As the museum says quite directly, it is an interpretation. The interpretation seemed pretty open-minded to me. The incredible conditions under which the mostly Catholic population was suffering, finally impelled them to action. Their weapons were muskets and pike staffs. These could hardly compare with the weapons of the British Forces they opposed.
I will have to do further reading to be able to recount what built over time to be a full uprising. It is heart-wrenching to hear what prisoners suffered - men, women and children - when captured by those loyal to the crown. Forms of torture I would never have imagined were employed to force confessions and revelation of plans.
If you have the opportunity, do visit this centre. You will be impressed with the vibrant presentations which recount this unfortunate (vastly understated) period of Irish history.
When I was ready to leave for a visit to the castle I had planned to walk and get my exercise on the hilly streets. The cold and rain made me rethink that plan. I managed to find parking at Dunne's and decided that my first stop would be to purchase a pair of gloves. I managed to lose the left glove of my only pair. Too bad that neither I nor whoever finds it, can benefit. The search for a replacement pair proved more challenging than expected.
This being Spring, officially, in anticipation of good weather, gloves are no longer being sold in most stores. It's cold, near freezing here and below freezing in other places not too far away. Gloves are a necessity. I went from store to store, in the wind and rain and stopped into a thrift shop. One of the customers overheard my request and said to try DV8 which was right around the corner. Finally some gloves - black fuzzy chenille with large mixed brown cuffed gloves. At least they are reasonably warm, even if they barely fit under the cuffs of my coat. Beggars can't be choosers.
Gloves on hands, I decided to find a hot bowl of soup for lunch. Enniscorthy has cafes and pubs and restaurants the way Seattle has Starbucks. If you have your eyes open you see many choices. I chose the one that was closest. That bowl of sweet potato and carrot soup tasted heavenly.
So fortified I proceeded to the castle. For the second time that day I was the only visitor - or at least the only visitor in any space I occupied. At the 1798 Rebellion Centre I got to listen at every single audio stop. At the castle there was nobody to block my view. And when I got back to the information desk, there were no other tourists. After chatting for a while with the guide, while we waited for the other person on duty to return to staff the desk, he decided I'd waiting long enough. He put up a "back in 5 minutes" sign on the front door and we took the elevator to the second floor. Somewhere in the world there is possibly a slower elevator. It's not anywhere I've ever been. They even have a sign with previous visitors' comments about the (lack of) speed. ex. "I should have put my affairs in order", "I should have brought a book" and other such remarks. Eventually we arrived. I think my hair was a quarter of an inch longer when we got out. Then it was up the stairs to the third floor and out onto the roof. It was worth the long build up - photographically and in terms of the views. You could get a real appreciation of the locations of the various forces back in 1798. Vinegar Hill loomed right there.
My walk back to the car was mostly downhill, steeply, to the river. It was supposed to be about 40 yards to Dunne's. Make that 400+ yards - somewhat uphill. Ah well, it was worth the trip. The drive home was uneventful.
Today it was bright and sunny - when I left here about 10 am. Of course when I tried to return my book to the library I found that it opened at 10:30 today. Grrr. They have no book drop. I had to wait until the return trip and did manage to return it after 5.
So - the destination du jour was Holycross Abbey. It is in Tipperary. Near Thurles. I'd almost gone there on the weekend. Good move to go to Avoca instead at that time. I didn't have company today and it would have been nice to have someone riding shotgun and also keeping an eye out for photo-worthy scenes.
The weather once again changed every few minutes. That old saying that if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change, was true again today. Once past Kilkenny I decided to turn the opposite way from what the very patient GPS was "suggesting". It told me to turn left at an intersection. There was a sign to Thurles pointing right. I turned right. Great choice.
To my surprise, on the distant hills there was snow. I was later to find out that there was quite a bit of snow around Thurles yesterday. It has melted in town - the hills still look ready for skiers. There was also a rainbow, over a field of sheep. I had to get that on film. That was my fourth rainbow in three days. Still could not get to the end, although I was close yesterday, so missed the pot of gold again.
Thurles, was supposed to be merely a waypoint on the way to the abbey. It's a very busy town and has an immense and beautiful church. I pulled into the churchyard, which turned out to be a great place to park. Turns out that was the church that my Loughnane ancestors would have attended. Just down the street I found the public library, in a lovely new building alonside the Suir river. It has a genealogy section. It has very helpful staff. It has some unique resources. What it doesn't have is any information that would have given me more information about the Loughnanes. Such records don't exist. They have some records dating back to the 1600s - but one simply can't jump 200 years and figure you've got the same family. Ah well - having been assured that I've found as much as I'm ever likely to find, I went away happy.
Then I drove the last few miles to Holycross Abbey. Wow! It is immense. Much of it is in ruins but the abbey itself has been well restored and is an active parish church. I got to meet the parish priest who happened to walk into the office as I was chatting with the receptionist. Lovely folks. Fr Tierney just happened to have a book of the old church records in his hand. Sadly it was of no help - wrong church and the records started too late for my search.
I stopped briefly at the Abbey Inn Pub and asked directions to Cabragh, the town land of the Loughnanes. Fr Tierney had said that it is now more or less on the edges of Thurles and once was the site of one of only four sugar (beet) factories, a couple of centuries before. That's all gone now. However, a friendly chap in the pub said to follow his car and he pointed out the Cabragh wetlands and the area around the former factory. So - I have pictures of the townland. Much of it is swampy and the rest is light industrial.
By that time I had to head back home. Tonight is story-telling at St Aiden's hall down the street. I find that a lovely evening. It's cosy around the fire and the stories and music are great. And so ends another day.
Pictures at another time.
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