Moneygall to Toomevara
Rained
all night and the attic window above my bed rattled but it was nice to sleep
through. We slept a little later as we only have a short walk today and
returning to the same place tonight. We have arranged to meet Patricia after
breakfast and she would drive us to Moneygall where we will start the day’s
walk. 9 o’clock comes and goes and no
appearance. We decide we will leave a note in her letterbox and start to walk.
Not sure of the directions to Moneygall but guess we will manage. We are hardly
out the front gate when an elderly neighbor pulls up and offers a lift to
Moneygall. From here we will walk to Toomevara about 8klms down a main road.
Not sure if they were being friendly or a little nosey.
Moneygall
is the Kearney ancestral home of President Barack Obama so plenty of American
signage in the small, neat colourful little village. The main street runs the
length of the village. In the middle of which is the Obama Café with a For Sale
sign across the front window; nothing much is open so we keep walking. We are
now in County Offaly and heading into County Tipperary. The 6 klms of the R445
is busy but the road has enough side edging for us to keep well off and feel
safe. We pass several piles of tractor tyres holding down thick black plastic
and covering the cut hay, on top is a decoy bird with its leg tied down,
standing erect and looking very real. Had us fooled for a while. Green hay
trucks standing idle on the side of the road and wild red poppies swaying in
the breeze. As we approach Toomevara, a village bypassed by the Limerick
Motorway, there are trucks in a field ready to lift the freshly cut hay, roll
it into bundles, cover in plastic and drop it out the other end. We stand
watching, amazed at the simple but effective procedure. When this group of
farmers finish this farm, they will then proceed to the next farm and repeat
the procedure – make hay while the sun
shines.
Our
first stop for the day and a welcome coffee is the very colourful Tipperary
Inn. I had tried to obtain accommodation in this inn when I was searching the
internet in 2015. Very yellow with a thatched roof and bunches of different
coloured flowers hanging in baskets off the front veranda. We enquire at the
bar as to what a visitor could see in the village and the reply – Not much lady. Not a great tourist
advertisement for Toomevara but we decide to look around the area ourselves.
The village is not large but has the ruins of a late medieval parish Church and
graveyard enclosing the ruins of an ivy-covered chapel.
Next to St Joseph's Church are the ruins of an
Augustinian Priory dedicated to St Mary which was founded about 1140, the site
was possibly an earlier monastic centre dedicated to St Donain. Within the
grounds of the priory is an ancient bell hung high and several 1700s headstones
and still readable. Hard to believe…… this was before Australia was discovered
by Captain Cook. St Joseph stands erect on the lawn overlooking the ruins.
We slowly walk back to the Inn past the Garda residence
and onto the Church of Ireland, not operational and in need of urgent repairs.
Sad to see it in such a state of disrepair. The grounds have a small number of headstones;
mainly from the Powell family and a bunch of strange brown/yellow toadstools on
the lawn. Clumps of purple lavender stand near the front gate and as we stand
admiring we are approached by Gerry, a farmer/stock and station agent, about 50
– 60 years old, asking us what we are doing. We tell him about the O’Sullivan
Walk and he insists we meet a friend, Michael O’Sullivan who resides in
Silvermines, a small village close by. He is an O’Sullivan descendant and can
help us with our search for the family. Do we go with this stranger and take
this chance to meet an O’Sullivan or refuse and offend him and his offer? We
decide the former – I know Sue was not that enthusiastic.
His small van is front seat only so Sue decides to sit in
the back among the hay and empty whiskey bottles and other farm equipment and
track where he takes us, I have already taken a photograph of his car and
number plate. A small piece of safety and security on our part. He takes us out
to Silvermines, some distance away only to find the friend is only just rising,
and it is 11am. We go away for a while to the local lookout on the outskirts of
the village. Magnificent views. I feel quite safe with him but not sure if Sue
would agree with me.
Michael O’Sullivan is a descendant of the original
O’Sullivan who started this walking idea but he knows very little about his
history, we feel we know more about Donal Cam O’Sullivan Beare and his great
Walk. After a coffee Michael produces a bottle of Poitin or Mountain Dew
wrapped in a brown paper bag and again what do we do. Refuse to try this
illegal liquor and offend the host and driver or test a very SMALL amount. We
decide to try a little sip and it is potent. The driver refuses to drink any
and decides on a coffee, much to our delight. The alcohol drink tastes like
homemade schnapps or rocket fuel.
Poitín or
Potcheen or Poteen is a traditional Irish distilled beverage traditionally
distilled in a small pot still. Poitín was generally produced in remote rural
areas, away from the interference of the law. I have also known this drink to
be called any of the following and we do not recommend it to be drunk in large
quantities - Moonshine, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch, homebrew,
and white whiskey.
After we say our goodbyes and
head back to Toomevara and we are dropped off where we were
collected, we head back to the
Inn reminiscing at our last few hours and what we have just experienced. No one
back home would believe us. Patricia rings us to see where we are, it appears
we have had people in a panic as we could not be contacted and no one knew
where we were, locals walking the streets looking for us. It is lovely to see
we are thought so highly of but Patricia does not believe us when we relive
today’s events over a cup of coffee back at the house with the two ladies.
We have a few hours to
ourselves before Beverley and Philip arrive from French Park. They are
walking with us for a couple of days to Tipperary and our rest days. This has
been a long week and so much seen and achieved. The rain is coming in again.
Philip brings the maps for the next stage of our walk; we are nearly half way
there. A long evening of catching up and many, many
laughs.
Our walking today has taken us over 16klms,
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