Jeanne,

First off, I hope that the upcoming festival is a huge success. I won't be able to make it after all, as I am in the midst of moving.

As for C.S. Lewis, there is so much of Northern Ireland that inspired him. The Mourne mountains, the coastlines of CastleRock and Portrush, the Belfast Docks, they are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here is a site which you might find interesting.

In Belfast alone, you can walk or drive past his Grandfather's house, Ty-lsa, on Parkgate Avenue, visit St Mark's Church to see the stained glass window donated by the Lewis Boys, check out the small CS Lewis exhibit at the Belmont Tower and checkout a sculpture at the Holywood Library. You can see the lamp-post that inspired the one in Narnia at Crawfordsburn Country Park, while Dunluce Castle on its rocky headland is said to have inspired Cair Paravel.

I hope that has answered a few of your questions and whetted your appetite!

Slan Beo,

Bit

Hey Jeanne,

Yes, that is the sculpture, it was designed and set for the one hundredth birthday celebration. Ty-lsa was the home of his paternal grandfater, Richard Lewis. There is also Little Lea, which I believe is also a private residence, where he grew up and started writing. Little Lea is on North Circular rd, I believe.  Also, Linen Hall Library is a wonderful place with a collection of books, donated by the C.S. Lewis Association of Ireland, consisting of books by and about C.S. Lewis.

As for the Legananny Dolmen, it is, if memory serves me, about 7 miles south of Dromara, on the slopes of Sleive Croob near the village of Leitrim, nestled between a stone wall and a back road. It isn't too hard to find and it is not restricted as far as access. Should I find my pictures of it, I will post them here.

I think you and I should go over in December, as they have a C.S. Lewis Festival in Belfast the first week of December every year! As for the exhibit, it is a chronicle of his life in artifacts and pictures. It was very interesting and only took a small amount of time.

CS Lewis was the reason that I went to Belfast in the first place on my 40th birthday adventure. My friend, who footed the bill for most of it, was quite the trooper but I could tell that my Narnia adventure was getting to her.

Slan Beo,

Bit

P.S. Bit, as a musician, you'll be interested to know that I've written a song and recorded it on my second CD called "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." :)
It's the Narnian in me--I couldn't resist!