24 May 2026 - SAINT PATRICK'S COUNTRY

 EUROPA HOTEL, BELFAST

 

Extremely good breakfast at The Grand Hotel this morning. At the end of our tour, this turned out to be our favourite hotel and our favourite meals.

We then headed off towards the Mountains of Mourne and Northern Ireland.

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King John's Castle (Carlingford Castle) was built around 1190 by Baron Hugh de Lacy.  King John stayed here for 3 days in 1210 and liked it so much he seized possession of the property. 

 

 

In the middle of one of the roundabouts near Clough we met this fellow and his cow "On The Way to the Fair" (the locals apparently call it "The Moo") and was designed in 2011 by Darren Sutton.  This depicts a cow being led by a farmer and represents the village's farming history. For hundreds of years, the farmers would drive their cattle to the fairs to trade, sell, socialise and find employment/employees.  This was a sight that began to fade in the 1940's.

 

The Down Cathedral (The Cathedral of the Holy and Undivided Trinity) is the historic and religious center of Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.  At the bottom of the hill is the St. Patrick Center, where visitors can learn about the life of St. Patrick.  This is the only permanent exhibit in the world dedicated to St. Patrick.

 

 Legend has it that when St.Patrick died he was buried in the Hill of Down in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.  The relics of St. Brigit and St. Columba are also claimed to be buried here.  This granite stone was installed in the early 1900's to stop the practice of pilgrims removing dirt from the grave as a memento. The boulder has a Celtic cross and the name "Patrick" carved on it.

 

 

This is "The Penannular Brooch" created by Alan Burke.  These were used by the early Christians to fasten their cloaks, and is located just outside the St. Patrick Visitor Center.

 

This is "The Watcher" at the Portaferry Terminal.  He commemorates the intense Nordic activity in the Strangford Lough area, and acts as a coastal sentinel.

   

 

Scrabo Tower - 135 foot tall 19th century lookout tower (folly) stands on Scrabo Hill near Newtownards, Northern Ireland.  It was built as a memorial to Charles Vane and was originally named The Londonderry Monument. It provides a wide view of the surrounding area and is a landmark that can be seen from miles away.

 

 

The Stormont Estate is the site of Northern Ireland's main Parliament Buildings, We were lucky enough to arrive here about half an hour before they closed, so we wandered the grounds and read the historic plaques scattered about.

 

 

 

In Belfast, we were treated to a visit to C.S. Lewis Square.  Irish artist Maurice Harron designed the statues which were drawn from Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" book.

  Arrived at hotel. Dinner was basically the same as the dinner that The Grand served last night but The Grand did a far better job.

 

 Out for a walk after dinner, and we discovered a Tim Horton's only a couple of blocks away, for which Kerry was so grateful!  The Irish version of Timmy's sells burgers and fancy "Canadian" doughnuts (the doughnuts were €5 each!)

 I discovered The Linen Library on our walk too. This is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Ireland. It was founded in 1788, and purchased their first permanent home on the site of the current city hall in 1802. They moved to this former linen warehouse in 1888.  It currently houses the most renowned collection of Irish material in the world and has 250,000 items in their "Northern Ireland Political Collection" which is recognized as the definitive archive of the recent Troubles.