This plaque is on the marina wall. Sheehy Skeffington was a founding member of the Irish Women Workers’ Union, which became one of the largest suffrage groups in the early twentieth century. Women over 30 were granted the right to vote in 1918.

The forecast was strong southerly winds and high seas, which would make for very unpleasant sailing with the wind ‘on our nose’. The sun was shining, though, so after some work, we planned a train trip to Wicklow. Typically this plan was thwarted, too, as we just missed the 3 hourly commuter train.

We decided to catch the first bus that arrived and travelled to Newtownmountkennedy, the town with the longest name in Ireland. It is also the site of one of those many battles fought during the 1798 Rebellion between British crown forces and the native Irish seeking independence.

The headquarters of Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board is also based here in a modern, eco friendly building.

The town has a great cafe, Fishers, and we sat in the sun for lunch. Fortunately the outside space also has a cover (thanks to Covid) because it poured and poured. We stayed dry, but couldn’t hear anything above the noise of the rain on the corrugated roof.

Dashing through the rain to the bus stop, as we boarded the bus and sat at the front on the top deck, the sun came out again. We enjoyed a thrilling ride crashing through the overhead branches.