Celtic tour day I: Going to Sligo

Since I had a few days off in early August and my traveling bone was still itching, I booked a quick four-day trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland. A friend came along with me, so both hotel and car costs became a lot more reasonable. We landed in Dublin and with only my (less than) trusty GPS to guide us, we set off for Sligo on the northwest coast.

We first arrived in Trim and had lunch. The Irish put chips (crisps for you limeys) on their pizza. They're fucking crazy.


Our first proper tourist stop was at the ancient Trim Castle. Since I'm a lazy bastard, I'll just paste in what I wrote on TripAdvisor:
Went with a friend who'd never been to a castle, and he was happy enough. I've been to many such places, both in the UK and elsewhere and found it to be middling (which means it was quite average, not in anyway bad!). Paid the full price to have a guided tour of the keep. Informative, but the presentation was a bit stilted and uninspiring (I know from personal experience how hard it can be to keep up motivation, but people pay good money for this). The age and general condition of the keep means the only place you're allowed to go free is the roof. Great views, but it puts a damper on the experience, even if necessary.

Some pics from Trim Castle, here the keep in all its splendor.


What's left of the Great Hall.


One of several models they had inside the keep to show how the castle had looked at different points in time, I believe they had 3 or 4 of them.


The inside of the keep.


I believe the tall structure is what's left of a monastery, but I could be wrong. The small one in the field to the right is what's left of one of the gates in a wall that once surrounded the village.


View from the roof.


What was left of a once mighty wall.


We joked that the donut shop must be right around the corner.


I had hoped to see the Lake Isle of Innisfree, of which W. B. Yeats wrote a very famous poem. But it was pissing down, so I'll save that for another time. I did however take this pic of the strangely named Knockarea. The hill has a large grave mound on top, said to be the burial site of some ancient queen. It is (obviously) clearly visible from the road.


Once inside Sligo, the rain had dissipated and we walked a bit around the centre of town. Now, is it just my warped imagination or is this statue trying to get both females to give him a blowjob? Kinky, very kinky!


Some grand building whose purpose has slipped my mind.


The Garavogue River runs through town and makes for a nice little attraction.


Finally, a statue of said W. B. Yeats in that modern style I hate so much.