May 8, 2024 Galway to Killarney

There was a cloudy sky this morning, temperature 8°C and light west breeze of 4 km/hr. The luggage was in the corridor before the 7:15 a.m. breakfast then on the bus for 8:15 a.m. We la eft pretty much on time for the 45 minute drive to Foynes, through the beautiful county Limerick.

At Foynes, we visited the Flying Boat & Maritime Museum. There was a 15 minute video about early aviation and the flying boats of the 1930s and 1940s. The first men to fly across the Atlantic without stopping were John Alcock and Arthur Brown who, in 1919, crash landed into a bog near Clifden, in county Galway in 1919. They thought the bog was field and expected to land on firm ground.

The first flying boat to fly the transatlantic route from Botwood, Newfoundland to Foynes, Ireland was the Pan American Airlines Inc. Clipper III that made the flight starting from New York City to Botwood on July 5, 1937. The British flying boat, Imperial Airways Caledonia flew from Foynes to Botwood, Newfoundland at the same time. The replica flying boat in the museum is of a the Flying Boat & Maritime Museum. The Germans also had a flying boat which flew from Berlin to New York City in 1938. The passenger capacity of the flying boats was less than 40. The maximum altitude was 12,000 feet since the plane was not pressurized. The last flight was on October 22, 1945 by American Export’s flying boat Excambrian. In October 1943 a Pan Am B314 attempted a flight from Foynes, but turned back after seven hours due to bad weather. The passengers returned disappointed and cold. The chef at Foynes was asked to come up with something hot that looked good. He created the first Irish Coffee. When asked by a passenger if the chef used Brazilian coffee he replied that is was Irish coffee and the name stuck.

Foynes was chosen as a temporary landing port since it had been an active port since 1846. Across the Shannon River estuary is the city Shannon, where a permanent terminal was being constructed. The area was chosen for the wide and sheltered Shannon estuary where two of Ireland’s largest oil and petrol companies were near the harbour. There were no mountains. There were boats to ferry passengers to the flying boats. There was safe mooring in the river.

There is a full scale replica of a flying boat. The cabin was divided into compartments and there were some bunks, There was a small kitchen. There was even a luxury suite. The navigation deck was above the passenger compartment as was the cargo storage.

To end the visit, we were shown how to properly make Irish coffee and enjoyed a full glass of Irish coffee. Steps 630

We departed for the drive to the Dingle Peninsula. We saw the country house of the last Knight of Glynn, the Fitzgerald Castle and as we passed Blennerville we saw Ireland’s only restored windmill. There was a photo stop at the viewpoint on the north side of Dingle Bay to view the valley of the lunatics.

There was a 90 minute stop in the town of Dingle and the sun broke through the cloud for the rest of the afternoon. Most people searched for a restaurant for lunch. We decided to explore. On the way to An Díseart Centre of Irish Spirituality and Culture, we stopped at Kool Scoops of Dingle, which had 16 different flavours of ice cream at €3 (4.50 Can) per scoop. Selection made, we continued up the street. The An Díseart Centre church building had beautiful stained glass windows.

We walked back down to the carpark, stopping at a grocery store to look around. The bananas were €2.59 per kilogram ($1.75 per pound). We walked along the level waterfront street toward the outskirts before returning to the coach for the scenic drive around Slea Head Drive of the Dingle Peninsula. At the most westerly point in Ireland, Slea Head promontory overlooks Blasket Sound where we had a photo stop. Near the entrance to the sound is The Dead Man rock formation, sort of like the Sleeping Giant near Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is on Inis Tuaisceart, the northern most of the Blasket islands in county Kerry. In nautical terms, a “deadman” is a large stone or anchor that a ship can be tied to close to the shore. In 1588 at least five ships from the retreating Spanish Armada maneuvered around the rocks at the entrance to Blasket Sound to take shelter.

The coach worked its way around Dingle Bay. We were on the south side after a brief comfort stop in Dingle. The hotel in Killarney is close to the city centre.

We arrived with about 90 minutes to spare before meeting the rest of the group in the hotel dining room for a buffet dinner. The hotel is right in the city centre with dozens of restaurant, cafés, bars and souvenir shops just steps away. After dinner we went for a short walk in the city centre to get an idea of prices for tomorrow night’s dinner.

Total steps 11,647