Over the holidays, J. and I visited his sister and her family in the west of Ireland.
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at the Detroit airport |
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Guinness at a local pub |
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Throwing rocks with grandma |
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The last remaining yew |
A short walk down the lane from their house is Aughnanure Castle. This 16th-century tower house, or a fortified residence, was owned by the wealthy, land-owning O'Fflahertie (O'Flaherty) family. More than 200 such tower houses exist just in County Galway. The name Aughnanure comes from the Gaelic
Achadh na nlubhar, which means
the field of the yews. One representative of the yew trees still remains on the grounds.