Aran Islands - Dún Aenghus, Seven Churches, and Leprechaun Houses

Our taxi driver dropped us off in Kilmurvey village for 2 hours to give us enough time to walk up to Dún Aenghus and eat lunch. Dún Aenghus is the islands biggest tourist attraction. Little is known about this 2,000 year old Celtic fort. Our driver, Patrick said while we were sightseeing he would go home to get a cuppa tea. I think the Irish would still be drinking their dozen cups of tea each day even if it was 100 degrees outside. They really are crazy tea drinkers. 

L lasted about 15 of the 25 min hike up to the fort! 
Poor Joe had her on his back for a good while. 

Near the end of the trail it gets steep and rocky. This is looking back where 
we just walked from. You can see the little village in the distance. 

Ariel view of the fort. I found this picture on the internet. 

The stone fortress hangs on the edge of the 300 foot cliff above the Atlantic Ocean. The walls are 13 feet thick and 10 feet high. As the cliff erodes chunks of the fort fall into the sea. When we started the hike the ranger warned us to watch our children closely. There is no fence between you and the cliff and it can be very windy. Ohh no...did I sign up for this? What were we thinking. 

The children getting a drink and quick bite to eat after the hike

Thats a LONG drop down

It really is impressive looking at this creation. I honestly thought I would be all about hanging off the edge and taking these really cool pictures. Ummm....no! I could not even get within a couple feet and I had vertigo. Joe is the one that ended up taking most of these pictures. 

It is amazing how all the walls are made with rocks and they
never used mortar. Its like a perfect puzzle. 

 When we got back into the village we had lunch at this little restaurant. All the food is made fresh each day. Joe got the Guinness and potato stew and then for dessert we ordered the Guinness cake. The cake was delicious! After lunch our taxi driver picked us up to take us to some more sights before we had to take the ferry back at 5pm. 

Check out how thick the thatched roof is

See....more leprechaun houses. I was not joking!

 Then we came to the Seven Churches area. Although its called Seven Churches, there are only two churches here. The rest of the buildings are where the monks lived. This is an area of ruined chapels, monastic houses, and fragments of a high cross from the 8th century. They were ruined and burned by guess who - Cromwell! 

The main attraction at the site are the cross slabs that are said to mark the burial place of seven saints. There are also a few Roman graves in the back. This just proves how important the Aran Islands were in the scholarly world. How the Romans got to hearing about a monastery on the edge of an island, off the end of Ireland, beats me! 

Old structure on the site

Gravestones inside the church

Inside of the church - I believe this was the alter in the back

Cemetery at the church which is still being used today. 

See the lighthouse in the distance? This is the last one on this
side of the Atlantic until Newfoundland, Canada

 Our driver let us get out to take pictures up close and personal with the leprechaun house 

"Dad can you build me one of these in our backyard at home" - L

L petting the horse. She LOVES animals! 

After our tour the taxi driver dropped us back in town where we got the ferry back to the mainland (or should I say the bigger island). I have to say it was nice having our own driver for 4 hours. It was definitely the way to go with three children. 

St. Joseph's Church

When we got back to Galway we went to the Saturday evening mass at St. Joseph's. This church was built in 1883. It was simple inside but pretty. K was asked by the priest to bring down the gifts with another young boy. But when it was time she chickened out and T did it for her. Too funny! Then we had to drive back to Dublin because K had a soccer match the next morning.