an irish protest

A couple of weeks ago, Movillians gathered around the Tree in Market Square to protest the delivering and installation of windmills up at Kinnego Bay.  They were also concerned that the tree, more than one hundred years old,  may be damaged by the lorries with wide loads.   So on this day, a lorry was sent to do a trial run and see if he could maneuver around the corner.  A few days before, the town had taken down some light posts and bollards to assist them in their quest.  It took the driver 45 minutes and many tries to finally make it.  When he did, the people applauded and cheered.  It was more like an enjoyable mini event.  Music was played, people talking and laughing.  It was an interesting protest, not something I experienced when living in the states.  A totally different experience there.

views of moville

Here are three different views of Moville.  The first one is from the recycling area.  It is only a 20 minute walk from our apartment and offers a beautiful view of Lough Foyle.  The second one is a neighborhood that is up the hill from us.  The third one is from the main road the leads in to town.  Back to rain today but warmer. 

hanging at the pier

I went down to the pier on my way home from dropping glass and cans off at the recycling bins which is nearby.  It was a pretty nice day to be out and about.  There were a group of people standing on the end of the pier just talking and hanging out and a man tidying and organizing his boat before leaving.
As I was taking photos this guy flies by in his boat and another heads back to his car after a day of fishing.  It was a day to enjoy whatever it is that you like because starting tomorrow it's back to more of the gray overcast crappy rainy weather :(

montgomery terrace

Montgomery Terrace overlooks Lough Foyle.  When walking on this street last night there were a few tour buses filled with people. This is one of the stops the buses make for the tourists.  I've seen photos of these houses where almost everyone was a different colour.  I think that would be more attractive but maybe the people who own these buildings didn't think so.

Here's a little background I found about Montgomery:  The Montgomery family association with Moville spans five generations from the early 1700s to the middle of the last century. The Field Marshall’s mother Maud, and father, Henry, are buried at the town’s Church of Ireland graveyard.    Montgomery Terrace was built in 1884 by Robert Montgomery, grandfather of  Bernard Law Montgomery, a British field marshal and one of the outstanding Allied commanders in World War II.

View toward the shore walk

View from the pier

fruit of the loom

It's almost 10 years to the day, 18 May 2006, that Fruit of the Loom shut its door in Buncrana.  Most of the company's spinning, knitting and dyeing facilities were relocated to Morocco.  Willie McCarthur’s (Chief Executive of Fruit of the Loom from 1987 to 1997) family first set up an underwear factory in the town 75 years ago, and in 1987 was responsible for Fruit of the Loom making a $200m (€156m) investment in the factory, creating 3,500 jobs.  The McCarthurs' created a cross-border enterprise that was the largest of its type in the world, putting out about a million tee-shirts a week and 500,000 sweatshirts.  Needless to say it must have been a huge blow to Buncrana and Donegal and especially those 3500 employees.
I have some Fruit of the Loom tee-shirts and a sweatshirt.  I'll be reminded about this whenever I wear them again.  Enjoy your weekend!!

walking bruncrana

When we were in Buncrana, we got a look at their coastal walk.  It's so nice that these communities have places designed for people to walk without dealing with traffic.  It is different from ours in Moville.  Our shore line is very rocky where this is not but it fits in to their community well.  They even have a workout station (see the 4th photo below).  Ireland promotes walking and people do take advantage of the many opportunities to be out in nature.  There are walking clubs and hill walker groups throughout the country where people can pay a small fee or join the group and participate with others who like to walk.  Many towns, large and small, have some kind of walking trail built in to the landscape.  Reading that signpost, I know we have lots more to explore.  Heading out to a walk!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

the cinema and castle avenue

We went to Bruncrana the other day and had a chance to walk around and see what is there.  The bus left us off down the road and we started to walk toward the water once we saw it.  Crossing the street, the cinema was the first interesting building we saw and of course it was listed on the Buncrana Heritage Trail.  There was a map and a picture of the cinema with a little info.  After photographing this building, we headed down Castle Avenue and toward the water.  The info on the cinema and Castle Avenue which was right behind me when I took this photo. 

The town's west end, where the present Castle Avenue joins Upper Main Street, marks the beginning of Col. George Vaughan’s urban development of the “new” Buncrana, away from the “old Town” on the western bank of the Crana River (c.1718). The cinema (St. Mary’s Hall) with its distinctive, pastiche Baroque facade, dominates the junction.

An old postal box

Castle Avenue

You arrive here when you reach the bottom of Castle Avenue.  There are some interesting things down there and I'll share them tomorrow.