The fields of Athenry...

Despite it being a Sunday morning our landlady provides us with a "full Irish" at 7.30 so we can have an early departure. Quiet roads take us to a swing bridge over the wide River Shannon, and into Portumna. Everyone in the village is arriving for mass, including the Priest who spots me outside the supermarket where Mike is buying our lunch. The Father takes a great interest in my map, our route and corrects my place pronunciations. He then dashes into the shop for a packet of ciggys and waves goodbye as he zooms off to his waiting congregation. There is a bit of a breeze as we head north west, through little fields marked out with dry stone walls, keeping in Chareloi cattle, sheep and big lambs, with the odd donkey or two. Every farm also has horses, with the occasional tiny new foal on outsize spindly legs. We eat our lunch sarnies on a bench in Loughrea opposite St Brendan's Cathedral. An impressively large congregation piles out just after 12. Ten miles on is Athenry, which has yet another ruined priory, and a Castle, but we don't tarry as the wind is now gale force and we want to get to Tuam before the promised rain. There are large marshy areas where peat has been cut and piled to dry. Many of the cottages we pass are for sale and as everywhere there are half finished new houses, abandoned mid-project. The wind is now really buffeting us, but mostly hurrying us on. At the top of the last hill a tall pole supporting the electricity lines has blown over with the heavy wires draped precariously over a sapling. We press on, pleased to reach the small town of Tuam just as raindrops start to fall. The only accommodation option is a hotel in the centre, where they stow our bikes in their beer cellar. A long soak in the bath is our reward for a hard cycle.Then down to the bar to soak up the local atmosphere where a brilliant Irish band are playing.








Tour miles to date: 411

Location:Birr to Tuam