IRELAND - 2012

This past April found us back in Ireland.  We have wanted to return to Ireland for a VERY long time.  Cathy, a friend, was going with her family on a tour with 34 others, mostly friends and relatives.  She asked if we'd like to join them and I jumped on it, even though we wouldn't know anyone else.  We came back with 34 more friends.  Everyone was lovely and welcoming to us.

SATURDAY - DUBLIN

Dick and I left a day earlier because we had seen most everything that the tour was offering before, and we wanted to do some new things.   The most important thing for me, was to visit the Irish National Stud in Kildare about an hour from Dublin on the bus.

So we walked to Temple Bar and find Gallagher's Boxty Pub.  We had a lovely dinner - Oysters fresh from the Irish sea - Smoked salmon with brown bread - Fish & Chips - Rib steak with Colcannon - a Harp and a Murphy's.  After a great dinner we took a taxi to the hotel and crashed.

SUNDAY - DUBLIN

To Kildare

Early next morning (Sunday) we started off for the Irish National Stud in Kildare, and arrived there by noon.  We walked around taking images of the wonderful Irish thoroughbred horses there.

The most wonderful horse, Invincible Spirit with a stud fee of 60,000 Euros ($78,900.00).  And you should see the list of names of his progeny.  Hundreds of them.  The tour guide told us that a middle eastern sheik offered 60 million for him, and they turned it down.  While we were there, a truck pulled up next to his corral with a mare that was coming in to be bred.  You should have seen him perk up and show off for the lady.  He was trotting around in circles by the fence so she could see him.  These guys have the life.  There were just 6 stud horses there, all magnificent. looking specimens.  The others had much lower stud fees (around 11,000 Euros).

INVINCIBLE SPIRIT

They also had a great number of mares with foals.  They were just the cutest.  I must have been a cowboy in another life.  I just love horses.  Never had the opportunity to be near them, but I sure would like to be. Just for the photo ops!!

He's my favorite.  He kept coming to the fence for me.

 

This little guy was just bouncing around the paddock.  

BOING! BOING! BOING!

 

Just hangin' out with Mom

Lunch Time

Mallard on the Lake

My Kind of Horse

After coming back to the hotel, Cathy and the others had arrived and Cathy had left us a note saying they were at Duke's Pub in Dublin for the Literary Pub Crawl, so we quickly hopped in a taxi and met up with the group. the Crawl took us from Duke's to Trinity College and ended in that vicinity.  When it was over, we crawled on our own to O'Neil's Pub, who was known to have great food.  We had Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding with a Harp's and a Guinness.  Really good food.  After dinner we hopped back into a cab and made our way to the hotel.  Tomorrow was going to be a lot of walking.

The taxis are great.  They are lined up all over town and when you put you hand in the air, they actually stop!!  Even if they’re on their way home!  All of the drivers were talkers.  They told you all about Dublin and some asked questions.  When I told one of them that we were from Delaware, he broke out in song with “What did Delaware boys, what did Delaware?”  I couldn’t believe that he’d ever heard that one let alone knew the words.  She wore her brand New Jersey, of course.  This was such a fun trip.  The Irish are wonderful folks.

MONDAY - DUBLIN

Bus tour of St. Pat’s Cathedral, Trinity College and the Book of Kells (the Library was the inspiration for the Harry Potter movie).   For some reason, I didn't take any pictures in the Library.  

Windows of St. Patrick's Cathedral

Inside St. Pat's

No clue who he is, but what workmanship.  They don't build 'em like this, anymore.

Walking the streets of Dublin

Shamrocks on the light poles.  It's all in the details!

Details!

Then we walked over to the Jameson Distillery for a tour.  That was a great stop.  I got some really good images and at the end we were given a Jameson and Ginger, a Cranberry and Jameson’s or a Jamison’s on the rocks.  

Chuckie, Pat and Stosh outside Jameson's

The pub inside Jameson's had wonderful Waterford chandeliers. 

