Ireland Day 7 - Kylemore Abby

Day 7 was a little less exciting of a day but don't worry, it picks back up tomorrow!  We had a fairly long drive from Galway to Sligo and it rained a ton throughout the day so we were somewhat limited in what we could do.  We decided to hit a castle that the pastors from the church we attended Sunday recommended and then to hit a cool old abby before heading up to Sligo.

Ashford Castle was really a cool spot but, unfortunately, unless you are staying there (which costs an arm and a leg - it is a 5 star hotel), they don't like for you to come inside.  We enjoyed touring the grounds and checking out some of the cool guard buildings and gardens.  Here are some pictures:

Kylemore Abbey was a lot of fun despite the fact that it rained the entire time we were there.  I, being brilliant, didn't bring my umbrella so I ended up soaked (as did my camera - was very thankful for a well built Nikon!).  The Abby sits at the base of Druchruach Mountain in beautiful Connemara.  It was built by a rich English dude, Mitchell Henry, who had taken his wife out to Connemara on a vacation and had noticed how she fell in love with the area.  Out of love for her, he invested his fortune in building what is now Kylemore Lodge.  Mitchell was actually a really great guy who did a lot in his time at Kylemore to help out the people who lived in the area.  He employed a lot of them, treated them and paid them well, educated their children, and taught them how to be more self sufficient and to work the land.  They loved him for it.  It was a very cool story.  Mitchell's wife died a while later and he also built a chapel on the grounds in memory of her.  We were able to tour both the house and chapel on our visit.  The estate is now owned by a group of nuns and is used as an abbey.  Here are some pictures of the abbey (and Am) in the pouring rain:

From Kylemore, we were off to Sligo where my desire of staying one night in a castle was realized.  The castle was only built in 1884 so it isn't super old but it was super cool.  Here are some pictures of the Sligo Clarion Hotel: