Thursday October 6th

Today dawned bright and sunny. Not to be fooled though it was quite chilly. It started out at 8° and only got to 13°. It probably would not have been so bad but for the wind.

 

After dropping off the laundry we went to see the Dunbrody Famine Ship. There was lots of information about the ship and the way people were transported to America. Again there was lots about Canada. The ship had been built in Quebec. This ship was very well handled by the captain and few people died on the crossing. There were two women that told us about their lives and how they came to be on this ship. The first was Annie White. She, her husband and 4 children had a berth in steerage. Their fare was paid by the landowner they worked the land for. Unfortunately, neither she nor her husband made the crossing. The 4 children did survive and made a life in America. Steerage passengers where only allowed up on deck once a day for ½ hour to do their cooking. However, that was only if the weather was good.

 

The other lady was in the 1^st class area. She, her husband and 2 children had a room with two berths in it. They had their meals cooked for them and ate with the captain. There were only 2 first class cabins. First class passengers were allowed up on deck at anytime. This family was on their way to NYC where her brother had a business. He was looking to expand to Buffalo and wanted this family to look after the interests there.

 

We decided to do the Hook Point circle route. We took in the Dunbrody Abbey, the Duncannon Fort then went on to Hook Point. Don't know why when we get out to the sea shore the winds are so hard. It was hard to take pictures as the wind buffeted us. It was very beautiful out at the light house. On the way back we tried to see another abbey but it was closed for the season.

 

We head on to south Dublin tomorrow as our trip comes to a close. We are looking forward to getting home.

 

Wednesday October 5th

We have a nice day to travel. We saw an Augustan Priory. It was in Kells. There is some restoration work going on. We think most of it is to ensure the walls remain standing. All the buildings in the priory were interconnected when it was in use. A walled section was added in the 15^th century. It is thought that during this lawless time the monks wanted to keep their livestock inside the compound. The Augustan monks went out and helped the community. They also held Mass. There would only be about 9 monks in this priory.

 

Jerpoint Abbey was a Cistercian order abbey. It was a cloistered abbey. The monks stayed inside and prayed. Cistercians was supposed to be a simple order so that the abbey was to be simply decorated to not distract the monk from their prayers. The abbey was not simply decorated. It was quite ornate in the sculptures on the columns on the cloister arcade. As well the architecture was full of carvings and different styles. In its hay day there would have been up to 37 monks in this abbey.

 

We have noticed that all abbeys have a cloister area. Abbeys in which the monks stayed inside the walls all the time had a much bigger cloister areas. Also there were entry ways into the area. Friaries or priories where the monks went into the community and held mass the cloister area were smaller and had no entryway.

 

We decided to go the Cheek Point in Co. Waterford where Charles cousins live. As we did not have a phone number we just took a chance that someone would be home. We were not exactly sure which house was theirs. We were able to ask the neighbours. Anthony was home. We had a nice visit with him. The last time we were in Ireland we took Mom to visit her Cousin Elli here. Elli had passed away this July. It was a misty rain when we arrived but soon it cleared. We were so lucky that someone was home.

 

We settled in for the night in the town of New Ross. This was another port where many famine ships left from.

 

 

Tuesday October 4th

Today we started out by visiting Kilkenny Castle. It was the home for the Butler family for over 800 years. They did not build it but purchased it. There were some defensive features of the castle but really it is a very large manor house. The last Marques sold it to the government of Ireland for £50. He was living in Chicago at the time. Again we were not able to take photos in side. We only saw a small portion of the castle but it was very impressive. The Art room was just amazing. It held just a portion of the art work owned by the Butler Family. The new roof that was put on in the 1800's was a work of art in itself. The ceiling was one big piece of art work. The peak was made of glass to let natural light in.

 

We decided to see the Dunsmore cave. When we got there, we found out there were about 300 steps. I knew I could not get back up so I stayed at the top while Charles went below. He really enjoyed what he saw.

 

We went on to another town to get something for lunch. I was not well at all so that we headed back to the B&B. Later in the afternoon we went downtown to see the Black Abbey. It is one of the few in Ireland that is still running today. It was reroofed in 1778 after being left in ruins after being sacked in 1650. In 1816 it reopened to public service. We tried to see St Canices Cathedral which is with the Church of Ireland. It was not open by the time we got there. We did go into the St. Canices RC Church which was close by.

