Day 23 What to do on a cold wet day?

 Day 23 What to do on a cold wet day?

Raining in Lahinch

It's been raining pretty much non stop today so my options were pretty limited. 

But first let me go back to last night and my mini celebration at the Atlantic. It was lovely.  It was nice and quiet when I first went in so the boys all stopped for a chat. Declan lit the first fire for the autumn. He said there's a saying "no fires before October" but it was cold enough last night to start the ball rolling.  

Making the most of the fire. 

And, as promised, I had that Irish Coffee. It was lovely. 

Irish Coffee. Slainte!

So this morning my options were a bit limited.  Had a quick stroll to the beach and grabbed a take away coffee from Dodi's then went home and opened my laptop and got to work on my Ancestry site. 

About lunchtime,  my head was spinning with so much information, so I thought I'd better go out somewhere .... even if it was just for a drive.  

One place I've been meaning to visit since I arrived was Kilrush. Many years ago,  on my first visit to Ireland,  when I first met Nora  Curtin (Marie's Mum), she asked me would I like to meet Eileen  Lynch, who was her husband Pat's sister. Yes, of course! So she sent me down to Kilrush. That was in the 1990s. I met Eileen and her daughter Pattie. She had a souvenir type shop and she was closing it down so she gave me a whole lot of knick knacks, including a St Brigid's cross, which I still have proudly displayed in my kitchen.

Lahinch to Kilrush

It rained the whole way,  but that was ok. When I arrived, I went down to the harbour but it was a bit bleak.

Kilrush harbour 

By this time I was ready for a coffee, so I headed back for town and found a car park . Kilrush is built around a square

Kilrush Square

Now this is where the story gets interesting.  There didn't appear to be many coffee shops so I headed for the nearest pub..

The Haven Arms

The coffee cost €4.50, which roughly equates to $7.50 AUD. !!!

But.... 

After I finished the coffee and went to the loo, I spotted a lady at the bar who was approx my age and I asked her if she had been in Kilrush for a long time and would she have known Eileen Lynch and the whereabouts of her shop??? (Eileen died in 2008)

Well. Yes and yes!!!

Not only did she know Eileen's shop,  but she took me there in the rain,  and introduced  me to Anita who was a friend of Pattie, Eileen's daughter.  (Sadly Pattie  died in 2007)

The Family Store- Eileen's old shop

Apparently their family had bought the shop from Eileen and had been there ever since.

So Anita and I exchanged details and she told me she was still in touch with Madeleine, one of Eileen's daughters. Since then Madeleine and I have exchanged texts and I'm going to meet her at Bunratty Castle on Friday.

Wow... it's all happening!!

Moira and Anita outside Eileen's shop and house

My brain has been spinning with all this new information in the last few days. But I find it so exciting!

Tonight I called in to Marie's to show her the new information I had found in Corofin. Her local knowledge was invaluable, but I think she also found a few new connections too.

So after all that, I went down to the Atlantic for tea, and one of the boys, Gabriel, who is from Ecuador, is leaving for New York this week, so I had to say goodbye in case I missed him in the next few days. He has been a lovely, friendly presence each time I have come to The Atlantic and I will miss him - even though I'm going home myself next week.

Gabriel and Moira at The Atlantic Hotel

Good luck Gabriel and Bon Voyage!

So it's been a very big day for me and my poor brain! So much new information that I have to somehow incorporate! But I think I'll manage!!!