Donegal

This morning we sailed into the harbor of Killybegs, the largest fishing port in Ireland. From the harbor we took buses to visit the beautiful town of Donegal in the northwestern Ireland county of the same name. Some of us visited the town and its Castle built in 1610, as well as its historic 15th century Abbey at the head of Donegal Bay. Others of us drove into the countryside fir a visit to an active blanket bog, led by local botanist Ralph Shepherd, to see up close the flowers and other bog plants and to learn how bogs form. Particularly interesting were the sun dew (pictured) which are insectivorous plants. Over the last 4000 years the bogs have produced the peat which has warmed Irish homes for centuries. Local people had been cutting the turf and left it to dry through the summer before it is collected for the winter fires. When we returned to Donegal town, the wonderful smell of turf burning reminded us once again of the beauty of this green land and how it supports its people.