Catching up with family in Ireland

Have you ever heard of Slane Castle in County Meath? No? How about Slane Concerts? Surely you are familiar with the annual concerts staged on the castle grounds in a naturally-formed amphitheater. Still no? Me either.

Until, that is, we called a quiet little farm, walking distance from the castle to inquire about staying there while we were in Ireland. Plenty of room, they said, as long as you don't come during the concert. THE concert, mind you, not just any concert. 

In my defense, I was never much of a concert goer. And while I may not have heard of the concerts before, I had most certainly heard of their headliners. Since 1981 a summer concert has been held on the castle grounds with somewhere between 70,000 - 100,000 in attendance. Headliners include the likes of David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen, and that was just in the 80s!  U2 played in 1981, but they weren't even the main act! Suffice it to say that anybody who's anybody has played at Slane Castle at some point over the years. This year the headliner was Metallica and we just missed them. Oh, darn. 

Slane Castle in all its glory. We didn’t go inside, just admired from the outside.

It's a brilliant bit of marketing and entertainment and helps with the upkeep of the castle, no doubt. Also adding a few quid to the coffers is the fabulous Slane Distillery which turns out a mighty fine Irish Whiskey. 

Once we arrived in Slane and had set up at the little farm, the owner drove us into town so we could check out what was on offer. It was a cute place but there wasn't much there to keep us entertained. I did make an appointment for a cut and color for the next day, but we decided to head back to the castle to see what was shaking. We skipped the tours and headed straight for the bar at the distillery to try the whiskey. Honestly, it was fabulous, really great tasting Irish Whiskey, one that we both like (dare I say it??) better than Jameson. T'is true.

Parked up at Slane Farm Hostel and Camping Park. That field hosts tents in the thousands during the concert!

The facilities were a little rustic but functional :)

Slane Castle. The family still live there!

  

  

We found a new favorite whiskey at the Slane Distillery. We also tried the whiskey sour and hot chocolate during our visit.

We got caught up on chores and laundry at the little farm. It was a lovely place and we enjoyed our stay, although I can't imagine staying there with 10,000 tenters during the concert. For us, though, it was perfect. More so because it was just a mere 12 kilometers from Navan, home to Steven's brother Philip and his family and that's where we headed next.

As luck would have it Philip and Jackie live on a small cul-de-sac with extra parking and it just so happened that Bijou snuggled right in the end spot perfectly! Over the next few days we went back and forth between the house for visiting and meals, and Bijou for sleeping. It was a perfect arrangement! We got caught up with Sophie and Lauren, our nieces, who were enjoying their last couple of weeks before school started up again. 

Parked up outside Philip’s house in Navan.

Steven and brother Philip listening intently to something important.

Happy hour in a happy place. At the local in Navan with Philip and Jackie.

Is "Love Island" a thing in the States? Is everybody watching and talking about it? It's amazing how much we hear about it, and not just from family who all seem to be sucked into it. Mainly because of this Irish gal named Maura, who is apparently one of the breakout stars. I think she came in second or third, although I'm not sure what that means because I don't know anything about the show. Anyway, Maura came to Navan, so Sophie and her posse went out to meet her and who should end up in the next day's tabloid? Yep, our Sophie, looking a bit like a star herself, if you ask me. Maybe she will be on Love Island one of these days, although she professes to have no such desire.

  

Sophie on the right with Love Island Star Maura in the middle.

Philip and Jackie own a vacation home in the north of Ireland, in County Donegal. Somehow the family managed to arrange a time for all of us to meet up there for a weekend, which was an amazing feat and loads of fun. We parked up in the driveway and came prepared with a loaded fridge, mostly wine and Guinness. Everyone else brought stuff, too. So with more booze than any family could comfortably drink in a weekend, what do you think we did every day for Happy Hour? We went to the pub! We did cook at home, though, and had some tasty food, too. Overall it was just great to be with family. 

At Philip’s house in Portsalon, Donegal near the most Northwest point of Ireland.

Hanging with family. Steven, Linda, Jackie, Philip, Deirdre, Maurice, Paddy and Elizabeth.

Lauren and Sophie, three siblings, walking and surfing on the nearby beaches.

All together in Philip’s house in Donegal.

The light and scenery around Donegal was fabulous.

Donegal is a beautiful area and one we would visit more thoroughly in the days to come, but first, we made our way to the Causeway Coast in Antrim, Northern Ireland. This was our first, and likely our only foray into the United Kingdom in Bijou. We made our way to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge parking lot where we would spent the next three days in the most glorious sunny weather. It was absolutely stunning. And, as a complete coincidence, we met up with Steven's two paternal aunts, Marie and Anne, along with Anne's husband, Martin. They all live in London but were vacationing in Antrim at the same time we were there. We had a great time with these wonderful people and were so glad we were able to meet up!

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. We were happy to be spectators only.

Magnificent coastline cliffs, beaches and walks around Carrick-a-Rede in Antrim.

Martin, Linda, Marie, Steven and Anne

We left Antrim on a rainy day and headed west back to County Donegal. We drove back into Ireland and headed just north of Derry and stayed two rainy and gloomy days at an RV park at Quigley's Point, catching up on laundry and shopping before heading out on our epic travels along the west coast of Ireland.

On the way to Quigley’s Point, we stopped at this fine specimen, Dunluce Castle.

We had planned on getting to Quigley’s Point via the ferry but, when we arrived, there was no sign of a sailing vessel.

Finding them on Facebook revealed all so we took the longer road around.

We finally arrived at our campsite at Quigley’s Point. This photo was taken during the only 5 minutes it wasn’t raining :)

Up Next: The Wild Atlantic Way