Page 12
www.celtic-connection.com
JUIY/AUGUST 2000
TRAVEL DIARY
THE WINNING WEST
By DAVE ABBOTT
The heather hills of Counties Donegal and Sligo contain some of Ireland's most majestic scenery. Cool, clean waters from the roaring Atlantic Ocean slice into the breeze-swept rocky crests, clouds scud rapidly in followed by shafts of sunlight and vivid rainbows that transform glens, cliffs, mountains and beaches into Irish landscapes from holiday brochures.
The turbulent Atlantic air blows over these hills and the past is not so far away, a lilting half-heard Celtic tune that soothes the soul and fires the imagination.
One remembers Donegal was not conquered by the English until the Seventeenth Century and by the 1920's the English had still not eradicated rural Donegal's Celtic inheritance.
Our enjoyable visit to Derry behind us, we crossed seamlessly into the Irish Republic without bothersome border posts or checkpoints to impair our sense of well-being.
It was an unhurried drive through Donegal to Letterkenny passing windswept, unkempt, sheep-grazed grasses on mountain slopes, ribbons of greenery, mellow colours of boglands, and constant shifting and changing cloudscapes.
En route we spent a few minutes at Rathmullan, an ancient harbour which was the scene of the Flight of the Earls (1607) and now has a worthy Heritage Centre. The county is dotted with castles, cairns, monasteries and country-house hotels. Travelling the country roads you'll have a feeling you've escaped, at last, from all the world's hurry and hassle.
After overnighting at the elegant Castle Grove Hotel, Ballymaleel, resisting another Irish breakfast,
DIANE ABBOTT beside a statue of W.B. Yeats which dominates Sligo's Cultural Heritage.
we headed for Sligo, historically a battleground for Vikings, Anglo-Normans and Oliver Cromwell, whose Puritans slaughtered and laid waste entire families throwing them from their ancestral lands, replacing them with his English officers.
History is very much alive here. Anglo-Irish names resonate in these parts. Parkes, Villiers, Strongbow, the Gore-Booths, one of whom became Countess Constance Markievicz and played a leading role in the 1916 Easter Rising against the Brits, and Sir Frederick Hamilton, founder of Manorhamilton.
Once a modest litde market town, when I lived there in the late Fifties, with unpretentious villages around the corner, today Sligo has traffic jams, housing estates, supermarkets, upscale restaurants and urban sprawl, although you still may find a few white-washed thatched cottages with scarlet doors on the outskirts.
But the city's main claim to fame is a son of Sligo, William Butler Yeats, and pilgrims arrive from all over the world to pay homage at the poet's unpretentious grave in Drumcliff churchyard, where he lies with his wife Georgie, set in the grounds of a plain and simple Protestant church.
An excerpt from his poem Under Ben Bulben is written on his tombstone "Cast a cold eye, on life, on death. Horseman pass by!" My favourite poem is The Lake Isle of Inisfree and there is an actual Lake Isle, a small tree-covered island, which is a very popular tourist spot.
For history buffs, a visit to Knocnaree, out the Strandhill Road, is a must for 'tis here a heroine of many Irish legends, Maeve, the First Century AD Celtic Queen of Connaught, is believed buried in a 3000 year-old tomb.
Our next stop was the 500 year-old City of Galway which I'd visited in the Seventies while on assignment for Canadian Broadcasting and stayed at the grand old-fashioned Great Southern Hotel (1845) and joined Merv Griffin, a singer and television talk show host, in the Railway Bar, for a drink.
"I'm on my way to interview John Huston, y'know the film director who lives in a manor house in Craughwell," he told me, adding, "John always has great parties at St. Cleran's."
We parted company and 30 years later Merv is chairman of The Griffin Group whose assets include hotels, resorts, casinos, game shows (Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune) and real estate.
One of his latest ventures was the purchase and renovation of the old Huston manor turning it into one of the most beautiful houses
ST. CLERANS HOTEL, now owned by Merv Griffin, was the former home of legendary movie director John Huston.
part of local legend and actress-daughter Angelica Huston is fondly remembered by her schoolmates in the village of Craughwell.
in Ireland, spending C$8 million on renovations, to add to the Merv Griffin Hotel chain.
He not only restored the great old house, without losing the sense of history, he named each of the 12 deluxe suites after members of his family and transformed the house in such a way that even the resident ghost Anthony Daly would approve.
