Here we are at what my tour guide called the main event. The story begins over 11 years ago when I first moved to Colorado. My friend and I were shopping on Pearl Street in Boulder when I came across a poster of a castle in Ireland. I loved it. I hoped to go to Ireland someday and I love castles. That poster has been on various walls in the places I’ve lived ever since. A couple of moths ago as I was spending my time dreaming about the life I wanted to live, I started reading Rick Steves guidebooks for Ireland and Scotland that I’d checked out of the library. I turned the page and saw in my book a picture of the castle on the poster on my wall:
I had no idea that this was a place I could actually go to! In the poster it looked so remote! As my plans formed to visit Ireland I tried to figure out how to get there. I couldn’t. I contemplated renting a car, but the thought of driving alone in another country on the other side of the road seemed too daunting. I would just have to save that for next time. Then when I arrived in Galway I saw the pictures of my poster on one of the brochures of day trips. I can go! I was very excited. The guy at the hostel warned me that part of the building was being restored and was covered with scaffolding. We looked it up online. I decided it wouldn’t ruin my experience.
Here was my first glimpse:
And a little closer!
We saw a nun driving a car in the parking lot.
Right! What’s the story behind this building? It’s a love story. Mitchell Henry was madly in love with his wife, Margaret. He was also very rich. They visited Connemara and loved it. Margaret especially loved it. So Mitchell bought some property and built this fairytale castle with 33 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. Only 4 years after the castle was built, Margaret died from dysentery on a trip to Egypt. Mitchell was so sad that he built a miniature cathedral and walled gardens in her honor.
Henry was known for treating the 300 tenants who worked on the property very well.
Unfortunately, he died poor. The castle was bought and sold a few times, eventually falling into the hands of Benedictine nuns in 1920. The Castle became an Abbey and a boarding school for girls. It was one of the safest places for rich people to send their children during the war.
Here is my poster (and I saw it in real life!)
There I am!
The view from the bridge leading to the Abbey
The view from the Abbey
There I am up close! I touched the wall and felt like I was stepping through dimensions.
Inside- a grand staircase
The wing of bedrooms
Margaret’s cathedral
For a moment there were no other tourists!
The walk near the gardens
One last look
It was as surreal and satisfying to go to a place that was so randomly meaningful to me. The experience was everything I wanted it to be. Blissed out, we stopped for one more spectacular view on the way back.
And I ended the evening with some live music at a pub in Galway.
