Leprechauns and Lucky Charms: Miracles, A Poet and a Pretty Piece of Pottery

Day 10 - OMG! The broads wer/e shocked to turn on local news early this morning to see images of Belfast hit last night with a vicious snow storm. Belfast? Really1 Luckily we spend the next two days in the Donegal area which should be enough time for the snow to melt, we hope!

An early start landed us in Knock. The Story of Knock began on Thursday evening of the 21st August, 1879, Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the church at Knock, County Mayo, Ireland. Beside them and a little to their left was an altar with a cross and the figure of a lamb, around which angels hovered. There were fifteen official witnesses to the apparition – young and old – who watched and prayed for two hours in the pouring rain.

Two Commissions of Enquiry, in 1879 and 1936, accepted their testimony as trustworthy and satisfactory. As the news spread, pilgrims by the thousands arrived here with their sick. A large number of unusual cures were reported. Those who claimed a cure left their crutches and canes at the site, and many of those supports were attached to the wall. Pilgrims snatched plaster and bits of cement off the apparition wall for relics in 1879 and the 1880s. In the fall of 1880, a statue of Our Lady of Knock was erected where she had been seen during the vision. This place in Ireland had become a place for pilgrimage: one-and-a-half million visitors trek there annually.

The old broads took a quick look at the shrine, the tiny old church and the town's new basilica, and then scurried to the bus. Why hurry and scurry you ask? Because it is freakin' cold, downright bitter, and windy too.

After another short jaunt we make a quick stop in Sligo for coffee and "batrooms." Yes, I said "batrooms" which means bathrooms. Apparently the "th" sound is not in the Irish diction. We also hear "are you wit me" frequently from our guide when he's trying to determine if we understand the plan. It's actually pretty charming.

From Sligo, we head out for the Belleek factory and get our first view of Donegal bay. Beautiful, although too cold to view for long except from our trusty motor coach. I must say there is much fanfare traveling with CIE since it is a government owned company. It seems we get first rate treatment everywhere, with special receptions and tours of places that are sometimes closed to the public due to the day of the week or being a holiday.

On the way to the Belleek factory, we stopped to view an old cemetary, home to a famous Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. Both broads are fascinated with graveyards so it was a fun stop even though the cold winds made it a chilly adventure. Okay, so more about Belleek.

The Belleek factory is in Belleek, ha, ha, pretty obvious choice of names. Belleek makes "pottery" which is actually fine porcelain china. It is Ireland's oldest pottery. You've probably seen it in fine gift shops and may even have a piece at home handed down through the generations. At first glance some of it seems kind of gaudy, definitely something at least one old broad didn't want to own. Of course, that was before the factory tour and video that showed how even today, each piece is completely hand molded, tooled, painted and fired in the onsite factory. The Gunter broad had already made purchases and the tour reeled in the other broad - just had to have something with that level of craftsmanship, even if it would just be on display in the china hutch.

From there we headed straight away to our lovely hotel in Donegal and are now waiting for a tea/coffee and scone reception before dinner. Other than the cold, it has been a great day.