Dominican Friary of Sligo (a.k.a., Old Dominican Abbey)
Clara woke me at dawn with a loving kiss goodbye as she left for Germany. Before bed, we had planned to reconnect in London, so I expected to see her again in a couple of weeks. I slept a while longer after she left, but got up in time for breakfast. Taking a pass on the frigid communal shower, I went out to visit the old Dominican Friary on foot before taking the short drive west on Strandhill Road toward Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery.
Along the way, I found another tourist information office, so I went in to verify my directions and gather more info on my upcoming destinations.
Dominican Friary of Sligo (a.k.a., Old Dominican Abbey)
I overshot the discretely marked entrance and doubled back when I realized I had gone too far. In the guest services office at Carrowmore, I perused the literature and asked questions of the smiling, knowledgeable staff to learn about the prehistoric site. Half is located on private land the owners charge a modest admission fee for entry, but the other side of the street is free and actually contains the eldest and more interesting creations.
The ancient formation designated “#4,” is the oldest assembly of stones, having been erected some 7,400 years ago. It consists of a ring of large rocks with a couple in the center. Other standing stones and henges of varying configurations are spaced apart around the fields and knolls. These megalithic monuments reside in what are now serene and quiet pastures where horses and cows leisurely graze on dense, green grass under the white, hazy sky. Was so impressed with what I had seen, I purchased a ticket to check out the other half. The ruins on that side of the street were more entropic and harder to discern, yet nonetheless fascinating.
