Day 57 - Galway and the start of our tour

We are off

First stop 11 O'Sullivan Street, the birthplace of my Grandfather, John F Thompson on September 11, 1895.

On our way out of Dublin, we drove along the River Liffey and passed the Famine Memorial. The Famine Memorial officially simply titled Famine is a memorial in Dublin, Ireland. The memorial, which stands on Customs House Quays is in remembrance of the Great Famine (1845-1849), which saw the population of the country halved through death and emigration. History. The memorial was created by Rowan Gillespie, and were presented to the city of Dublin in 1997.

The River Liffey

The Wellington Monument is a 175-foot-high (53 m) triangular obelisk located on a point of the Blackdown Hills, 3 km (1.9 miles) south of Wellington in the English county of Somerset. It is a grade II* listed building and is the tallest three-sided obelisk in the world.

The monument was designed to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Waterloo. Construction of the original design commenced in 1817; a revised and cheaper design was eventually used, though, and building was completed in 1854. It is now owned by the National Trust, which closed the monument to the public in 2007, owing to safety concerns; surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed. Repairs were completed, leaving the monument "now possibly in better condition than when it was first completed" and the monument reopened in August 2021.

Thompsons are everywhere.

We stopped at Tyrrellspass Castle for a snack. Tyrrellspass Castle, dating back to circa 1411, is situated in the town of Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, Ireland. It is the only remaining castle of the Tyrrells, who came to Ireland around the time of the Norman Invasion.

On to Clonmacnoise. St Ciarán founded his monastery on the banks of the River Shannon in the 6th Century. The monastery flourished and became a great seat of learning, a University of its time with students from all over Europe.

The ruins include a Cathedral, two round Towers, three high crosses, nine Churches and over 700 Early Christian grave slabs.

The original high crosses, including the magnificent 10th century Cross of the Scriptures area on display in a purpose built visitor center adjacent the monastic enclosure.

Then we rested