Page 118 - GAHS Journal Volume 9

TO CLON AND BACK

To Clon and Back

GAHS Spring Outing, 2018

Rosemary Raughter

‘H
alf past nine’, we said, ‘and not a second later.’ And sure
enough, by ten past nine on a cloudy Monday morning, 16
April, an impressive group of early birds were already waiting on
the pavement in front of the AIB, loaded down with the
paraphernalia essential to any Irish short break – umbrellas,
sunglasses, sun cream, fleeces, brogues and sandals, macs and
wellies, walking sticks and sunhats. As Doyle’s bus, piloted by
Patrick and guided by Aileen and Colin, hove into view, they
prepared to brave the rigours of our annual four-day trip – an
expedition devoted as ever to historical exploration, but also to a
certain amount of high living and lively conversation.

Following a coffee break at New Ross, we hurtled on through
a south-east from which the sun had unaccountably vanished to
ancient Youghal. A friendly reception and a good lunch at
Ahern’s set us up for a spot of local sightseeing, and while half
the group headed for the recently-opened Clock Tower, the rest
of us trudged, through what was now a steady downpour, to the
medieval Collegiate Church of St Mary. Once under cover, and
in the company of our delightful and extremely well-informed
guide, we quickly became engrossed in the story of the church
and, indeed, of the town itself. A favourite sight for many of us
was the spectacular memorial to the Great Earl of Cork, early
seventeenth-century entrepreneur and founder of the Boyle
dynasty, which showed him in a languid pose, flanked by his two
wives and numerous offspring, while on the way out we glimpsed

114