West Coast of Ireland
A most pleasant day was spent cruising down the rugged west coast of Ireland. This gave us a chance to fill in our diaries and reflect on the multitude of experiences we have shared. Our historian David Barnes presented a couple of lectures on the peoples of the British Isles and Ireland and David Cothran showed some of the undersea footage he had taken at a number of dive sites on our voyage. His enthusiasm for the myriad of marine life he encountered was infectious.
By the early afternoon Achill Island came into view. In bygone years local fishermen hunted the massive basking sharks, which at one time were a common visitor to these waters. Their livers, which could weigh as much as a quarter of a ton, were a source of oil which brought in much needed revenue to an island community struggling to survive economically. The fishing stopped in the mid 1950s as the price of the oil dropped and the sharks themselves became progressively scarcer. The sharks were also called 'sunfish' due to their habit of cruising along on the surface of the water. Beyond Achill we entered the wide sweeping expanse of Clew Bay bound for Killary Harbour, a long, straight-sided fjord. The surrounding topography is dominated by the impressive outline of Croach Patrick, a mountain regarded by many as the most venerated of Holy sites in Ireland. This peak was Christianized by none other than St. Patrick himself. Such was the reputation and regard for this place that in Medieval times, if anyone was caught interfering with pilgrims on their way to Croach Patrick they had their hands removed.
Killary Harbour has many vestiges of the past along its sides. Everywhere were rows of the abandoned cultivation ridges on which potatoes were grown during the nineteenth century. These were bounded by dry stone walls. The entire west coast of Ireland was decimated by the ravages of the Great Famine in the years 1845-48. A fungal blight wiped out the entire potato crop on which the bulk of the population was totally dependent for food. These ridges are therefore a sad legacy of this particularly dramatic event. Traditional cottages were nestled amongst their protective ring of wind deflecting trees. Killary is one of the main centers of farmed salmon and mussels. After our evening meal Jim Napoli treated us to a preview of his excellent video chronicle of the voyage.
A most pleasant day was spent cruising down the rugged west coast of Ireland. This gave us a chance to fill in our diaries and reflect on the multitude of experiences we have shared. Our historian David Barnes presented a couple of lectures on the peoples of the British Isles and Ireland and David Cothran showed some of the undersea footage he had taken at a number of dive sites on our voyage. His enthusiasm for the myriad of marine life he encountered was infectious.
By the early afternoon Achill Island came into view. In bygone years local fishermen hunted the massive basking sharks, which at one time were a common visitor to these waters. Their livers, which could weigh as much as a quarter of a ton, were a source of oil which brought in much needed revenue to an island community struggling to survive economically. The fishing stopped in the mid 1950s as the price of the oil dropped and the sharks themselves became progressively scarcer. The sharks were also called 'sunfish' due to their habit of cruising along on the surface of the water. Beyond Achill we entered the wide sweeping expanse of Clew Bay bound for Killary Harbour, a long, straight-sided fjord. The surrounding topography is dominated by the impressive outline of Croach Patrick, a mountain regarded by many as the most venerated of Holy sites in Ireland. This peak was Christianized by none other than St. Patrick himself. Such was the reputation and regard for this place that in Medieval times, if anyone was caught interfering with pilgrims on their way to Croach Patrick they had their hands removed.
Killary Harbour has many vestiges of the past along its sides. Everywhere were rows of the abandoned cultivation ridges on which potatoes were grown during the nineteenth century. These were bounded by dry stone walls. The entire west coast of Ireland was decimated by the ravages of the Great Famine in the years 1845-48. A fungal blight wiped out the entire potato crop on which the bulk of the population was totally dependent for food. These ridges are therefore a sad legacy of this particularly dramatic event. Traditional cottages were nestled amongst their protective ring of wind deflecting trees. Killary is one of the main centers of farmed salmon and mussels. After our evening meal Jim Napoli treated us to a preview of his excellent video chronicle of the voyage.
