Our first stop was Beleek Pottery in Beleek, Northern Ireland which was right on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. John Bloomfield inherited his father's estate in 1849 and set about looking for employment for the tenants on the estate who had been affected by the Potato Famine. A geological survey indicated that the area was rich in the materials needed to make fine pottery so along with two partners, he started the pottery business in 1865. It is now famous for is fine ceramics. We took a tour through the factory. This photo shows pieces after the molding before firing.
Here our guide shows us the molds they use which are only used for a short time before they have to be retired. Apparently they have a warehouse with these old molds.
This gentlemen is cleaning the flash off the freshly mold part prior to firing.
This is a ceramic woven basket in the process of being made. They take ceramic material that has been extruded into thin strands and weave the basket over a mold.
Here is a brief video of a guy making flowers, one petal at a time.
And here are his flowers prior to firing.
Here is the kiln they use.
After the initial firing the piece is plain white. Here a woman is painting the colors on to a ceramic basket.
Some of the pieces are pretty amazing both as to design and price. This large piece sells of €75,000.
Here is a more reasonably priced piece only a few hundred Euros.
Our next stop was very brief as we visited this church of St. Columba in Drumcliffe..
Its claim to fame is that W. B. Yeats is buried here.
Our next stop was the town of Knock. It is famous because in 1879 The Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and John the Evangelist appeared to a small group of 15 people. Below is an artist representation of what they saw.
This basilica was built for the visit of Pope John Paul II to the shrine in 1979.
It is a very popular pilgrimage site. While we were there this group was processing the grounds while reciting the rosary. More about the site can be found at: www.knockshrine.ie.
We arrived in Galway and for dinner this evening we drove to this medieval castle, Dunguaire. It was built in 1520 by the O'Hynes clan. This type of castle is known as a tower house and a large number of them were built throughout Ireland by minor clans. This particular one has been restored and during the day it is open for tourists but in the evening they have banquets and that was why we were here.
On entering the castle we were serenaded by this lady playing the harp.
Here is some of our group at the banquet tables.
After dinner we were entertained by this small ensemble.
Also in the area were thatched cottages like this one that could be rented.
That was it for today. Tomorrow we tour the area around Galway and visit the old city center.
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