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Our drive from Westport to Sligo was unremarkable except for the always beautiful Irish countryside. I don't think I could ever have tired of the lush green fields, the purple heather, the sheep roaming everywhere, hillsides full of grazing
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For some reason, Rick Steves does not incl
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The city of Sligo was actually quite nice I thought. There was a river running through it out to the Atlantic Ocean and several bridges that spanned it were very picturesque. We ate in a little cafe where the waitresses were excited to see Americans or foreign tourists for that matter. The farther north we traveled, the more we were a welcome sight. But more of that in posts to come.
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We made our way over to the Sligo Abbey. Sligo also had a castle at one time but it did not survive the test of time. The Abbey has an
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I was surprised to find a rood screen in stone here (the three small arches in the picture). We have run across rood screens in other old churches my first awareness of them being at a church in England where it was pointed out to me. I found that the rood screen was used as a way to separate the clergy from the laity.
There were quite a few graves in the floor of the Abbey and markers that stood as well marking places where people were buried. I have never quite understood how people concentrate on worship as the step over graves in the floor (Westminster Abbey is a good example).
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The Dominican Friary that ran the Abbey was founded in the mid-13th century and the high sculpted altar that sits behind the rood screen dates back to the 15th century.
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While I wouldn't go so far as to say "If you've seen one ruined Abbey, you've seen them all," but I had lost count of how many we'd been to. Not being an archaeologist or a historian, it all begins to blend together. I was beginning to get a better grasp on Irish history though and how religion played a part in dividing people politically. Sad that what God intended to bring people together could tear us apart so much--even today.
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