A Bit more than I could chew...

I had such grand plans for this part of the trip.  Having never been to Ireland and going by myself, I felt that I had to have places to stay and a general idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see before I started so I had plotted a coarse and made reservations at each stopping place.  I wanted to see as much of the county as I could so I made a plan of what I would then see for each day.  As it is with all plans, mine didn't quite work out the way that I thought they would and I figured out very quickly that I had to manage my time better.  When I was finished at Blarney Castle it was around 6 pm and I had about 2 hours to get to my Bed & Breakfast for the night.  If I would have been smart, I would have gotten a B&B around Cork, but I wanted to drive along the coast the next day so I found this nice place right on the water in Skibbereen.  The problem is that I got lost (I ended up going completely the wrong way) and what should have just taken me 90 minutes took me 3 hours.  The place was hard to find, which didn't help, and when I arrived they were not waiting for me.  Come to find out I had requested Wednesday night, not Tuesday night for my reservation.  Lucky for me they were there and they were gracious enough to allow me to stay the night.  The owner called the pub just up the street to see if they would stay open  long enough for me to come and eat (I hadn't eaten since that morning) and I had fish and chip Irish style (it was tasty).  The B&B was nice but because she wasn't ready for me, my stay was a bit awkward.

The Castle

View from the Castle

From Skibbereen my plan was to drive up the coast and arrive at Killarney.  The drive was wonderful and I had blue skies the whole way.  I spent most of my time on the side of the road, just looking at and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery.

 

My first stop on my way to Killarney was Dantry, in County Cork.  The Irish name for Bantry is Beanntraige. The name came from a son of Conor MacNessa called Beannt. Conor MacNessa was one of the kings of Ireland at the time of Christ. The ending 'raige' in the name means the people or territory of "Beannt" Bantry Bay is one of the finest and safest harbours in Europe and is situated in a strategic position on the edge of the Atlantic ocean. Being very deep with no dangerous or sand banks and sheltered from most winds by the mountains which surround it, from earliest times it has been used as a haven by fishermen and merchant ships.    In the last 20 years, Bantry has revived to become a leader in Mariculture with mussels the main product. It is now a vibrant market town and popular tourist destination, looking to the future but aware of its heritage.

The road going into Bantry



St. Brendan the Navigator statue in Bantry town square



Bantry Town Square



 

I found these narrow roads in every town I visited.

As I drove out of Bantry, there was road construction and I ended up taking a bit of a detour which caused a delay in my getting to Killary as early as I had wanted to, but it allowed me to again see some beautiful country.   The detour took me down to Castletown then over to Canermore and up to Allihres, over to Urhin.  These pictures are just along the way to Eyeries.
 

 

Eyeries is remarkable: one of the most south-westerly villages in Ireland, it is situated on a bluff that overlooks Coulagh Bay and beyond that, the Atlantic Ocean.  Hundreds of years ago, Eyeries was known as Kilcatherine Parish, called after a cleric named Caitighearn who was brought from France by the Beara Luingseachain in the middle of the 3rd century. To quote in Gaelic the tradition handed down from generation to generation of the Gaelic speakers of the parish: "I lar treas aoise thainig se". So Christianity existed in this parish long before the advent of St. Patrick.  Eyeries Village is renowned for the bright, pastel paintwork of its terraced houses, the stunning view of the surrounding hillsides, the sweeping vista of the Beara Peninsula, the always-changing face of Coulagh Bay, the rising swell of the distant Kerry Mountains, and an unbroken horizon that is often painted in stunning sunsets.

It took me about 2 hours from Eyeries to get to Killarney, mainly because I stopped so many times to take pictures.  I am going to finish this post with the best of them.



Kissing the Blarney Stone

My last stop of the day before getting to my hotel was to travel down through County Cork and go to Blarney Castle where the famous Blarney Stone is located.  The experience driving there was fun, as I had to skirt the outside of Cork and I managed to hit right at the beginning of rush hour.  Luckily I had enough time to get there before it closed and I was able to walk around the grounds.  The gardens consist of 60 acres of sprawling parklands which include gardens, avenues, arboretums and waterways.  I didn't have enough time to see all of the gardens, but I did manage to see quite a bit on the walk up to the castle.
 

 

You can see the results of the all the rain that they had been getting.  I was told it was one of the wettest springs that Ireland had had for many, many years.

The current Blarney Castle is the third to have been erected on this site. The first building in the tenth century was a wooden structure. Around 1210 A.D. this was replaced by a stone structure which had the entrance some twenty feet above the ground on the north face. This building was demolished for foundations. In 1446 the third castle was built by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster of which the keep still remains standing.

