After visiting Clonmacnoise, Michael and I went to Athlone to do some more sightseeing. The specific goal was to see Athlone Castle. We parked in a car park a couple of blocks away and got lucky to have a free spot for the afternoon.
Walking back to the castle, this building caught my eye. The only K. Wallace I know is Kevin Wallace, the curator and author of books about woodturning. I'll have to send him a copy of this picture.
The castle is pretty intimidating from the outside.
This sign tells a bit about it. Click on the image to increase the print size.
The castle is on the river Shannon.
A windo that isn't a window?
This is the entrance side of the castle.
It's across from a large church.
Arrow slots above the entry way.
The inner keep. Those stairs look like they belong on a Hollywood set.
Fake cannons pointing to the river.
The view from the ramparts.
Looking the other way from the previous image. You can see how thick the outer wall is in this picture.
The wall thickness on the building inside the keep is apparent in this image.
Another view from the side nearest the church.
This is what you see when you look down one of those arrow slots.
We didn't pay to go inside to do that tour, so we walked around Athlone for a bit and got a meal at a place down the street. Not here, though - we had a pint at the end of the day in Sean's Bar, which is the oldest pub in Ireland. This was established in the 900's - that just seems so bizarre to this American. The history in the states is so short compared to other countries.
I liked the name of this pub!
Walking around the streets can give one an insight as to popular opinion. There were quite a few protest fliers posted around the town.
Here's another one.
Final stop of the day - Sean's Bar, where we enjoyed a pint of Guinness in the oldest pub in Ireland. We sat next to a peat fire and there was sawdust on the floor. Some of the memorabilia was interesting and some seemed out of place, such as the license plates from the USA. Weird!
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