Belclare Old Church, County Galway

May 3, 2018

“Silent is the slow march,
yet we do not walk alone,
too heavy is the coffin,
to simply be of bone.

A coldness builds and lingers
with every keening knell,
as we gift you to the sodden earth,
the gaping maws of hell.”

— Claire Loader

As a self-confessed taphophile I love a good cemetery, but this is one I won't be running back to. Sitting silently overlooking the small village of Belclare, just outside of Tuam, there is something oddly unnerving about the long walk up the slope to the waiting graves above, never mind the gaping hole sunk into the mountain at the back. It's not hard to imagine the reason for its replacement on the flat - if the steep incline didn't kill you before you got to the top, one false move thereafter would see you not return.

Find this eerie site along with the many other places I have visited here. Come explore with me…

Feartagar Castle, County Galway

April 4, 2018

“A gentle summer wind
kissed the waking stone
slipped among the ruins
whispered over bone.

It gathered then the echoes
that hid amidst the trees
and took them to the sky
to dance above the leas.”

— Claire Loader

Feartagar Castle is a beautifully preserved tower house nestled within the trees of the old Castlegrove Estate, just outside of Tuam. If you catch it on a good day, it feels like the sun slides right across the fields just to light up the main entrance and bath it in gold.

Find this site and many more here. Come explore with me…

Clonfert Cathedral, County Galway

March 8, 2018

“They say we are barbarians,
the harp our only grace,
yet I dare all those who see her,
to say no god dwells in this place.”

— Claire Loader

Nothing can really prepare you for the wonder that awaits at Clonfert Cathedral. Peeking through the gates of this now quiet ecclesiastical site, the eyes take a while to adjust - like stepping out of a dark room into sunlight - but my, when they do. One of the finest examples of Hyberno-Romanesque architecture in Ireland, the door of Clonfert is simply spellbinding. Had it been built before Brendan the Navigator was planning his adventures from that very spot, he would indeed have been hard pressed to leave it.

Find this gorgeous site and many more of my favourite places here. Come explore with me…

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