Clonalis House, Carrick on Shannon and Drumcliffe

Heading for the home stretch of our Ireland vacation saw us continue to explore the northwestern part of the country, with three more stops.

First was Clonalis House, an historic manor built in 1878 by the O'Connor family, direct descendants of the last High Kings of Ireland.

The house is filled with historical correspondence, heirlooms, objet d’art and portraits.  We were led on a lovely guided tour, but Taryn and I quickly lost interest.  So we headed outside to wander the grounds a bit.

No pictures were allowed inside the house, which is too bad because it did have some interesting rooms and items.  But the outside of the Victorian structure also has visual appeal.

Next was Carrick on Shannon, where many members of our group decided to take a river cruise.  We opted instead just to hang out in town, grab some lunch and relax.

The River Shannon runs right through town, at 224 miles the longest river in the country.  It's named after Sionna, a Celtic goddess.

Our final stop was St. Columba's Church of Ireland church in the small town of Drumcliffe, final resting place of the poet William Butler Yeats.  This isn't his grave; it's just one I thought looked especially interesting with the moss and other plants growing on it.

A sculpture of a crouching man and a memorial with a line from Yeats' poem "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" can also be found at the site.

This cat had the right idea for how to spend the afternoon -- napping in a warm window, where she could reflect on the world outside if she chose.

A Celtic high cross on the site reportedly dates back to sometime between the ninth and 11th centuries.  It depicts Adam and Eve, Cain slaying Abel, Daniel in the lion's den and Christ in Glory on this, its east face.