2. Travel

Ireland 2009

At the end of June 2009, Patrick Rowley and his wife Ann organized yet another "pub crawl" of the southwest coast of Ireland ending with two days in Dublin. We left Dulles at 7:30 pm and arrived in Dublin at 7:30 am which was actually 7 hours later plus the 5 hour time difference. We immediately flew to Shannon arriving at 10:30 am and boarded othe tour bus with our driver/guide Martin Raft who was called Matthew. We didn't go to our hotel but rather headed immediately for the Cliffs of Moher where our adventure began...
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This is the steam engine that was only used on the occasions that the water wheel could not run the machinery (105 hp).
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This is the steam engine that was only used on the occasions that the water wheel could not run the machinery (105 hp).

John Locke Distillery MuseumKilbegganCounty WestmeathIrelandJohn Locke distillery

  • We had asked Matthew about peat bogs and turf bogs and the difference between them. He stopped the bus at this turf bog to give us a closer look. This is the "unhappy camper" who ran toward us yelling and screaming and waving his bog tool at us to clear off!
  • This is the same shot of the unhappy turf farmer in a bit wider perspective taken through the bus window as we pulled away in fear of our lives.
  • We had a second stop for a closer look with no farmer in sight.
  • We returned that evening to Westport. This is the river walk to the mall on Carrow Beg.
  • This is the pub at the Hotel Westport where we spent several evenings trying to outdo the Guiness Quality Team.
  • The next morning we were off to Dublin. We stopped along the way at Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, to have lunch (and a pint) at Locke's Pantry.
  • This was a photo of the hearth in the dining room where we had our fish and chips (and a pint or two).
  • After lunch we got down to serious business since we were told that the tour of the distillery included a tasting at the end.
  • John Locke Distillery Museum
  • This is the steam engine that was only used on the occasions that the water wheel could not run the machinery (105 hp).
  • This is a grist mill used to crack the barley. The top stone was raised as shown that the bottom stone could be resurfaced using the mallet with its metal tooth.
  • This is a mash tun where the cracked barley was mixed with hot water and stirred constantly producing the mother liquor.
  • This is the water wheel that ran all the machines in the distillery.
  • This is two of the three "pot" stills used to separate the alcohol from the mother liquor.
  • This shows the third "pot" still with two examples of a "continuous" still in copper.
  • This was a small working pot still in a room next to the barrel storage.
  • This is a shot of the barrel storage where the whiskey ages in used sherry or american whiskey (bourbon) barrels. We finished our tour with a taste of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey then on our way to Dublin where we checked into the Temple Bar Hotel.
  • The next morning we started out on foot to tour a bit of Dublin. This Henieken truck was pulling up the pub next to the Temple Bar Hotel to drop off some breakfast items.
  • The Liffey river with the four courts in the distance. On foot in Dublin.
  • The four courts on the river Liffey, Dublin.
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