Saturday with friends in Newry

Beautiful clear blue skies were overhead today as we finally made it to the Bernish Viewpoint (picture at left of one of the views) just west of the border city of Newry in Northern Ireland. We had attempted to drive up there last week but took a wrong turn and ended up finding our friend Declan Cromie.

We stopped by the Cromie farm to get a shot from outside the house. We thought we would be in and out quickly without being seen. But the kids came running down the lane, their father Declan followed and his brother Keirnan drove up from down the lane to check out who we were and what we were doing. Now that's a neighborhood watch.

Declan and Kiernan told us about the remains of an ancient church and graveyard not far from their houses. We didn't have time to check it out today but we hope to get back there this week.

We had to get into Newry to meet up with one of the Missoula 12 from the Building Bridges program who I had not made contact with before coming to Ireland. Paul Ferris (on the left in the picture with Ray and Seamus Carr) met us at the Canal Court Hotel for lunch.

Paul lives about 15 minutes away from Newry. Earlier in the week, Declan got Paul's phone number from a mutual friend and gave it to me. When I called Paul, he didn't answer. He called back later to tell me he was now a lorry driver (truck driver) and couldn't answer while driving. Paul also works as a joiner or carpenter but since the recession some of the jobs have dried up.

Paul wanted to meet at the Canal Court because he knows it well. He and his wife had their wedding reception here six years ago. They now have two children--a boy who's three-years-old and a girl who's 10-months. Paul used to drive long haul into Europe but was away for long periods of time. Now with the kids, he's taking day drives such as taking sheep from the Newry area down to the slaughterhouse in Wexford in the south of Ireland.

During their time in western Montana, the Building Bridges folks spent a few weeks in Helena working on the construction of the God's Love homeless shelter. While there, Paul met a Helena girl. She came to Northern Ireland once and he returned to Helena for a trip before the miles between ended their relationship.

Another of the Building Bridges folks, Seamus Carr also joined us for lunch. He knows about trips to Montana.When John and I left for Ireland, Seamus was in Missoula. It was his tenth trip back to Big Sky Country. Also from nearby Newry, Seamus runs a carpentry business and drives truck as well. We're meeting up with Seamus on Monday so more on him later.

At the end of the day and back at our home base in Hillsborough, John went for a run while I headed out for a walk when I noticed some great late afternoon light. I ran back into get the camera and drove through the country until I came to a nice spot to capture the sunset (picture at left). It was a gorgeous end to the evening.