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Sat 07 Jul 2005An Irishwoman's Diary
The drive along the Mayo coast was a labour of love, and the sea sparkled as I left Achill and headed towards Mulranny and Newport. Westport gleamed, tidy and proud. In Murrisk I saluted Croagh Patrick and slowed down to admire John Behan's bronze sculpture of a coffin ship in the Famine Memorial park, a lonely work set incongruously close to the busy road.
The day was brilliantly sunny and fresh, ideal for my trip to Clare Island. Beyond Louisburgh I turned right for the pier at Roonagh. I took my seat on O'Malley's Island Princess and watched Mayo county councillors in jackets and ties board O'Grady's Pirate Queen. Crewmen's voices rose above the engine as the ferry rumbled into Clew Bay.
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