Friday, Saturday and Sunday

We have had a busy 3 days.

Friday was our trip to Blarney Castle, a once in a lifetime experience.....because noone in their right mind would walk up more than once! The castle, built in the 15th century, was incredible with a winding staircase of stone. The farther one went up, the narrower the steps became. Many of the group climbed the castle stairs, kissed the stone (or pretended too... or were too scared to really do it), then scurried down a separate set of circular stone stairs. Various rooms were noted on the way up and down the steps. One can only try to imagine what it must have been like to live there.

The structure was incredible. The grounds surrounding the castle were beautiful as well. That the knowledge was available at that time, and that the structure still stands is more than amazing. The castles we have seen have varied in size. We have even seem some for sale. Restoration must comply with government standards so it would be an expensive undertaking.

We also visited the site where, on August 22, 1922, Michael Collins was ambushed and murdered outside of Cork. It is believed he was murdered by those not in favor of the treaty with the British. However, with the exchange of gunfire, he was the only one shot. Noone really knows the truth. Watching the movie Michael Collins helps to clarify what was going on in Ireland at the time. Collins was shot at a time when Ireland was engaged in civil war, something we do not hear much about.

Friday afternoon was the Queenstown Experience where we reviewed the experience of the emigrants from Ireland. Cobh was the port that many of the Irish left from to go to the U.S., Canada and Australia. We learned about the convict ships to Australia and the deplorable conditions there (worse than those of the Irish going to America, which was really quite bad on the famine ships). There was also information on the Titanic. Cobh was its last port of call before its fateful journey.

On Saturday we traveled to Tralee via Killarney National Park. We then traveled on the Ring of Kerry and saw Ross Castle. The scenery is incredible. Of interest is the variety of plants and trees that one sees here. We see maple trees, magnolia trees, rhodedendron, crab apple trees and PALM trees. That was very surprising (to us anyway). With a climate that rarely goes over 70 degrees or under 32 degrees, a wide variety of plants survive and thrive.

Sunday was a tour of Dingle Peninsula. We stopped at a beach and saw the Atlantic Ocean. The windy narrow roads were ever present along with steep cliffs. Stone walls separate some of the fields from many years ago. Beehive structures made of stone were along the route. These were build in 2000 BC, and were used by monks for prayer and retreat. Austere to say the least. Several structures still stand.

Monday we are off to Limerick and Bunratty Castle. So much more to see and learn.