Police World Edition 3 2014

Article

Sightseeing on the

westCoast

Formore reviews of IPAHouses in Ireland visit: www.facebook.com/ IpaIrelandHouses?

DeirdreMahony, Chair of Greater Belfast branch, venturedacross theborder toexplore thewondersof Ireland. Shemade themost of the IPA’Snetworkof Houses - several ofwhichare ideally located for touring thisarea. M y daughter Taraand I hadamost marvellous tour of thewest coast of Ireland - first travellingwest towards of ShopStreet which leadsdown to the famous SpanishArches and theCladdaghAreaof Galway. It ishere theCladdagh ring isnamedafter. Shop

Street iswonderful as are themany smaller streets and lanes off it. This city isburstingwith theatres, art galleries, street theatre,magnificent craft shops sellingwares of creators fromall over Irelandandmusic streamingout of every bar and restaurant. Onday four of our tripweheadedout to thewilds of Connemara, visiting the villages of Barna, Spiddal and the set of RosnaRun, an Irish soap drama. Theweather wasbeautiful, the seaAzure blue.Weeventuallymadeour way back through the charming villageofMoycullenandback to the city. After dinner wewalkedback through the city streets, still teamingwith life, to the IPAHouse. We really neededanother day at least inGalway, however we left thisbaseand visitedCounty Clare, theprotectedBurrenarea, the famous Aillwee caves and theCliffs ofMoher. We thenheaded toCork.Wedidn’t stay in the IPAHouse, asmy sister lives there, but it isworth noting for other travellers there is aHouseand Cork is a great place to visit.My favourite thing to do inCork is visit theShandonBells at St. Anne’s churchas it has thebest viewover the city. Youareallowed toplay thebells and thereare music sheetswith thebell numbers andpauses outlined. I think I get better every time I visit. Section Irelandhas picked great locations to have their Houses. I would strongly recommend my colleagues inRegionNorthern Irelandand thewider IPA toavail themselves of a very

Enniskillenandover theBorder toSligo. I really knew very littleabout Sligo, choosing to go there just because therewas an IPAHouseand it suitedour plans. TheHouse is anextremelywell situatedapartment along thebankof theRiver Garavogueandonly a fewminutes away on foot from theheart of Sligo. This town isdelightful. Inparticular, we loved the small shopownedbyMQuirkes - awood carver, theOldeWorld sweet shopacross the road, St John’sCathedral and the local court house - which isquitea livingmuseumwith somany original features. Thebuilding is extremelywell maintainedandwe got an impromptu tour by the young caretaker who clearly loves thebuilding and itshistory. At night the town is alivewith traditionalmusic - theatmosphere is electric and so friendly. Onday twoweexplored theSligo countryside, visiting the GlencarWaterfalls and theDrumcliffeGraveyard whereWilliamButler Yeats isburied. It was wonderful to see theareahe sobeautifully wroteabout. We thenheaded to the IPAHouse inGalway City. EnrouteweexploredCountyMayo, visiting the coastal townofWestport, ClewBaywhich in the Easter sunshine lookedout of thisWorld. On arrival inGalway early evening, we foundour way to theHousewith relativeease. It is situated in EyreStreet only a fewminutes away fromEyre Squareand themainpedestrian thoroughfare

DeirdreMahoney

West coast scenery

inexpensiveway toexplore theWest Coast. It’s onour doorstepand it is amazing. IPAmembers everywhere should comeonover, theCraic is great! DeirdreMahony , Chair Greater Belfast branch

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POLICEWORLD Vol 59No. 3, 2014