Reunion in Carlingford

Great to attend a reunion of colleagues who were train blazers as regards ICT in Education - the ICT Advisors who were attached to Education Centres in Ireland until summer 2008 when the service was suddenly cut.

Carlingford, Co Louth was the location for the reunion and on Saturday we walked the one and half hour walk from Glenmore over the Golyin Pass down into Carlingford. The weather was clear and it was an enjoyable walk with magnificent views over Carlingford Lough from the top.

Picture above the group at the start of the walk. In the picture below Carlingford is behind the group and the port of Greenore to the right.

The Golyin Pass is an old traders' short cut pass across the mountain. There is a well-built causeway most of the way up the mountain which helps.

This is part of the Táin Way and to our right as we walked was the mountain called Barnavave or Maeve's Gap. To the left was Slieve Foye. The Táin Bó Cualgne is a well known ancient Irish saga. The translation by Thomas Kinsella (1969) with illustration by Louis le Brocquy is a well known version. More recently Ciaran Carson has published a well received translation (2008).

Of course it all began, The Táin that is, with some pillow talk in Connacht, in Rathcroghan in modern Roscommon where Maeve and her husband Ailill lived.