DAY OFF?

A few things have been happening with our set agenda, primarily due to a storm earlier this year in late January that resulted in significant damage to a number of golf courses along the west coast. The trip down to Cruit Island for most of the group will likely be cancelled because they are using 4 temporary greens and the others are not in the best of shape, and for a 9 hole course, it just doesn’t make sense to make that drive. It is a gem though, and I hope there is a chance for the group to play it in the future. Justin, Links of Ireland, has been busy, and managed to arrange golf at Portsalon, or replay rounds at Rosapenna for those who want to play today, so everyone is getting their round in.

The Goats have planned a big beach walk (not golfing), taking on Tramore Beach, which runs from the clubhouse all the way down the east side of Sheephaven Bay………you have seen it numerous times in our pictures from St.Patricks. As mentioned previously, Sista Goats have a much larger herd this year…….the only male in the group is appropriately “Billy Goat” with his mate, also appropriately, the busiest grandmother in town, “Nanny Goat”, “She Goat” because she is, and “Mona Goat” because she knows why. The hike will end where the Faymore River meets the bay and blocks further passage without getting wet, and Cos and I will meet them there at the Boardwalk Resort that we have seen on the map. Pretty interesting vacation development of cottages, with a main building that includes apartments, restaurant, a pub……..oh yeah, and a huge boardwalk that stretches all the way to the beach………nice place, but too far from town for our liking.

We met a couple of fishermen who were off to catch some sea trout at the estuary, were fully equipped with waders, etc.. After a quick tour of the property the whole crew piled into Cash Cab and headed back to town…..we decided to stop at McNutt’s Woolen Mill on the other side of Downings to let everyone see this fixture in the community. You can find their products in shops all over Ireland. Many purchases were made, mostly for the grandkids………supporting the local economy every chance we get!

The goats are still craving mileage, so they decide to hoof it across town back to the hotel…….Cash Cab works well for me.

The roads out to Olde Glen can be fairly tight in places, so we decided it was best to organize bus transport, anticipating there might be some adult beverages consumed this evening to celebrate our last night at Rosapenna. Pick up at 5pm, and return at 9pm, will give us plenty of time for primers/apres in the pub that fronts this fantastic restaurant. Cormac who runs the front house is surprised to see us so early, but I tell him we will be in the pub and all is fine. Ciaran is in the kitchen with his crew prepping for the evening. I have a lovely chat with some locals who have retired to Olde Glen………Verity and Brian tell me that so many young people are leaving Ireland, including their kids, for better opportunities overseas……..Australia and Canada are popular choices…….$ and standard of living are the key issues………Nial tells me he was a career employee at Guinness and if he shared even one ingredient in the recipe he would loose his pension and be banished from Ireland. Dinner is nothing short of fantastic…….zero complaints, only praise, and we exit back to the pub to await our ride home. It didn’t take long before we broke into song aided by an assortment of libations and the bus arrived I think just in time before it got messy. Nightcaps in the bar at Rosapenna and much chatting about tomorrow as we leave for Ballyliffin.