First Two Weeks in Ireland: Doolin, Co. Clare

I did not have easy access to the Internet the first two weeks in Ireland, so I did not begin my blog right away. The blogs for the first two weeks were not written at the time. I am writing them after the fact. 

We arrived at Shannon Airport, picked up the car and drove to Doolin. We had no problem finding Doolin, but did have to call the caretaker to direct us to the house. It is a short walk from the main area of Doolin, and we are surrounded by cows. There are also several small castles in the area, some of which you can see from the cottage.

                                             Eileen looking out the kitchen window.

Saturday we pretty much just settled in. We went to the local church on Sunday for Mass. The priest began by saying that he had finished looking at the parish survey he had done, and that the general consensus was that his sermons were too long and too complicated. He said that that would change. So he gave a nice introduction to the readings, and then did not say anything afterwards.

On Monday of the second week we went to visit our new-found cousin. Tony O’Driscoll is the great-grandson of Eugene McEnery, brother to our great-grandfather, Thomas McEnery, sons of Patrick and Catherine (Riordan) McEnery of Crean, Mongay, Co. Limerick.

After tea and scones, Tony took us searching for McEnery related sites. We visited the cemetery in Newcastle West where his parents and grandparents are buried, as well as a number of other relatives. We then went searching for Crean. I had been sent a photograph of the McEnery farm by a former neighbor. We were able to find Crean, but even with the help of the photograph, which we showed to several people, we were not able to locate the site of the farm.

We had more luck finding the ruins of the McEnery Castle, in Castletown. They are overgrown, and it is hard to judge the original extent of the castle, but it was much more than just a tower.