 

The lower walls are fifteen feet, built with an angle tower by the McCarthys of Muskerry. It was subsequently occupied at one time by Cormac McCarthy, King of Munster, who is said to have supplied four thousand men from Munster to supplement the forces of Robert the Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Legend has it that the latter king gave half of the Stone of Scone to McCarthy in gratitude. This, now known as the Blarney Stone, was incorporated in the battlements where it can now be kissed.

 To get to the Blarney stone you have to climb 100 steps to the top.

You can see where you have to go to kiss the stone.  They have one person to help you and one to take your picture.

Some say the Blarney Stone was Jacob’s Pillow, brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah. Here it became the Lia Fail or ‘Fatal Stone’, used as an oracular throne of Irish kings. It was also said to be the deathbed pillow of St Columba on the island of Iona. Legend says it was then removed to mainland Scotland, where it served as the prophetic power of royal succession, the Stone of Destiny.

When Cormac MacCarthy, King of Munster, sent five thousand men to support Robert the Bruce in his defeat of the English at Bannockburn in 1314, a portion of the historic Stone was given by the Scots in gratitude – and returned to Ireland.  Others say it may be a stone brought back to Ireland from the Crusades – the ‘Stone of Ezel’ behind which David hid on Jonathan’s advice when he fled from his enemy, Saul.  A few claim it was the stone that gushed water when struck by Moses.  Whatever the truth of its origin, it is believed a witch, saved from drowning, revealed its power to the MacCarthys.

Once upon a time, visitors had to be held by the ankles and lowered head first over the battlements. Luckily for me that is not how they do it today. The Stone itself is still set in the wall below the battlements. To kiss it, I had to lean backwards (holding on to an iron railing) from the parapet walk.  

Having just kissed the Blarney Stone I am now sent forth with the Gift of Eloquence.

Views from the top

You can see Blarney House in the distance.

 

 

Views from the inside of the castle.

On the way up the 100 stairs, this is a room that would have been a bedroom (or maybe it is the kitchen).

This is what they call a "Murder Hole".  They are holes are in the roof of the entrance between the two portcullises. The defenders of the castle would trap the attackers in between the two portcullises in the entrances. They would then pour boiling water or oil from the holes in the roof onto the attackers to either kill or seriously injure them.

The castle has underground caves situated below the battlements known as the Badgers Caves. There are three passages, one to Cork, one to the lake and one seemingly to Kerry.

 The Stable Yard

My second Dream House

 

Built in 1874, Blarney House is a Scottish Baronial mansion designed by John Lanyon.  It was closed so I was not able to go in and because of the rain I wasn't able to see the grounds the way that I wanted to, but all in all, my visit to Blarney Castle was a really neat experience and one I would like to someday repeat. 

Cahir Castle

Fresh off of my first success, I decided to make an unscheduled stop.  It was just 20 km from where I was and I off I went,  back the way I came, through the double roundabout (I forgot to mention that before) and back on the payway.  Down the road a bit and I see the sign and take the plunge...wait for it... into a town.  Ok, I have to say this so that you don't have any misconceptions.  I was able to drive and enjoy it because I tried very hard to stay away from largely populated areas.   The thought of trying to go through high traffic areas with one ways everywhere scared me to death.  When I did have to go, I stayed to the outskirts and basically followed the car in front of me.   I just didn't think that I would manage very well.  It was very lucky for me that I was able to survive and not make too many mistakes.  I got off the payway and through the double roundabouts, all the while reminding myself to stay of the left side, and I made my way to Cahir Castle.  Lucky for me it was a straight shot because I was so nervous driving through the small village that I almost missed it.

Cahir Castle is one of the largest castles in Ireland and it is sited on an island in the river Suir.  It was built in the 13th century on a site of an earlier native fortification called a cathair (stone fort). In 1375 the castle was granted to James Butler (Earl of Ormond) for his loyalty to Edward III.  In 1599 the castle was captured after a three day siege by the army of the Earl of Essex and Lord Cahir was arrested for treason in 1601 but later pardon.  During the Irish Confederate Wars the castle was besieged twice.  In 1647 the Lord Cahir surrendered to Murrough O'Brien following the victory at the battle of Knocknanauss and in 1650 the castle was surrendered to Oliver Cromwell (without a shot fired) during his conquest of Ireland.  The last Lord Cahir died in 1961 and the castle was reverted to the Irish state at that time.

 

The grounds were really nice and you could go anywhere.  They had also started to furnish some of the rooms with furniture that they would have used during Medieval times.

 

This was a really fun stop on my way to my ultimate destination.