Ireland 2015: Day 11 – Dingle to Doolin

Today I visited my ancestral hometown of Cahersherkin in County Clare, near Ennistymon.  I wish I could say I met some long-lost distant cousins, but that didn’t happen.  I did visit two cemeteries where Shannons and Finucanes are buried (both family names).  In fact, Cahersherkin is more like an area, not an actual town.

The crossroads in Cahersherkin, County Clare
The crossroads in Cahersherkin, County Clare

I asked a gentleman walking on the road if I was going in the right direction and he pointed down the street and told me it was at the crossroads.  The crossroads were two single lane roads through the local farmland.  I didn’t feel any strong pull telling me that this was home, but it was very neat to see.  I kept thinking that my ancestors could have helped to build the stone walls and buildings I was driving by.

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Ireland 2015: Day 10 – The Dingle Peninsula

“When life gives you lemons….”  Once again, I woke up to cloudy skies and the threat of rain.  I determined to make the best of what is becoming a common theme the last few days.  I set off from Killarney after breakfast heading toward the Dingle Peninsula.  Known as another lesser-visited area, the Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the southwest peninsulas heading up the west coast of Ireland.  It wasn’t long before I hit Inch Beach.  I was determined to put my feet in this side of the Atlantic Ocean, and this seemed like as good a place as any to do it.  You might expect the Irish waters to be cold, but compared to Massachusetts, it wasn’t shocking.  I met a gentleman walking his dog on the beach and he said this weather is not what summer in Ireland is typically like.

Dingle Peninsula
Dingle Peninsula

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