Lisfannon Beach

When in Ireland, one would immediately know that the weather is seldom sunny. Most of the time, the sky is overcast or worse it is raining. Strong winds here make it colder than it should be. Once there was a clear day I took it as a chance to go for a drive. I haven’t been to certain places in Donegal and I was hoping to be able to see them in slightly better weather. There is a peninsula in county Donegal called Inishowen. It is the largest peninsula in the county. Being a peninsula, I expect that there would be a lot of seaside views from this road trip. Based on what I have seen so far from other places, I don’t think I would be disappointed.

There is a driving route here called the Inishowen 100. Basically, it is a driving route 100 miles long. It would start from the south and work my way around the peninsula in a clockwise direction. There were plentiful signs here and it is easy to stop and take photos. My first stop is Lisfannon Beach. This is nice strip of beach along the Lough Swilly which contributed to the creation of the song Amazing Grace.

Now, what does that have anything to do with the song? John Newton was a sailor who participated in the slave trade. He rejected Christianity and was disliked by many. During a really bad storm, he feared for his life and turned to God for help. It was here that the ship made it to the Lough Swilly which was a calm body of water compared to the Atlantic. It was here that the ship was repaired. However, it wasn’t only the ship that was repaired. Because of John Newton’s close shave with death, he converted to Christianity and became a priest of the Church of Ireland. It was during these times that he penned the song Amazing Grace.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/LisfannonBeach.kmz} zoom=19]