Irish Rain

Westboro is a colorful town near the coast, and we are told it rains a lot here. Definetly true today! We weren't sure if we would find much to do today, but we stopped by a local bike shop to make reservations for a long ride we want to do tomorrow. The owner was a friendly bloke, and we asked what we could do here in the rain. He offered to loan us bikes today so we could do a fairly short ride to a historical house in the countryside. Interesting place, it was built by descendants of the Pirate Queen,   Grace O' Malley. She was the 16th century daughter of a chieftan, and a good enough sailor that she was able to be a powerful force on the west coast of Ireland. She also fought the British, and managed to negotiate with Queen Elizabeth without winding up in the Tower. Most of her descendants, the Brownes, supported rebellions in the 18th and 19th centuries, although one black sheep supported the British. I want to read more of the history soon. Ireland is great, but struggling with economic conditions. 600,000 people have left since 2006. We were last here that year, and there was an economic boom, but everyone we talked to said it wouldn't last. Still, I am amazed by the good humor and generosity of the people here, considering what they have gone through and are going through. Stay tuned, more to come.