Summer Holiday Day 5: Sligo & Mayo

Very wet and windy today so we had to ditch our original plan of going to the mountain sized sea cliffs of Slieve League. Instead we made an extended visit to Sligo. We had a very nice lunch at Henry Lyons Cafe and liked it so much we even bought the recipe book. Then we went to see the statue of W.B. Yeats and had a brief look in the Yeats Society museum. We also had a browse in a lovely little gift shop before the main event of the day: seeing Inside Out 2 at the Omniplex cinema. Orla was buzzing afterwards. 

After a visit to the rabbit warren of Sligo Tesco for supplies, we made the rest of the journey to our Airbnb: Ceide Glamping Pods. The weather was still terrible, but it seemed very cosy inside the pod being able to hear the howling of the wind and the crashing of the waves. We could see some enormous waves coming in amidst the backdrop of Downpatrick Head.

We had a simple meal of pasta and recorded a debrief of Days 3 and 4. We also were able to get Conor talking about his experience of this holiday so far compared to other years that he has enjoyed. 

From the audio recording:

Ireland 2024, day 5 began in the shipping container, where the weather had taken a dramatic turn. "It had been very windy overnight and... we got wet, very, very different from when we arrived." Originally, we had planned to visit the Sliabh Liag cliffs, but the weather made that impossible. "Today was, had originally planned, even paid for, the experience of... the bus up to the Sliabh Liag cliffs which... was not meant to be." The stormy conditions made the decision easy for us, and we left that adventure for another time. “Some people might have gone anyway... but maybe they actually cancelled it today because it was so bad.”

With our plans derailed, a spontaneous trip to the cinema became the new focus. “I had been thinking, actually, after you mentioned you wanted to see a movie… Inside Out 2,” a movie that had generated quite a bit of excitement. "It feels like it’s been forever since a big Disney Pixar film, and like, it’s not a question of *if* you’re going to see it, it’s *when*."

We headed to Sligo, where we had planned to stop for supplies at Tesco anyway, and decided to grab lunch at *Harry Lyon’s Café*. “It was lovely... I had a Lebanese chicken, like toasted sourdough sandwich... and I had pulled pork brioche.” The pulled pork sandwich was particularly memorable because of the sauce: "It was so good that I just needed to know what it was... so we bought the café's cookbook.”

There was some tension in the café, as Conor, overwhelmed by the noise and pressure of decision-making, opted for something simpler: “I just had a big cookie because I got really intimidated by it.” This was definitely the right call, given the environment: “I wouldn’t have eaten anything else... far better than just buying something you didn’t actually eat.”

During lunch, an amusing incident unfolded at the table next to us: "A man took a seat at a table that wasn’t full, but the other guy there was like, ‘You can’t sit here,’ and the man was like, ‘I’ve come to this café for 20 years and it’s never been a problem before!’” The argument escalated until the man gave up and moved to another table. “Maybe that was Harry Lyons himself... who’s been dead for 100 years.”

With some time to spare before the film, we visited the statue of Yeats. “Who’s Yeats?” came the question, followed by some quick learning. “Yeats is a poet… his mother was from Sligo.” We also learned that Yeats knew *Bram Stoker* and *Oscar Wilde*, which sparked more curiosity.

We wandered into a small gift shop, where Conor impressed with his Irish language skills. "There was a card in Irish, and he knew what it meant... 'Go raibh maith agat'—thank you." Though tempted to buy something, we refrained, knowing that every tempting Irish shop could quickly empty our wallets.

Then came the highlight of the day: Inside Out 2. “Oh my God. I loved it so much!” Conor, clearly thrilled, shared his excitement. “The animation, the characters, the gags... and Anxiety, especially. I loved her.” The film had hit all the right emotional beats, even portraying a panic attack in a way that felt “very powerful.” Conor walked out of the cinema feeling elated: "It made me feel a lot of emotions."

After leaving Sligo, we drove through the stormy weather to a glamping pod near Downpatrick Head. The wild Atlantic coast, with its incredible waves and strong winds, made the drive a bit intense. “We’re almost as far west as you can get,” someone commented as we took in the rugged landscape.

Once settled in, we enjoyed the cosiness of the pod: “It feels very cosy in here... smells like wood, and the Wi-Fi is very fast!” We spent the evening watching the weather from the safety of our warm glamping pod, reflecting on the day’s adventures. At one point, Conor spotted a hare: “It was very big… I took a video of it running.”

And so concluded day 5 of our trip, full of unexpected changes, spontaneous adventures, and a fantastic film that left us all feeling uplifted.