 

After seeing enough churches for the day we walked around downtown. We went into one mall area to find only 1 store in use. We had an early supper as we never got lunch.

 

We had a nice relaxing evening back at the B&B.

Monday October 3rd

We had a wonderful day. The sun was shining. It was still cool however. The four things we wanted to see were open. Sadly we were unable to take photos inside the Swiss Cottage. It would have been nice. The cottage was quite interesting. It only had 4 rooms. None of the Butler Family ever stayed overnight. It was day entertaining only. In order to not obstruct the view 9 tenant cottages were taken down. The tenants were given accommodation elsewhere on the estate. I thought I would rather live here than in Kilkenny.

 

The Rock of Cashel turned out to be a cathedral and not a castle. Cathedral or castle it could be seen for miles all around the valley. The cathedral is in ruins however restoration is taking place. They are trying save as much of the wall paintings that had been covered up with plaster over the years. Now they have to be preserved from the elements.

 

Soon we found our next lodging in Kilkenny. When we were leaving to go out for supper we met some people checking in. After we returned from supper, a young man that had checked in earlier entered our room by mistake. After yelling "Oh God!!!" he closed the door and headed to his own room. Later we went back out to the bar where we had supper for the live music entertainment. Low and behold the young man was also in the bar with the people he was travelling with. He came over to apologize for earlier. We had a good laugh about it all.

 

We really enjoyed the entertainment at the bar. There was a group of older women from Dublin enjoying an evening out. They did a lot of dancing at the back of the bar. Three of them sang when the musicians asked if anyone wished to sing. They were very good. Also a man from Nashville and a woman from Iowa each sang two songs. Both of these people were wonderful to listen to. We called it a night just before 11.

Sunday October 2nd

Yesterday was so wet and rainy that all we did was take a drive into the country. The two sights we wish to see were closed for the season. On the way back we stopped again at Blarney Woollen Mills shops. We came back to read and play cards. In the evening we went for a walk when it had stopped raining. However,on the way back to the B&B it started again.

 

Today as we left Cork, we saw a crowd of runners. It seems there was a marathon going on. Luckily they had not started yet. We headed for the coastal town of Cobh pronounced Cove. This was the last Port of Call for the Titanic. The Lusitania was sunk of the Head to Kinsale in 1915. Many of the dead were buried in Cobh. The heritage Centre was not open. We are not sure if it opened later in the day.

While walking along the harbour front we saw a statue of Annie Moore and her two brothers She emigrated from Ireland to NYC at the age of 15. She was the first person to be processed at the new centre at Ellis Island in NYC on 1 January 1892. I have been listening to a song called Ellis Island sung by The Irish Tenors. This song is about her. You had to grow up fast back then.

 

We left the town soon before the marathoners got close. We did not want to be part of the group. Struggling through a bike race was bad enough. At Youghal town we saw the town clock and some of the old buildings dating back to the 1600's. Again it was to foggy and rainy to enjoy anything.

 

Further east along the coast, we came to the town of Ardmore. It is the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland. There we found a Round Tower, Ardmore Cathedral and St. Declan's Oratory. We had no idea that these were here. The cathedral had some beautiful carvings outside on the wall of the church. You could still make out a number of the carvings. It was quite a sight.

 

Heading inland now we crossed a pass called The Vee. As we climbed up the coastal side it got very foggy. Charles had to watch out for sheep on the road. As we crested and started down the fog left and we could see the valley below. It was overcast now but not raining. We stopped in the town of Lismore to see the Castle however it was closed for the season.

 

We decided to see if we could see the Michelstown Caves today. We thought we would have better luck seeing them on a Sunday. We found out that they are open every day except for Christmas. Getting to the caves from Lismore meant a trip across country and you guessed it more one lane roads. It was well worth the trip. The caves were fantastic. I was so happy as they are better lit than the last caves we were in. When we left the caves our GPS took use over more one lane roads. One road we went on, we thought was a farm lane. It turned out to be okay though.

 

The sun was shining by supper time in Cashel. We were not sure what to do with the bright light and blue skies. Sure hope it holds for tomorrow. There is much to see and do tomorrow before we head to Kilkenny.