The good news is … Europe is starting to open up to international visitors! Hotels in Ireland are permitted to open today and we wish them well. There are many wonderful gems in Ireland … people and natural and historic sites.
When we return to Ireland, we’ll drive past the starkly beautiful National Famine Monument sculpted by John Behan on our way to visit family in Islandeady, County Mayo.
My cousins, the warm and hospitable Moylettes in Islandeady, are among the many gems of County Mayo. Three of my cousins are the actress Sheila, the boxer Ray and the musician Geraldine.
Sheila Moylette, an accomplished and well-known Irish actress has enviable TV, film and theatre credits to her name. Two of my favorites of Sheila’s roles are the secretary Lorraine in the RTE series “Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope” and Emily in the MACE TV commercials featuring Johnny Sexton the Irish rugby star. Sheila’s superb acting in “Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope” and the MACE commercials makes me laugh out loud.
“Sugar” Ray Moylette, my cousin with fists of steel, a heart of gold and a fabulous sense of humor, started boxing at the age of six. Ray was named the 2007 Irish Junior Boxer of the Year, World Amateur Champion in 2008, is a 6-Time National Champion and turned Professional Boxer in 2017. He is the first Irish man to have won the coveted World Championship Gold Medal. As if that litany of just a few of Ray’s accomplishments wasn’t enough, Ray often participates in raising funds for Irish charities. Just last year, Ray joined the “1,000 Push-Ups in an Hour Challenge” to raise funds for the Pieta House and Irish Health Service.
Geraldine Moylette is the musician in the family and has several times now, entertained us with her delightful playing of the fiddle. On one of our visits to her home, she and her friends gave us a private concert. It was so much fun watching and listening to Geraldine and her friends play the fiddle, accordion and the banjo. They certainly gave us a wonderful evening to remember. Geraldine’s beautiful smile lights up a room and we look forward to seeing her on our next visit.
County Mayo is chock full of natural beauty and historic sites. The Clew Bay Archaeological Trail is definitely worth the time and among the sites you’ll see on this trail are a Megalithic Wedge Tomb and a Clapper Bridge (made of flat limestone slabs) built in the 1840s during the time of the Great Famine.
Weather reports sent from the Mayo Blacksod Lighthouse in June 1944 had a crucial role in the timing of the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War II.
The stunning Dun Briste or Downpatrick Head is a sea stack along the north Mayo coast and is not far from the 5,000-year-old Neolithic/Stone Age site of the Ceide Fields. Ceide Fields has a very interesting and informative Visitors’ Center with a viewing platform and small café on site. Guided walks of these fields, the world’s oldest known farmed field system, are available.
There are many more beautiful sites to see in County Mayo and I hope that I’ve given you enough of a taste of the many gems of Mayo to entice you to pay a visit. When in Mayo, a site not to be missed is Jack’s Old Cottage in Islandeady.
A visit to Jack’s Old Cottage, built in the 1830s, brings you back in time to life in a traditional Irish cottage. This heritage cottage gives me an appreciation for what life, without today’s modern amenities, must have been like in rural Ireland. Jack’s Old Cottage has been lovingly restored by Joe and Irene Moylette and family and provided with period furnishings from the 1800s & early 1900s. My cousin Joe does a wonderful job of explaining the history of the cottage & life in rural Ireland in years past.
NOTE – If you like what you’ve read of our travels so far and would like to plan a similar trip for yourself, please contact me on our website’s “Let’s Connect” page or at jttripsnpics@gmail.com. I offer travel consultations through Trips & Pics, LLC and would be happy to assist you in planning the trip of your dreams!
Wonderful! Interesting and informative at the same time. And I know you plan a great trip because you planned and acted as a tour guide for us!
Linda Mylott
Linda, thanks so very much for your kind words! I’m glad that you enjoyed the blog post and our trip to Ireland. It was a great pleasure being your tour guide and having your company in Ireland. Teresa
Teresa,
Thanks for the fascinating tour of Mayo’s intriguing gems and your family portraits (in photos and words)! You and John have wonderful memories and photos (to feed the memories) until travel allows you to make some more. Thanks, as always, for sharing them!
I appreciate your offer of travel consultation and I hope requests for your brilliant services flood in with the opening of the post-pandemic world! I will be notifying friends on Facebook about this post and hope they will comment also.
Susan, your lovely comments are always appreciated! We look forward to our next visit to Ireland. Many thanks for sharing this blog post with your family and friends. I am ready, willing and most definitely able to assist them in planning their trips! Fondly, Teresa