Glad I don't have to clean this one.

Then, the famous Jameson's chandelier was hanging in the foyer!!  

(It was taller than I am.)

 

The beautiful copper stills are upstairs.

So I was thinking......

Chandelier on top of stills?  Makes a nice image, doesn't it?

Jameson's

We stopped at the pub and had a couple drinks before dinner at O’Brien’s pub.  Cheeseburger, fries, Yuk.  Walked back to hotel.  Packed and got a wake up call at 6, bags out by 7, on bus by 8:30.  Dinner, Pat Schmitt and John, Flossie and Chuckie, Lisa & John, Dick and me.   We had a great time, laughed our butts off.  So much fun.

TUESDAY - KILLARNEY

Wake up call at 6, bags out by 7, on bus by 8:30...

 Rock of Cashel – very cold and windy when we got there, but the sun came out and we got some great shots.  We had tea in the tea room and a scone.  Then we explored outside the castle.  

 

Rock of Cashel - Under scaffolding...  Repairs in progress

 

So I photographed those parts that weren't under repair.

 

Every castle has to have a turret.

You see these walls all over Ireland.  They're called Famine Walls.  This was the only work available for people during the famine when they couldn't farm because of the diseased potato crops.  They go for miles and miles all around the country.  

I liked the juxtaposition of the new condos int he background and the ancient wall.

Pastoral Scene behind the Rock of Cashel - OK, I know there are at least 2 cows in this picture - hint:  a black one and a tan one.

Behind the Rock of Cashel there is a great pastoral scene going on.  Those are cows lying on the slope in front of the ruins (well, some of them are rocks).  What a treat to find this.

Next, we were on to Blarney.  No kissing of the rock for various reasons...Climb too high...Lay on back and kiss upside down...rumors say that they pee on it...Alas, I shall remain without eloquence.

Blarney Woolen Mills – Sweaters!  YUM!

My only Blarney image.  Too busy shopping.

This stork (?) was fishing in the stream next to Blarney Castle.  We followed him under a bridge to get this shot.  He got luckier that we did.  He had a lovely dinner from the stream.

Killarney  - College Avenue

Dick outside Killarney Towers

 

Then to Killarney Towers Hotel in Killarney.  Buffet Dinner was planned for tonight, and a  traditional Irish pub dinner for tomorrow with Irish dancers.  

We really wanted to go to Gabby’s for seafood, a wonderful French seafood restaurant that we went to on our last trip to Ireland.  It was incredible.  So we decided to skip the buffet.  

Instead, we had oysters, so fresh, grilled lobster to die for, a little potato casserole,  home made hazelnut gelato (in Ireland!!).   Just incredible.  Not cheap, but perfect.  

 

WEDNESDAY - KILLARNEY

On bus by 10:30 for Ring of Kerry home by 4:30.  Ring of Kerry  ( a 3 hour drive) is about 1 hour past my attention span.  Most pictures were taken from a moving bus with dirty windows and lots of reflections.  But it was still nice, for awhile.  Long day.  

The sheep in the meadow.

A 10 pound castle...explanation to follow.

That's a teeny tiny house right in the center.  How do you get there?  

Where do they grocery shop?  Miles from nowhere.

Lovely little farm in the country.

I love the way the famine walls make a patchwork pattern.  

Just some little farmhouses.  Talk about being "out in the sticks"!

Those tiny specks on the lawn are sheep.

Ring of Kerry - Ladies View

 

6:30 bus left for Kate Kearney’s for traditional Irish night.  It was great craic (fun).  Good music and dancing colleens. 

After dinner we stopped at Courtney’s Pub on Plunkett Street in Killarney for a drink. Jameson’s and Ginger, please.    Then we moseyed on up to bed.

Kate Kearney's Cottage Band

A night of Irish music and dancing.

Stosh and Cathy

Thanks for inviting us.  

