Irish Geocaching

On our Ireland trip, we forgot to bring our GPS to go geocaching. The SatNav in the car has worked in a pinch before, so we tried that a couple of times so we could add Ireland to our list of countries in which we have cached.

The first attempt was in Ennis near the river. The cache we were going for is Cappucino, not named after a coffee shop or Cappuchin monks, but after the murky water in the neighborhood. The water didn't seem so murky to us, just overgrown.

Water not so muddy here, though the grass/weeds may be hiding it!

We searched to no avail around the mill wheel that still stands by the river.

The mill-less wheel

The wheel seems like it could be put back in use at some point, as a small wooden dam was all that prevented it from getting the water it needed to move. Of course, it is attached to nothing, so it wouldn't produce power for anything. Still, it might impress visitors. I know J and L would have stared in fascination.

Waiting for water

After looking more closely at the SatNav, we realized the cache was across the street and slightly up river from where we were. Also across the street was Public Works who may have been weeding the river on the other side of the bridge. We assumed the cache was inaccessible and hung our heads in defeat as we left Ennis.

We did find the Shannon River geocache in Athlone. It is, as one might imagine, along the river. We had a fine walk down the river from our hotel and found the rail road bridge under which the cache was hidden.

Approaching the cache

While I was checking among the trees, Mommy, J, and L were hanging around on the path. L asked when we would find the geocache. Two ladies were walking by and one of them immediately whipped around and said, "Are you geocaching?" Turns out her husband has been an avid cacher for ten years and she was delighted to run into another one of us in the wild. He hadn't come on the trip (she was with her sister), so she took a picture of us with the cache before saying goodbye. We did not return the photographic favor, however, so I can't show them to you.

J was ready for his close-up!

After carefully returning the cache, we headed back for more adventures, thankful that we could complete another of our 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4.

The train bridge and nearby tower

Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Athlone, Ireland

Construction of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Athlone began in 1930. The first mass was said in 1937 on St. Patrick's Day as it was nearing completion. The church was solemnly dedicated on June 29 of that year, the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul. The church sits on a hill over the River Shannon and can be seen for quite a distance.

Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Athlone

Rear view

The church follows the Roman Renaissance style which is quite uncommon in Ireland. It is elegant and spacious inside, with room for over 1000 worshipers.

Nave

The main altar has some nice Latin inscriptions above that say, "Come holy ones take the Body of Christ; Praised be Jesus Christ."

Main altar

Latin above the altar

The pulpit also has the ornate majesty found throughout the church.

Pulpit

The stained glass is quite striking.

St. Joseph

St. Paul

St. Joseph again!

Our Lady

Bas relief medallions on the walls represent the four evangelists, showing them inspired by angels to write their gospels. The angels take the symbolic form associated with each evangelist--the cow with St. Luke, the man with St. Matthew, the lion with St. Mark, and the eagle with St. John.

St. Luke instructed by a cow angel!

St. Matthew instructed by a human angel

Other statues in the church are clearly modeled after famous statues in Rome.

Sts. Peter and Paul, with Peter's foot not rubbed away like in Rome

David and Moses

Crucifixion

Pieta like Michelangelo's (though the cross is not in Michelangelo's)

Other interesting bits were a beautiful painting of St. Joseph's happy death and an impressive holy water font.

Happy Death

J gets ready to bless himself

Athlone, Ireland

Athlone is a fine city with great views of the Shannon River. The river cuts right through the city. Our hotel was on the less historic half so we had a short walk to see the river and the interesting sights.

River Shannon in Athlone

Just across the river is St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church, an impressive edifice that will have its own post tomorrow. For a church built in the 1930s, it is impressive to say the least.

St. Peter and St. Paul Church

Right across from the church is Athlone Castle. Built in 1210, it underwent a massive refurbishment for the 800th anniversary in 2010. We did not go inside, so we only have this picture of the castle from across the street.

Athlone Castle

More interesting was a stroll along the river. We saw the swanky marina with a major hotel behind it.

Waterfront properties!

We also saw the Custume Barracks, named after Sergeant Custume who led a brave attack during the 1691 siege of Athlone. So the area has a long military tradition that is still maintained today.

Custume Barracks entrance

Another entrance into the barracks

Also along the river is a memorial to Count John McCormack, a lyric tenor born in Athlone. He recorded 600 records in the 1910s and appeared in Song o' My Heart.

Irish tenor Count John McCormack

A Celtic Cross commemorates John Joseph Walsh, a local solicitor who died at the age of 26 in 1902.

John Joseph Walsh Memorial

While we were walking, L picked many daisies and demanded/requested that Mommy make a chain. After much patient work (since most of the daisies were too short to be used), it was long enough to be a necklace. L thought it was a choker, since it was either too tight or too scratchy to wear for too long.

L and her daisy chain jewelry

Walking back to our car, we spotted a sweets shop that was surrounded by a solicitor's offices. Definitely the sweet and the sour being mixed together in one building! Though perhaps the lawyers are not so bad--with a name like Fair and Murtagh they have a lot to live up to.

Law and Order: Sweet Shoppe Unit

We also saw the Franciscan Church which did not seem to be in use. Nearby is the town library, featuring some of the ancient town walls still standing.

Franciscan Church

The old town wall with the Franciscan church on the left

We enjoyed visiting Athlone, especially since we found a geocache there, adding to our list of countries in which we have finds.