AS THE POPE PROCEEDS ALONG 5TH AVENUE....

 (ˌtɪntɪˌnæbjʊˈleɪʃən)

n

1. (Music, other) the act or an instance of the ringing or pealing of bells

ˌtintinˈnabular ˌtintinˈnabulary ˌtintinˈnabulous adj

He is wary of the powerful and

admires men/women of principle...

(and so do I).

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” 

IS THERE A CASTLE IN YOUR DISTANT PAST?

This particular subject came up at dinner this very evening. This happens to be my son-in-law's lineage:

The remains of Ballylahan Castle are located close to the River Moy in the  parish of Straide. The castle was built by Jordan de Exeter in 1239 when he was  the Anglo Norman Sheriff of Connacht, and ancestor of the Clan Siurtain Gaileng/Mac  Siurtain.

He built the castle of Ballylahan on the present junction of the N58 and R321  for his reputedly demanding and domineering wife.

It overlooked Athlethan, or Straide, where he built an abbey for the Franciscans  but, at the behest of his wife, transferred it to the Dominicans in 1253.

Little evidence of what the castle looked like in its time is now left.