Bob and Theresa: Ireland Pilgrimage Friday 6 Nov 2015

Today, we are off to the ancient monastic site of Gougane Barra and then a walkabout (on our own) in Cork

I have no idea what church this is but it caught our eye as we passed it by!

This mural caught my eye as we passed through a small town

In that same small town, we saw these chairs in a store window - Walt Disney strikes again!

We finally stopped for a rest break in the town of Macroon

We parked next to the town square where this monument to those who fought for Irish independence were remembered

Theresa next to a statue at the city center

The building at city center (more importantly, the place where the WC was!)

We did a bit of a walkabout - colorful buildings

We were parked right next to this fish monger

We were intrigued by the fort, so we walked down

We found this plaque to those who fought for Independence inside the gate

We followed this trail a short while before we realized it wound down by the river, so we back-tracked

We saw this church and wanted to visit but could not find a way in (we didn't notice the boarded over windows)

We saw this drive just down the hill so ventured up the drive. Seems it is a private drive that does not have access to the church. But it did have two large dogs who took umbrage with our presence. So we scooted back down the drive only to find these gates closed! We wound through the shrubs and found a way to climb over the short wall to the right. More adventure than we'd hoped for!

The Sullane River runs through the center of town

Back on the road, we drove along the River Lee

We ended up at Gougane Barra and were greeted with this view

The interior of the chapel is very nice and well kept up

The tomb of Fr Dennis O'Mahony, a 17th century priest

This cross sits just outside the cloister

As does this slab with the story of St Finbarr

And does this bell

Inside the cloister, the cross is central

The cells were very spartan

Stations of the Cross

The altar

Back in the car park, we noticed this on the wall of the gift shop

We passed this scene of Christ's Passion at the turn and snapped this from the moving bus - sorry for the blur

We were treated to beautiful scenery along the way

One of our friends we met on the trip (Brenda) wanted a photo of some donkeys. Snapped this as we drove passed and this is about as much as I can blow it up.

River Lee again

We noticed this interesting clock in Cork

We were let off by the English Market. I had a push pin in for St Mary's and asked our guide if that was where we were to have mass. Assured it was, we said we'll meet you there!

We walked through the English Market - reminded us of the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia

We were told that many restaurants buy their fresh meat and fish here.

This ornate entrance leads to Bishop Lucey Park

With a nice fountain in front

Then a stroll down St Patrick Street

This statue is a tribute to the newsboys

Off the beaten path, we saw some less traditional decorations

Fair warning - a lot of the following details our visits to several churches. I hope you'll at least scan through them but will understand if you want to fast forward.

Saints Peter and Paul is just a block off Patrick but we would have missed it without the maps.me labels

The school is just next door

Wonderful hand carved wood

On the side of the ambo - the conversion of Paul

Jesus in the temple as a youth

At the top of the walls were the apostles - here St Peter (the keys)

And here St Bartholomew (Bob's patron saint - the flaying knife is the symbol)

St Augustine's just down from the street corner

St Augustine's famous advice

St Francis of Assisi

Fabulous use of mosaics

The entrance to the blessed sacrament chapel - we found a priest hearing confessions just across from this so we took advantage of it.

The Stations are also in mosaic

The front of the choir loft are decorated with many traditional Christian symbols

With plenty of time to spare, we made it to St Mary's - right on the river!

This pedestrian bridge leads us to St Mary

The time for mass was approaching and no group! We asked where the Cathedral was and got directions we misunderstood. We wandered about finally finding the Cathedral up the hill. We got there just in time for the psalm!