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Sunday 11 May
We were up and out early – thanks to the grandkids coming in at 6.am for cuddles. Today, we explored nearby Rock of Cashel, another superb monastic site similar to Clonmacnoise. It was fine and sunny but with a blistering cold wind – we were not surprised to hear the monks had finally abandoned the site as too cold and windy! It is in a superb position on a high rocky hill, giving its tall bell tower even greater prominence. The chief notable feature for us was the little old Romanesque chapel. Rather than linger in the cold, we motored down to Adare, touted as the “prettiest village in Ireland”. It is indeed very cute with its thatched cottages and prettily painted terrace houses and the gracious manor house on the river. We had lunch there before visiting Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The castle is quite small but very well preserved and furnished with authentic pieces and it is accessible to visitors right to the top floor, albeit by very steep and narrow winding staircases. The park is also well set up with a series of houses, shops etc moved from elsewhere and set up as a village. There are farms with animals as well so the children thoroughly enjoyed it. We brought them home early and Michael & Carmen are staying on for the Medieval Banquet tonight.
Monday 12 May
Our start was rather late today after the late night last night and of course it was raining again! We headed south to Cork thinking to miss the rain but it was actually pouring when we reached Blarney Castle. Between parents & grandparents we had managed to forget the kids wet weather gear so did not feel like paying the 10 Euro fee to walk about in the rain just to kiss the Blarney Stone! According to the guide book it is nothing to write home about. So instead we headed south to Kinsale, a gorgeous little fishing town and important port on the south coast. The village and harbour are very picturesque but the history of the place is once again fascinating and it has an immense fort constructed in the 17th Century to protect the harbour. We spent several hours in the afternoon exploring it much to the kids delight – they were role-playing the whole time!
Tuesday 13 May
Waterford was our major objective today. Michael was keen to go to Waterford Crystal because his mum loved it. Ray and I decided to give it a miss as nowadays most of it is made elsewhere anyway! Instead we went to Reginald’s Tower in the Viking Triangle – so called because Reginald the viking was the first to set up a fort here on the triangle of land that protects the mouth of the river and controls the entrance to the harbour. The original wooden structure was replaced by the still existing Norman stone tower which is the only remaining part of the defensive town wall. Inside there was an excellent audio-visual presentation of the history of the tower and of the town of Waterford.
From there we went to New Ross where there is a model of a “famine ship” on the river which you can visit. They describe the potato famine and its consequent forced migration, the conditions on board etc. Our little guide had the broadest Irish accent we had yet encountered, spoke very fast and giggled a lot, especially when the actors came, role-playing passengers from steerage and first class. The kids were very interested, especially in steering the boat. The family headed home then while we went further East to Wexford where there are Wildfowl wetlands. This proved somewhat disappointing as there was no-one in reception, no info available and not very many birds to be seen. Unfortunately, Carmen had a bad reaction to lunch and had to retire early – we have resolved to stick to pubs in future and avoid cafes.
Wednesday 14 May
Our longest day yet! We got away fairly early (8.45am) to go west this time to the Ring of Kerry, a 500km round trip that no Irish person would contemplate doing in a single day! It was already lunch time by the time we got to Kenmare, the first town on “the ring” but we were rewarded by an excellent pub lunch in contrast to yesterday’s offering at the cafe. There are certainly spectacular sections of the ring road but we had all seen spectacular coastline in the north so the general consensus was that it was not worth the 500km trip. However, certainly worth seeing if your route takes you that way. It was 8pm by the time we got home after more than 11 hours and several detours. The kids did very well being cooped up so much in the car.
Thursday 15 May
A less taxing day, starting with a big sleep in all round, a spot of washing and a short trip down to Mitchelstown (limestone) Caves. They were quite impressive and very low key, not touristy at all. We have seen better and bigger caves elsewhere but there were some really lovely formations. The biggest cave is used for concerts sometimes. After lunch, the family headed home to pack up as they leave tomorrow while we pottered about Kilbeheny, trying to find the farm called Garryvarragha, which was where my great-great grandfather came from. It is a very beautiful region (as is most of Ireland!) and we wondered why the 2 brothers decided to leave in 1839 – ahead of the potato famine. We are guessing that the original 65 acre tenancy being carved up among 6 brothers and their families did not really promise a secure future. A farmer on his tractor stopped and was very helpful pointing out the property and we asked another old fellow for more info - which was when we encountered an even more incomprehensible Irish accent than the last! We feel sure we located the farm but we drew a blank in the cemeteries in both Kilbeheny and in Mitchelstown as far as Gormans are concerned. Not to worry – I achieved my aim to walk on the ground my ancestors came from and have a couple of stones to bring home as well.
Just a couple of observations: holy water seems to be readily available to take home from the churches – one even had a tap coming out of the wall marked “Holy Water”; publicans often seem to double an undertakers (draw your own conclusions); potatoes come with every meal except breakfast and usually served in 2 or even 3 ways – i.e. once with a baked dinner, we had mashed and baked potatoes plus chips on the side; sometimes the fruit shops offer free potatoes if you buy all your fruit and vegies there.
Friday 16 May
Our last morning for a cuddle in bed with the grandkids! They left early for Newgrange and then Dublin as they take the ferry back to Wales. Consequently we were so early down to Cahir Castle that we had to wait for it to open. It is quite an impressive castle and very well restored, with an excellent presentation of its history. The town is quite a lovely town as well. We paid a flying visit to the so-called “Swiss” Cottage which was the residence of one of the more recent lords of Cahir. It is actually a chalet orne, i.e. deliberately cutesy rustic and ornate.
From Cahir we headed to the Glen of Aherlow which is a lovely valley running north south on the western side of the Galtee Mountains. Ray wasn’t feeling great due to a heavy cold but we drove up the mountain as far as possible, in fact to the point where we were in need of a 4WD! The walk from there to the glacial lake was only 2km but seemed much longer due to poor signage which saw us bog hopping across country on the way up – not enjoyable. However the spectacular view made it all worthwhile and luckily we found the correct path to come down – though it’s a pity we forgot our walking sticks yet again!
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