Third Of Three

As the late, great Etta James said: At last!!!

Here's the last of three Irish-themed posts I wrote for the Britannica Blog: Reek Sunday: The "Other" St. Patrick's Day. This one is about the mountain Croagh Patrick in County Mayo and the tradition of climbing it on the last Sunday in July, better known in Ireland as Reek Sunday.

View of Clew Bay on way up Croagh Patrick. Pic by Amanda Hickey

Links to the first 2 in the, uh, series (for lack of a better and humbler word) can be found at my prior blog posts, An Irish Trifecta and Part Two, A Little Overdue.

Thanks again to Encyclopaedia Britannica for posting these! If you've never checked out Britannica's blog in general, you should. Updated nearly every day with a wide range of topical posts by a variety of authors and editors.

Next posts on this blog, meanwhile, will be on Chicago...and maybe a little D.C. Watch this space! ;-)

Pictures for St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day, world! Just wanted to post some pictures I've never put up before of different parts of Ireland, taken over many years. Enjoy the weekend and the photos!

On Clare Island in County Mayo

View of Inishturk from Clare Island

At Newgrange

Lake at Glendalough in County Wicklow

Ruins of graveyard at St. Kevin's retreat in Glendalough

Me in Northern Ireland above Carlingford Lough

Rounding 'em up in County Down, Northern Ireland

Fall, in Northern Ireland

Purple heather in bloom in Northern Ireland, Carlingford Lough in the background

Spuds for sale in County Down

View of Carlingford Lough in Northern Ireland

Narrow Water Castle, Warrenpoint, County Down

Narrow Water Castle in Warrenpoint, County Down

View of Sliabh Donard Hotel in Newcastle, County Down

Beautiful County Down

Cliffs of Moher in County Clare

Cliffs of Moher in Clare

The Ha'Penny Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin, long ago

In Dublin

Dublin

Browne's Doorway in Eyre Square, Galway City

Eyre Square, Galway City

Beach on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands

The Plassey shipwreck on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands

Dog and O'Brien's Castle on Inis Oirr

On beach on Inis Oirr, barnacles stuck to stone

Stone carving on grounds of Ashford Castle, in Cong

In Connemara

In Connemara

Me in Connemara

Darts competition in Headford pub. 1st prize leg of lamb, 2nd prize 4 pints

In Galway City, kissing

An Irish whiskey and an Irish coffee, in an old man's pub

At Cong Abbey ruins

Trying the nectar in a fuschia plant in Cong

Fuschia in Headford

At Ashford Castle grounds

Monk's house ruins in Cong

Drink galore, in Cong

Which way to go? Cong crossroads

View from Tigh Ned's window on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands

Me and a friend and a lighthouse, on Inis Oirr

Elderberries, on the Aran Islands

Kylemore Abbey in County Galway

A sheela-na-gig? In Roundstone

Sheep in Headford field

A rainy day in Cong

Driving through Connemara. Watch out for sheep!

Dayshine trying to break through the gray in Ireland

Lovely Connemara