St. Cleran's, unlike his other properties, is special for you see both Merv's parents were Irish emigrants - Mervyn Griffin from County Clare and Rita Robinson from Tipperary.
We slept in the luxurious Griffin suite complete with classical taste and imaginative decor. It is quietly magnificent and if you'd like to experience living as it might have been during the Anglo-Irish ascendancy, and transcend the ordinary, then I heartily recommend a night's stay or at least a visit for dinner. It's very special. The wild Huston parties are now
Our stay was too brief in Galway but before leaving we joined in the St. Patrick's Day celebrations enjoying the music and youthful shenanigans and later downed a Guinness with Liam and Pauline Ferrie, winners of the Ireland's best website (www.irishemigrant. ie). We visited Kenny's, Ireland's largest mail-order bookstore (www.kennys.ie), watched the sun go down on Galway Bay and dined on fresh Galway produce among warm friendly people.
In the next issue, Kilrush, County Clare, birthplace of it's most famous daughter, Nessa Doyle, my Celtic Voices radio co-host , plus Kerry and Cork.
•
Dave Abbott is heard every Saturday at 8 AM on Celtic Voices on 96.1FM and on Real Audio at www.fm961.com.
SUMMER FUN ON THE MENU
AT FOGGY DEW PUBS
Bv CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - I dropped in to the Foggy Dew Pubs in Richmond and Coquitlam recently to get an update on the upcoming summer activities at both locations. The Foggy Dew Pubs have the three great's down pat....great food, great pint and great service. I'm always impressed with their hospitality at both locations.
The Richmond location has a friendly neighbourhood pub atmosphere with patrons sitting around the bar on the high stools or in some of the cosy snugs. There are two patios, one which looks out onto the busy Westminster Highway and another quieter one facing out onto Alderbridge Way.
STAFF AT THE FOGGY DEW in Richmond: (L-R) Sun Park (Manager) Ron Redwood, Christy Hallman, Shane Hayes (Chef), and Sean Blackmore (Assistant Chef).
I spoke to manager Sun Park about some of their planned summer activities and she said, "we're working on a couple of charity functions at the moment. On July 17, we have a group called Arrival who will be performing the songs of Abba. This function is by donation at the door and all proceeds will go the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
"On August 14, we will again sponsor our second annual charity golf tournament at Green Acres Golf and Country Club. We're hoping to raise approximately #7,000, with all proceeds going to the Richmond Hospital Foundation. Anyone wishing to take part in this worthy charity event, should contact Lyndsay Gibson or myself here at the pub.
"Our entertainment for the summer will feature a lot more top forties groups and we still try to keep our Celtic theme with Irish music during the last weekend of every month. Our patrons are a lot of regulars who are here every weekend, so we try to add a lot of variety in the entertainment for them.
"With regard to our menu, we've added a few new items but one thing that will not change and which has been a consistent big seller since opening... is our fish and chips. But mind you, we use quite a lot of Kilkenny in our batter."
•
It was a warm Saturday evening, when I arrived at the Foggy Dew in Coquitlam and already the patio was packed. Inside the pub, it was just starting to fill-up for dinner and the evening's entertainment.
This location is quite different from the Richmond location. The first thing that you notice is the amount of space, the high ceilings and the TV screens high above the bar area.
The TV's are very unobtrusive and you can either watch them or not. But, if you're a sports fan and want to watch soccer, rugby, hockey or any other sport, it's all there, on a nice clear, wide screen.
Because of the size of the Coquitlam location, they can accommodate large parties, in fact,
when I was there, a party of 40 people arrived with no reservation and they were soon all seated, ordering dinner and awaiting the evening's entertainment.
Shortly after the Coquitlam Foggy Dew opened just a little over a year ago, I spoke with manager Paul Gaudaur about what his goals and expectations were for the pub. So, on this visit, I asked Gaudaur if he had accomplished some of these.
He said, "Well, since we last spoke, we now have our signage up, we've opened our patio and become a very popular spot. We have the ability to draw from throughout the Lower Mainland, not just locally, I mean, I'm really surprised at how many people are coming from downtown, White Rock, Kitsilano, Surrey, Delta and Langley, just from all over the place.
"I'm sure the entertainment has a lot to do with it, but I also think it has to do with people who have
Continued on page 13