Day 21 Castledawson Northern Ireland Friday 20th July 2012

We have arrived safely in Castledawson which is only about 10 minutes drive into Maghera. We are staying at The Inn Castledawson and this boutique hotel is just stunning with the river just outside our window. It will be lovely to have 4 days here so we can unpack instead of trying to find things in a suitcase. Can't believe it's day 22 and our Grand Reunion is in 2 days time!

Yesterday was a huge day travelling and we spent over 6 hours in the car driving from Galway in the Republic of Ireland to Castledawson in Northern Ireland. We left Galway around 11.00 am and made it to Knock in County Mayo for the 12 pm Mass. Knock is such a peaceful, spirit filled place and we loved wandering around soaking up the deep spirituality of this little piece of Heaven on earth. We spent lots of time on our knees praying for all those intentions we brought with us. Frank was very diligent in making sure he secured lots of Holy Water for us while we girls hit the religious shop for souvenirs to remember this day.

The Pilgrims!

Knock Ireland

We drove on through County Donegal which with its hauntingly beautiful landscapes is unforgetable. Before long we crossed the border and were in our ancestral homeland of County Derry. Lone, Frank and Leonie have never visited Northern Ireland before so Mary decided that we would go to Derry City on our way home. Mary drove in and out of the walled city and we parked so we could walk along the street of the Bloody Sunday Massacre. Mary gave a guided history tour of the iconic murals along this street and it was fantastic to see them up close as the last time Mary and I visited it was raining and we couldnt get out of the car. What a moving experience to see them up close.

Then we passed through Dungiven, Mary's home town on our way to Castledawson. We reached our hotel at 7.30pm after a long days driving but it was another fabulous day spent together on the ancestry trail.

Today two more of the Aussie contingent arrive, Peter and Loretta McGuigan from Melbourne so cant wait to see them. This afternoon we are planning to take the gang to Slaughtneil to see the family home which should be great as the weather is perfect with beautiful blue skies today which I hope continues for our special weekend.