We traveled from Kilkenny to our non-salubrious accommodation near Dublin airport via the lovely Wicklow Mountains National Park and Glendalough, the ruins of a monastic city, a centre for learning in the 10th-13th centuries.
We wish we could have spent far longer in this wonderful (and untamed) country, awash with beauty, history, and culture.
Kilkenny was the unofficial capital of Ireland during the Middle Ages.
The Anglo-Norman aristocracy were prohibited from participating in Irish sports, speaking Irish, marrying the native Irish, and sadly, playing Irish music. However, the rules were largely ignored, and the Anglo-Normans immersed themselves in Irish culture, so that in Kilkenny, it was difficult for the English to retain power. The walls of Catholic Kilkenny were finally breached by Cromwell in a five-day siege and the reign of this city over Ireland’s political affairs came to an end.
There is a street known as the Medieval Mile between Kilkenny Castle and St Canice’s Cathedral. A church was built on the site of St Canice’s Cathedral in the 6th century, and the existing cathedral was commenced in 1202. Cromwell’s forces vandalised the attached monastery and used it as stables for their horses. Restoration began in 1661 and the cathedral became Church of Ireland.
We walked the mile, intending to go into the cathedral first, then walk the other side of the medieval road to the castle. However, we met members from the vOx Chamber Choir from Oxford, preparing for a free concert at the cathedral scheduled 30 minutes later. While we were considering our options, one of the members said, “Please stay. We’re not expecting many people.” We explained we hadn’t seen the castle and it would close about the time the concert finished, and then another member said, “Don’t bother with the castle – this concert will be much better.” What are their day jobs? So, with the decision made, we relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the excellent performance. We were also relieved to see the growing audience. The cathedral has a 9th century round tower with 100 steps and no windows, and we didn’t climb it.
After missing (just another) castle we followed the excellent advice of Corey and Nadia, our Airbnb hosts, and went to an 700-year-old pub for dinner. The food and live trad music was wonderful. When we arrived back, and said how much we’d enjoyed the Irish music, Corey dusted off his guitar and sang us a couple of Irish ballads, while Nadia provided harmony. It was difficult to leave on schedule the next morning as they were great to talk with.
I can’t fathom the rationale of prioritising a detour specifically to see the Titanic Museum in Cobh over another day in Ireland’s National Parks. However, planning a trip always has some compromises and the Titanic Experience was high on Derek’s bucket list. The museum was all I expected and less, but it was interesting to read about some of the lives of the passengers on this fatal voyage, their reasons for travelling, their mode of travel (most passengers leaving from Cobh were third class passengers) and their destinies.
Of more significance to me was standing in the rain on Heartbreak Pier, so named because of the number of farewells taken by generations of Irish emigrants leaving poverty and famine in the quest for a brighter future in a far-flung land. It is estimated 2.5 million people left through this port to escape starvation.
However, it is possible Cobh will hold a place in my heart mostly for the Faulty Towers experience of our lodgings. Upon check in, we were advised how fortunate we were to receive such a cheap rate – it was apparently a mistake and staff had nearly lost their job over it. The ‘accountant’ was called over and it was suggested we owed him drinks at the bar. We thanked them for their mistake were then conducted up three rickety flights of steep winding steps to our very large room in the attic, with an incredible view of Cobh Harbour, visible through a smallish window. In response to our patent awe, the receptionist said, “You did ask for a deluxe room”. Derek only hit his head on the sloped ceilings a couple of times. Breakfast was served by staff with French accents who apparently also ran the Chinese restaurant in the same premises. We would go back.
Mostly blarney, but we already knew that from Lonely Planet and Rick Steves – €18 (roughly $27 AUD each) was too much to pay to enter the grounds of Blarney Castle. We paid it – how could we not – it was on our list.
Blarney Castle is large and imposing. Although well preserved, it looks better from a distance. We decided an hour’s queuing to walk the steps up (we were never going to kiss the Stone!) wasn’t worth it either.
The gardens are lovely and interesting. After learning about how plants have been used for nefarious purposes in the Poison Garden, we wandered happily for at least an hour. However, we had come from the wild Ireland of Connemara, Cliffs of Moher, the Burren, Ring of Kerry and wandering through the beauty and remoteness of Killarney National Park was less than 24 hours in the past.
If you’re planning a trip to Ireland anytime, have always associated Ireland with the Blarney Stone and couldn’t contemplate missing it, I’d suggest exploring Ireland in a clockwise direction, commencing from Dublin, and bring a picnic lunch. We decided to save our food money after sampling the coffee.
Perhaps if I had spent the hour queuing and steeled myself to kiss the Stone, this post would read differently. Perhaps I missed a life changing experience and the world will be the poorer for the eloquence that might have been.
The history of the castle and stone is interesting and if you are inclined, you can read about it at https://blarneycastle.ie/pages/kiss-the-blarney-stone
This ruin is a Priory rather than an abbey (run by a friar rather than an abbot). It was founded in 1448 and burned by Cromwell’s troops in 1652. A 500-year-old yew tree stands in the centre of the cloister. The 3km walk back to the park entrance evoked visions of Narnia.
Apparently, there are some amazing vistas from the peaks of the photographic stops in Killarney National Park, but we saw only mist. I can’t be too regretful because this same mist made a memorable experience of the waterfalls, lakes and woodland walks. It’s a timeless place – surrounded by ancient oaks in woodlands, and misty lake views, I felt a pull to this ancient land.