THURSDAY - LIMERICK

Going to the Cliffs of Moher, today.  The sky was at least clear and blue this time (last time, too foggy to see the cliffs/water, anything.  

On the way we passed Gallway Bay.  How beautiful...

Have you ever gone across the sea to Irleand...Galway Bay

They have certainly upgraded their accommodations at the Cliffs of Moher.  Cafeteria built under a hill.  Quite nice.  There is a 10 pound castle on the edge of a cliff there that I hadn’t known was there because last trip we couldn’t see the cliffs because of the fog.  So that was a nice surprise. 

A 10 pound  Castle.   In the days of Lords and Ladies, a landowner would get a tax reduction if he had a castle on his land.  So people who had lots of land would build a small castle that would cost about 10 pounds to build.  No one would ever live in it, but the tax write off was lovely.  Hence the name 10 pound castle.  You see the all over Ireland, mostly in ruins.  This one was teeming with tourists at the Cliffs of Moher.  Gotta love Photoshop.

Finally...the Cliffs of Moher.  Last time we were there they were missing.  It was so foggy they couldn't be seen.  So even though this was the wrong time of day for shooting in this direction, and the image is hazy, it's still an improvement.

 

Dick and Me at the Cliffs

We traveled through towns with wonderful storefronts – The Matchmaker Pub – in Lisvoondorna – they have a matchmaker festival every year here.

Betting is legal here.  Every town had a bookmaker.

 

KING PUCK

Statue of KING PUCK

 

In the town of Killorglin, in the times of Oliver Cromwell, the "Roundheads" were pillaging villages and they ran into a herd of goats.  The goats dispersed, but the male goat made his way back to the village.  The villagers took this as a sign that they were going to be attacked and took the appropriate steps to save their families and live stock.  In gratitude to the goat, each year a festival is held honoring the goat.  They take a goat, put a crown on his head,  and make him King Puck (Puck is Irish for male goat) for the day.

 

The town of Limerick

PEAT

This is peat from the peat bog.  The Irish used it to heat their homes in the old days.  Now most homes have heat, but they burn it in their fireplaces for the aroma.

Bridge in Killorglin

I could live here.

Or Here!!

As long as it had heat!

Then we went to Rathbaun Farm to see the sheep herding.  Fenton, the owner’s family has lived on Rathbaun for a couple centuries.  He has 88 acres of land.   There is a new dog, a border collie,  who was really good, but not people oriented at all.  A working dog who only had eyes for his master.  The dog lives in the barn with the sheep.  It is not a house pet.  It was lambing season, so we saw lots of lambs, too.

Fenton and his new dog. 

Dick At Rathbaun Farm

This was Fenton's family home.  He has since built a house on the property, elsewere.  The original residence has now become a tea room.  Tea and scones...yum.

The herd, after the herding.

Sheep, sheep and more sheep.  That's Ireland.  

The sheep are used for meat, not wool.  It costs more to shear a sheep than they get for the wool, so the wool sheep are sent to China.  How sad is that?  Irish wool from China.  

Rathbaun was having their roof thatched while we were there.  The young lady doing the work is Mareka.  She is from Holland and was a thatcher there.  She came to Ireland for the work.

Mareka

Nichole

This is Rathbaun Nichole.  She was to go to auction on the Tuesday after we were there.  Nicole is a Connemara pony.  She has quite a lovely personality and really enjoyed all the attention we gave her.

Dick and Nichole

Me and Nichole

 Pat and Nichole

Bunratty Folk Park

We arrived at twilight and it was much too dark for picture taking, but I tried.  It was a great disappointment.

Dick and Me

At the Medieval Feast at Bunratty Castle

 

One of our Medieval Hosts

This was the last stop on our tour.  I didn't get all of the shots I wanted to get and I didn't get to all the places I wanted to get to, but it was a great trip, never the less. 

 And that just means I'll have to go back.