The Ramblers visit God's Country in Erris

Finally, after much anticipation and preparation, Monday July the 8th, arrived bright, dry, with sunshine, but is now slowly slipping beneath a western sky. Many thanks to the twelve ramblers who travelled along the road trip route, for turning everyone's day into an enjoyable event.

The Barony of Erris, set along the Wild Atlantic Way, is a stunningly beautiful area of North Mayo, with many historical sights, such as the Lighthouses, St. Deirbhile's Well, in Fallmore townland as well as the newly opened Solas visitors Centre in the North Mayo Gaeltacht Village of Aghleam.

Our trip enthuastically began at 10am, arriving in Belmullet Town, for our first stop of the day. Appetites were satisfied in The Cake Queen Coffee Shop with lots of delicious food being consumed.

Resulting from our visit to Langan's Home and Garden Centre, several flowering plants of preference, found themselves chosen as suitable candidates for the position of living their best lives in their forever homes, embedded into Moygownagh's fertile garden soil.

Visiting Blackrock Lighthouse, we were entertained in an informational way, by a guide who had spent his childhood around the lifestyle and went on to serve as a keeper, which left him very knowledgeable in the workings of this profession. We discovered that this lighthouse was built in the mid 1800s at a cost of 2100 pound sterling by Bryan Carey. It's first light illuminated on June 30th 1866 and it became electronically operational on May 31st 1967. The Lighthouse has just celebrated the 80th anniversary of the D day landings of June 6th 1944, where weather predictions changed the course of W. W. 2. It housed the local post office from 1969 to 1972. In 1969 the Blacksod Lighthouse became a helicopter base for Eagle Island and Blackrock.

Our visit to St. Deirbhile's Well was a reminder of how grounded our ancestors were in their faith, their belief in myth and legend and their hopes for a better tomorrow.

As evening began to set in, our visit to Solas in Aghleam was shorter than some would prefer, but staff remained on duty to insure we got some experience of the work they promote. Through a talk and interactive video, it was brought home to me, who enjoys the lapping of the waves, at the sands edge of a shoreline, how deep and treacherous the throb of the ocean is, not so many miles from shore. We were made aware of the ultimate sacrifice volunteers like those of Rescue 116, who lost their lives supporting a mission off Blackrock on March 14th 2017, take each and every day, be it the launch of the lifeboats, or in days long gone, those families who spent weeks on end living in isolated conditions on Lighthouses far out to sea, similar to Eagle Island in the Barony of Erris, so that others may survive.

Thank you to Mary Heffron and Mary Mc Andrew for organising this trip, to our driver Anthony Molloy for looking after us so well in meeting our deadlines and giving us the space to enjoy each new adventure. As we wearly wound our way homewords, happy and content, we reflected upon a day well spent in the company of Friends and Neighbours.

Author: Pauline Mahon

Photo CREDIT: Anthony MOLLOY