Ireland Other Destinations
Things that are not historical sites, pubs, general regions. Here you’ll find some of the glorious miscellanea that make up the rest of Ireland.
Glendeer Pet Farm
On Saturday we did something we’ve been meaning to do ever since the munchkin started pointing at furry four-footed creatures on the street and shouting, “DOGGIE!!!” we took her to the Glendeer Pet Farm, a child-oriented petting zoo just outside Athlone in County Roscommon.
The pet farm is one of the few in Ireland set up for a real hands-on experience with a wide variety of animals. Located just off the N6 motorway, it’s definitely worth a stop if you’re travelling with children on the Galway - Dublin route and are looking for a family activity to break up the trip.
Your €7/person admission gets you two brown bags of animal feed and access to a mostly free-ranging population of exotic and domestic animals.
Date: September 18th, 2007 |
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Athlone Video Retrospective
This is a video sent to me by Joseph Blake of the www.athlonelive.com forum showing a small retrospective and some modern pictures of Athlone town. Fair play to him. Enjoy:
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Date: August 24th, 2007 |
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New Playground in Athlone
As many a town centre parent will tell you, there’s not much for young children in the middle of Athlone.
Admittedly, there is a playground at Burgess Park on the southeast bank of the Shannon, but it consists of two slides and some monkey bars - pretty weak. To allow one’s child to swing, one would have to head out to the regional sports centre, which hardly anyone walks to as it’s nowhere near the main thoroughfare.
No longer! A new playground WITH SWINGS has just been finished on the Connaught side of town.
Date: July 25th, 2007 |
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Ballyhoura Mountain Biking Park to open next week
In February I posted a guide to mountain biking in Ireland wherein I mentioned Ireland’s first purpose-built mountain biking park was slated to open in summer of 2007.
Well, next week the long-awaited Ballyhoura site opens the first of three trails. This first trail is 16km of single-track, gentle climb stuff “not too technical” I was told over the phone. At the moment the trail is all but ready, it’s being signposted (with temporary signage) and will open as soon as that’s done.
By December the other …
Date: July 5th, 2007 |
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The thirsty traveller in Dublin and Waterford
Here is a travelistic piece featuring the Thirsty traveller visiting the Dublin Brewing Company and the Waterford Crystal factory.
Date: May 29th, 2007 |
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The Old Shamrock Bar
I love this old pub on Connacht Street here in Athlone. There’s something so poignant about its dereliction. Vacant shopfronts like this are fading fast - Athlone is a growing metropolis. Across the street from the old Shamrock Bar is a brand-new shopping/apartment complex.
Date: August 27th, 2007 |
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Roscommon IRA statue
Some time ago I wrote a post on Athlone’s IRA Statue. In my limited experience such a thing is quite rare, certainly at the centre of a major town like Athlone. Well, I was driving north through County Roscommon recently and came across the statue you see there to your left. I simply had to get out a snap a photo.
The difference between this and the Athlone brigade’s statue is not just size (the Roscommon one easily dwarfs its Athlone twin), nor is it location (the Roscommon statue is well outside any major town), but the fact that the Athlonian statue is a revolutionary era statue, specifically commemorating the soldiers who died between 1916-1922.
Date: July 25th, 2007 |
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Drumshanbo
I have a good friend with a boat which sometimes functions as his primary residence. The other week he rang me up needing a lift back down to Athlone from a little place called Drumshanbo.
Drumshanbo is mostly known to river and boat folk as it is located where the river Shannon meets Lough Allen, the third largest of the Shannon lakes. Other than that Drumshanbo is a quaint little town with a population under 1,000 people. It’s also freaking gorgeous. Rolling hills, pine and deciduous forest, rivers, lakes and spectacular natural scenery around old iron works and numerous walking trails.
Date: July 20th, 2007 |
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Athlone Viking Boat Tours
Ever ride on an animal-headed viking ship?
It’s one of those things most tourists miss. I don’t mean the vikings - their blonde hair and nordic features blended into the indiginous Irish population centuries ago - I mean spending some time on the river Shannon.
If you’re spending any time at all in Athlone during the warmer months and do not otherwise have access to a boat (or maybe even if you do), you really should spend part of your afternoon on the viking boat.
On a nice day, there’s hardly a better thing than floating on the Shannon watching the green banks of the Irish midlands float by. Pack a lunch or a few drinks and enjoy seeing Ireland in a way that most folks miss.
Date: June 10th, 2007 |
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Fog on the Shannon
I mentioned the magical dawn mist on the River Shannon a few posts ago, and here is the video I captured. The music I used is a live recording from the Brideswell Session a few months back (that’s Damsel and milo playing there). This mist is something that happens so fleetingly and so early in the morning (long before the town is awake), I’d imagine normally only fishermen and early morning delivery workers get to see it.
Take a deep breath and enjoy:
Date: May 7th, 2007 |
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