A pause for thought during the merryment.

Steptoe

What a waste.
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Due to unforeseen circumstances , i was still asleep when the rideouts departed ( i also missed breakfast). So i rested until the afternoon, and went out for ride around Achill Island on my lonesome.

Lots to see with stunning views and scenery, but something i noticed as i went past, made me stop and turn back. The ruins of a small church, and the old cemetry.

I then spent nearly an hour looking around, reading and reflecting on what had happened out there in the sea off Achill Island .

32 youngsters had drowned in 1894, out in the sound. And here were the graves and memorial stone, in a In a place that most people just drive straight past.
Also 10 other youngsters who were all burned to death in a tragic accident in a scottish brohey .

Behind the ruins of the church was an area with the graves of all the victims of the potatoe famine.

All only 10 minutes from the hotel.








A very haunting and sobering place, and i got more from the experiance than i get on a rideout.






Anyway, thats enough reflecting, lets get on and see all the fun pictures.
 
Steptoe said:
A very haunting and sobering place.
Thanks for posting those Neil, they capture the atmosphere. Some distant relatives there too.

Regards, Mick
 
Well mentioned Steptoe, we put up witrh a bit of rain for a couple of days (yeah I know oi moaned about but I am old n senile) and (most!) went home to a compy warm house.

Some people just were not that lucky.
 
Did you see the Gravestone of the Shepherd who went over the cliff with his flock......?........ :confused:
 
I'd like to thank wilkel ( Willie) for putting me onto some history of the events that happened.

Kildamhnait on the south east coast of Achill is named after St. Damhnait, or Dymphna, who founded a church there in the 16th century. There is also a holy well just outside the graveyard. The present church was built in the 1700's and the graveyard contains memorials to the victims of two of Achill's greatest tragedies, the Kirchintilloch Fire (1937) and the Clew Bay Drowning (1894).

Railway Line to Achill
In 1894, the Westport - Newport railway line was extended to Achill Sound. The train station is now a hostel. The train provided a great service to Achill, but it also fulfilled an ancient prophecy. Brian Rua O' Cearbhain had prophesied that 'carts on iron wheels' would carry bodies into Achill on their first and last journey. In 1894, the first train on the Achill railway carried the bodies of victims of the Clew Bay Drowning. This tragedy occurred when a boat overturned in Clew Bay, drowning thirty two young people. They had been going to meet the steamer which would take them to Scotland for potato picking.

The Kirkintilloch Burning Disaster in 1937 fulfilled the second part of the prophecy, when the bodies of ten victims were carried by rail to Achill. These people had died in a fire in a 'bothy'. This term referred to the temporary accommodation provided for those who went to Scotland to pick potatoes. Young people from Achill spent their summers work in Scotland. Nowadays, most of the young people of Achill continue in school until they are 17 or 18, in one of the two post-primary schools and gain employment in modern high tech companies in Ireland and abroad.

See more HERE
 
Now I know what you where discussing. . . . .
 

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