Early Planning for a Visit to Family in County Mayo
 

Hi - I have just started planning a family reunion trip to County Mayo for Easter of 2008. We have recently found my grandmothers family and will be visiting for the first time. In addition to my DH and I and our 3 kids (ages 9,6 and almost 5) we are also traveling wiht my uncle and his wife and daughter and my brother and father so it's a large crowd.We are planning to stay for 2 weeks to get to see all of my new found exteneded family and hopefully see the must see tourist sites as well.

I have a million questions but am most curious about what you think are must sees in COunty Mayo and County Tyrone (we will go there to visit my grandfather's famiuly for a few days); and what it will be like to be in Glanduff (near Knock) at Easter time? My family there is very religious Roman Catholic and we are not a church going family (although we were certainly attend while we are there) and wonder what the traditions are there. We want to make sure we are properly dressed (including the kids) and are able to fit in since we will be attending mass with family that have lived in the area since the early 1900's and would hate to embarress them in anyway.

Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions. We are so excited about visiting and can't wait to make more defininete plans.

Jen

You might want to see Cong ('Quiet Man' village) or Croagh Patrick, or Westport or Achill Island, the Ceide Fields north & east of Belmullet. If there are golfers in the group, Belmullet's Carne Golf links is the best course I ever played.

I don't know exactly where Glanduff is but 'near Knock' would put it not too far from the River Moy with some of the best fishing around.

Knock Shrine is definitely worth a stop.

I endorse NEDSIRELAND's suggestions (abstain on the golf question, though, as I don't play the game).

I don't find a great deal in Tyrone that interests me, but the Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh is worth considering; it's a combination of folk museum and museum of emigration to America -- so it might illustrate aspects of your own family's history.

On attending church: my guess is that if you are concerned not to dress inappropriately, you will be okay. The Irish are not as strict about attire as are, for example, the Italians (it's less of a challenge here, because we don't have such hot weather!). Your guideline is reasonable decorum.

I don't like Knock, but that's just me. The better parts of Mayo are the coastal ones -- some stunning scenery. But, as they say, you can't eat scenery, and that partly explains the history of emigration. That has changed, as tourism now enables people to make a living from scenery.

It might interest you to know that Glanduff is an anglicisation of An Ghleann Dubh, meaning the black valley.

If you have a lot of money to spare have a look at the possibility of spending a night in Ashford Castle (www.ashford.ie).

I (75 Y/O male) attended 9:00 AM Mass at St. Muredach's Church in Ballina - it was First Communion Sunday for many of the schoolchildren. The Children and their families were dressed for the occasion. I wore a sport jacket & slacks. Ballina is usually my first overnight stop in Mayo.

Sunday morning I hitch-hiked into town from Crocket's on the Quay. I stayed st Crocket's twice, most recently in 2005. They still send me a Christmas Card

If uou do a 'self catering,' be advised that food prices are quite high

Thanks so much to everyone for your suggestions. We've been out of town and I haven't had a chance to check in until now.

It sounds like I'll be okay on attire - I'm assuming for Easter Sunday, my daughter will need an easter dress and the boys will need slacks and nice shirts (my sons are 6 and almost 5) and we'll dress accordingly. Glad to hear it's more relaxed - I was envisioning hats and suits so we'll be good.

Thanks also for the itinerary suggestions. As for timeline, we are planning to arrive in Shannon on March 15th and stay March 24th which gives us 10 days. Does this seem like too short of a trip considering it's a family reunion but we also really want to explore at least some of Ireland? I could add more time but not much due to school scheduling constraints.

Thanks for any ideas - this will be tons of fun but hard to plan.

We stayed at the Westport Inn, which we liked a lot. We ate in the bar there, and the food was delicious. We also saw our first rugby game (Argentina vs France) which we loved. Later we saw games with the Irish team. I now have a big crush on Ronan O'Gara, as much for the fabulous Irish name as for his movie star looks.

Westport is a charming town, quite walkable. We also met up with distant relatives in county Mayo. Being afficionados of stained glass windows, we drove to Ballaghadereen, to the Cathedral there, where we saw fabulous windows--I think the most beautiful I've ever seen.

We went to Mass three times while in Ireland, one of the times being in County Mayo. People seemed to dress casually but respectfully. Covered up, but not puritanically so. I suspect that it will not be so warm that you will be tempted to wear anything unsuitable.

My guess is that people who are concerned about wearing something appropriate to church are not the folks who show up in shorts or tank tops, anyway.

Finding family is pretty exciting. You will have a great trip!
This site may interest you if you do not already have it. They publish a variety of guides, including the Annual Mayo Magazine. If you can get a copy of the magazine, it covers just about everything in the area.
www.irelandguides.ie.
or email: [email protected].

Also: www.discoverireland.ie/west.aspx and www.visitmayo.com.

Everyone knows it can be damp and cold in Spring, but just a reminder. We wore winter coats in April and needed extra shoes and socks, or boots to stay dry. The house we stayed in was chilly and we wore socks at night to be comfortable.
The area is pretty though, and we are going back in a few weeks.

Dont go mad buying clothes for occasions here we are pretty casual unless its a night out. Most people I find are more informal at church in dress but its uo to each individual. Don't worry about how you look. Definately take a trip up to westport or stay there a night. Its a lovely town