Loughrea

We arrived in Ireland on Good Friday. After collecting our baggage and car, we headed west for a 3.5 hour drive. Our desitation was Doolin, where we stayed throughout Easter weekend. I knew we were going to need to stop and stretch our legs somewhere near the middle and I discovered Loughrea on the map. Loughrea was said to have a beautiful lake and cathedral, so that's where we stopped.

We arrived just as the town's people were headed to Good Friday services. We entered the town on the opposite side from the cathedral which happened to be great because we discovered St. Mary's, a smaller, but still beautiful church. After spending some time on the grounds of St. Mary's, we followed the town moat (the only one still in use in Ireland) through to St. Brendan's cathedral. Nearly every single shop window had a sign stating it had closed for a few hours to allow for worship. We thought that was great and made perfect sense. We did find a coffee shop that was opened and grabbed a cup for the walk. We were able to stop in St. Brendan's for part of the service but didn't stay long. It was packed with towns people and was standing room only!

Pointing us to our destination.
St. Mary's







Me & the moat.
Walking over to St. Brendan's.
Loved this which adorned the iron gates upon entrance.