After spending the night in Athenry, Brad, Tommy, and I went to visit the famous Galway Promenade!  Very beautiful views of the Atlantic!!

From there, we traveled to meet Phil Bracken’s cousin, Martina, and her family!!  Phil Bracken and his family run My Shepherd Farm in Rural Retureat, Virginia, but Phil is orginially from Ireland.  Tommy and David where able to meet Phil and tour his farm in Virginia on their visit.  Martina’s family farms in Offaly County.  They focus on sheep and suckler cows (cow-calf operation).  In Ireland, the dominate breeds are continentals mainly Charolais and Limousine.

Ever wonder where the peat in your soil-less media comes from?  Apparently, a lot of it comes from Ireland! We were able to stop and look at a small peat mine.

We took the scenic route to see Tipperary and the country side.  On our way we stop by a castle build in 1209!! We ate a lovely dinner at Kilkenny and finally made it to Wexford to start our next leg of the trip.