Sorry friends about the hold-up, but it's the old WiFi thing. We left our beautiful B&B and began our drive to the Ulster Folk Park. Tom was disappointed that we didn't get stopped at the border to have our passports stamped. Ulster American Folk Park was a delight. A much larger version of the place in Killarney. it portrayed the Irish immigrants before and after the Great Famine. It was a beautiful day to walk around. We saw re-created & original homes that still exist in the countryside. Interpreters were there to answer ?s. Some famous Irish-American men had their houses there. John Joseph Hughes, the first Catholic Archbishop of New York, and Thomas Mellon were two.
After we walked around we had to register to emigrate to go to America. The boat was not very large and our quarters were horrible. One bunk style bed for 3-4 people or family. Everyone was so sea-sick. No bathrooms, just pots that we couldn't empty if it was storming. Imagine the smells. At long last, we made it to the shores of America. Many died on the way. It was scary getting off in a country, where we didn't know anyone. People everywhere tried to take advantage of us. We gradually settled into a home and life commenced again. As we got more involved with life in America, our situation improved. We moved west in search of our own land to settle. Our houses got bigger and farms as well. Life is good over here, but we miss Ireland very much.
When we finished the outside we toured the inside museum which was equally informative. We definitely had a better appreciation for our ancestors after that.
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| Village in Old Ireland |
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| The emigration clerk taking our names |
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| Our ship |
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| The inside of our cabin with bunks and table |
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| The deck which we saw very little of. |
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| America at last! |
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| What we saw when we got off the ship |
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| Our first log cabin |
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| As our wealth grew, so did our houses. |
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| The wall around old Derry. |
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| Speaks for itself |
We drove on to Derry. St. Columba founded a monastery here besides the River Foyle in 546. He called the place Doire, or "oak grove", later anglicized as "Derry. We got settled in our hostel. This hostel, like the one in Killarney, was under renovation so we stayed around the corner. Not a bad room. Had Asian roomies. One bath had a claw foot tub, unfortunately it had no hot water. Met some interesting travelers in the common room. Went out to explore before eating. The old part of Derry is surrounded by a wall. A very old, up to 30 feet wide in places, wall. You can walk on the top, by finding staircases to access it. We walked quite a ways because the view was great. Saw St. Columb's Cathedral, built in 1628. We were hungry so we went to an eclectic restaurant and had an interesting meal. Chicken filet on mashed sw. potatoes, topped with sweet peppers tomatoes and onions, and a creme sauce. Pretty yummy. While we were walking, we found 2 malls. These malls go up instead of out. Looked just like ours with many of the same stores. Off we went to get some needed sleep.
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| St. Columb's Cathedral |
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| Our hostel |
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| A sign from the troubled times |
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