Already Ireland is a blur. We left a week ago. So much to take in – when I started this post, we were in a lovely BnB in Kenmare, on the Ring of Kerry, catching our breath. We are now near Bodmin Moor, having a rest day with views of gentling sloping farmland through the windows on a cloudy day. We’ve had a lot of driving through rugged, cliff-edged, room for one car only, hedge-trimmed roads, lots of walking where the cows meet the horses meet the walker meet the stone-age and all eras since, in breath-taking landscapes, where a moment to do other than experience the country seems a misalignment of priorities, until we arrive exhausted at the end of a day. And yes, I do understand full-stops – I hope my grammatical technique conveys a sense of the pace of our trip to date. It’s Sunday today, we’re a long way from anywhere, there isn’t any internet connection, we’ve listened to a pre-downloaded John Piper talk, and I’m processing. I’ll start in the moment, then go back in time….
And I finally post this from the peaceful Cotswolds, some days later…
We didn’t go to Skellig Michael, alas seeing it only from a distance. It’s still worth writing about. Named for the Archangel Michael, the remote UNESCO World Heritage island is the location for the last two Star Wars movies (Luke Skywalker’s final home). Filming has shifted to a site in Dingle in a response to concern about the impact of increased visitors to the island.
Christian monks established a community in the 6th century and the monastery survived multiple Viking attacks until the 12th century. Over 600 steps were hewn into the cliff by the rugged monks to the summit of Skellig Michael. We learnt about the history of the small island from a DVD lent to us by my parents some years ago and walking these steps was high on my original bucket list. Practicality (and visions of being surrounded by modern Jedi) intervened.
Numbers of people allowed to visit the island and climb the steps are strictly limited, and our research indicated most tours were cancelled due to wild weather. We decided time was too short to plan around such an uncertainty. It was a good call as we visited the Skellig Michael museum on the day we had considered the tour, found it had indeed been cancelled and had also been cancelled the day before.
The museum was filled with Star Wars memorabilia. Despite eagerly anticipating and discussing each upcoming Star Wars movie (I saw the first movie three times at the cinema at the age of 12), we initially thought it a little sad the story of the courageous monks has been overshadowed. However, upon reflection, I think it’s great the history of the island is now inspiring a multitude of lightsaber wielding devotees.
There is much discussion on travel forums about the best driving directions for Dingle, Kerry and Skellig. Generally, the Lonely Planet recommends following the buses (clockwise on Dingle, and anti-clockwise on Kerry). The roads of the Skellig Ring are not wide enough for buses so it’s not so much of an issue. When there’s an on-coming car, often not visible until metres away, someone must reverse to a wider section of road, particularly daunting on winding hills.
Prior to leaving Perth we viewed many YouTube videos by Rick Steves, an entertaining American travel journalist, previously unknown to us. Rick said to go the opposite way to the buses. We then read reviews by travellers who had taken both directions. After many hours of evaluation that could have been put to far better use, we decided to follow the Lonely Planet recommendation and hence the buses. It was a good decision – the drive was hair-raising enough without oncoming tourist buses and the hapless drivers of the oncoming traffic pulled over for the buses, enabling us to drive past easily too.
On the Ring of Kerry we encountered the breed of the opportunistic Irishman. We did not want to buy water, or a whisky, or beer by the roadside, and we did not want to cuddle a lamb. If we didn’t know it was blarney, the disappointed expressions of the spruikers of these services would have torn our hard hearts.
It was a long day (we left Dingle early and arrived at our accommodation in Kenmare about 8pm). The highly descriptive name of one of the walks that punctuated our scenic drive was Kerry’s Most Spectacular Cliffs. I can’t remember the price now to walk up the path to these most spectacular cliffs, but it was fairly jaw-dropping. Derek asked if we could have our money back if they weren’t the most spectacular cliffs we’d seen in the spectacular Ring of Kerry. The good-natured attendant laughed and promised to refund our money if required, but said we would be the first. So we did the walk and had to agree – the spectacular cliffs were the most spectacular we had seen in the Ring of Kerry and possibly anywhere. Trad music at the pub and a whisky rounded off an eventful day.
We left the Burren with a long day of driving ahead, taking the scenic route through Conor Pass (Ireland’s highest road with vistas of lakes and green rocky valleys) and Slea Head Drive (more narrow roads) to the Dingle Peninsula, the farthest western point on the Irish mainland.
Even without the beauty of its coast-line, the drive on the Ring of Dingle is fascinating for its abandoned villages, ring forts, beehive huts and ancient churches.
We first saw famine cottages (so named because the Irish had just walked away from their homes, often evicted for not paying their rent to the mostly English land-owners) in the Connemara. The famine cottages are prevalent along the Western region of Ireland including the Burren and Dingle. Some historical accounts suggest the English response to the famine in Ireland was deliberate genocide; factors include a law by the English parliament prohibiting the import of grains, and an adherence to a philosophy that hand-outs should be worked for. Employment was sometimes created in meaningless endeavours to allow the weakened Irish to work for their food and many people died of starvation while waiting for overdue payment.
The Burren is a vast, stony plain on the west of Ireland, bordering the Cliffs of Moher. There are many narrow, criss-crossed roads marked by low stone walls in the Burren, seemingly going nowhere. It is thought that the area was first farmed thousands of years ago. Megalithic tombs are over 5000 years old and we walked around the ruins of ring forts from medieval times.
Trad music abounds in the small towns of this desolate landscape. Options for gluten free eating are exceptional and we enjoyed trad music and whisky with a worry-free dinner. Apparently coeliac disease is highly represented amongst Celtic people; one theory is that this is due to the frequent famines that have characterised this region. The poor were pushed to regions where tillage of the land was difficult and gluten (from the grains of wheat, rye and barley) was therefore not a part of the diet until recent history. The genetic pool has been comparatively homogeneous, and a gluten intolerant gene therefore persisted.
I would like to return to the Burren in spring. Apparently, the region abounds with native wildflowers, much as the Australian desert is transformed during spring.
