We go to the lounge about 5:30 and sit by the fire. We have beer and wine. We meet Dominic the bartender. We also meet a resident from England who’s been here for a week. She says the weather will turn fine tomorrow because they are leaving. She also says the food here is 'haute cuisine.' It turns out she is right on both counts.
The service is phenomenal and the food is exquisite. The wine is great too.
After dinner, we sit in the lounge again, this time with coffee. Kathleen O’Sullivan comes by and tells a group of women about our accident. They all chat away very solicitously.
Mum goes to bed. She has been bitten by the genealogy bug. Before we left for our trip, she said she wasn't interested in looking up any relatives. But there is something about setting foot on the land of your ancestors. You feel the connections in your DNA. We plan to do some searching tomorrow.
In the meantime, as it has now stopped raining completely, Vince and I take a short walk. We look out over the inlet and breathe in the lovely darkening night.
The next morning is beautiful and sunny. We have breakfast and head out to see Bantry. We walk through the town, buy post cards and other touristy things. It’s very busy! Mum's desire to find relatives ramps up because nearly every business is owned by an O'Sullivan or a Sullivan.
Bantry, according to folklore, was named after a sixth-century saint Breandan the Navigator. In the12th Century, the O'Sullivans arrived to overtake the Bantry Bay area. Donal O'Sullivan Beare (we have an O'Sullivan Beare in our family tree) built a Franciscan friary in Bantry, though nothing remains of this structure. The famine of the 1800's was catastrophic for Bantry. The fisheries, a mainstay of the economy, were almost exhausted, and the woolen mill closed down. (In Auntie Beers, Pulling the Wool and The Well are both stories based on my grandmother's experiences with wool.)
Mum and I, strolling through the Bantry Market, 1998. Nowadays, it's much larger: "A treasure trove of stalls offering everything from organic fruit & veg, food, home baking, cheese, fish, meats, olives, eggs, honey, preserves, plants, local crafts, pet supplies, bric-á-brac to collectibles. Bantry Market is the largest market in Cork county and it occupies the central town square, spilling out into the adjoining roads and car parks."
Downtown Bantry. Mum's parents spent their childhoods in Bantry. There were, at that time, two farms inhabited by relatives on the Cotter (maternal) side and the O'Sullivans. Unfortunately, we didn't know where they were in 1998.
Mum wants to visit every business in Bantry owned by an O'Sullivan. The residents smile indulgently but deny any relation.
Our room with a view at, of course, the Sea View.
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