Kilkenny was a great first town. We didn't spend too much time actually in town except in the evenings. We spent one whole day day-tripping to other towns and sites. From Kilkenny we went to the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle a nd then back to Kilkenny to tour Kilkenny Castle.
The Rock of Cashel was old, crumbling and beautiful and a historic site for Ireland. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century. In 1101, the King of Munster,donated his fortress on the Rock to the Church. Few remnants of the early structures survive; the majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Cahir Castle was amazing! It was one of those castles that we were able to climb all over and in. Ashlyn had a blast with that! The only way to see it is by guided tour and our guide seemed very knowledgeable. Its one of the most complete, preserved castles, built in 1142.
Kilkenny Castle was built in 1195. It was huge and had an awesome park where there were lots of Irish, tourists and little kids having picnics, running around and just enjoying the sunshine. The inside of the castle was by self-guided tour. It looked pretty fancy, especially by 12th century standards.
After all the castles we were hungry and our B&B host Liam had suggested we find somewhere to watch the Hurling Championship game. Hurling is BIG in Ireland and especially in Kilkenny. We found out just how big when we stepped into a pub. We got there just a bit before the game started. The bar area was packed and it was LOUD! We watched the game upstairs in the dinner area and it was still loud. Interesting game though it took us a while to figure it out. Liam's team didn't win, but he had a great time, he was at the game in Dublin.
The next morning it was time to head to Dingle. On the way we stopped at the Donkey Sanctuary. It was so much more than we expected. There were hundreds of donkeys! We walked around the whole place and spent more time than expected. Ashlyn loved petting the donkeys and trying to talk to them. We even saw a mama donkey with her baby.
After that we headed to Killarney National Park and the Muckross House. Muckross House was beautiful, built in 1843 on a lake with huge lawns for us to run around on. We toured the House and we got to see how the rich lived in the the 19th century.
Then it was on to Dingle, my favorite town we stayed in. Its hard to pick a favorite because all the towns were so different but Dingle just has the relaxed friendly atmosphere you expect in a small town. It was definitely the smallest of the four towns we stayed in. Our host told us, "you can walk the whole town in 10 minutes!" She was right, we walked a lot of the town.
We had our first misty drizzle our first night in Dingle walking to dinner. It wasn't enough to call it rain. We also found an excellent ice cream shop on our walk to dinner, so of course we had to stop on the way back to the B&B! :) Murphy's Ice Cream, oh yum! Its ice cream made the way it should be: with eggs, cream, cane sugar, and only fresh milk from the rare indigenous Kerry cows. Whatever they're doing, its some of the best ice cream I've ever had. My favorite flavor? Dingle Sea Salt, yep they use water from Dingle Bay to get the salt! Ashlyn's favorite and what she ordered every time we went: Valrhona Chocolate! She's a girl who knows what she wants.
First night at Murphy's
and the next day
Kerry cows
being silly
Next up in Part 3, all about our Dingle Peninsula trip with lots of pictures!
Did Jered tell you that our McGrath family crest is from the King of Munster, we are decendants from that exact family line, maybe you knew that, but if not, you were on the same path as our "family roots". Can't wait to see all your photos when were down. K
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