1 July 2014
We landed yesterday at 6:30 AM (30 June). It was a long day! We left the house at 11:30 AM (29 June) and arrived at National Airport about noon. We checked in, cleared security and reached the gate in 15 minutes! It went more smoothly than I ever would have imagined! Then we had three hours until boarding time, but we ate lunch and the kids were pretty good for the most part (though there was crying). The kids were very excited!
SIDENOTE: We had a lot of discussion about whether we should bring the stroller or not. Sarah and I were worried that it would take up precious and limited space in our car. My mother thought we would be crazy to leave it behind. In the end (as you can see) we brought it and that is what made the airports doable.
The JetBlue flight from National to Logan was mixed. Liam (5) was wonderful, Fionnuala (2) was all over the place. We arrived on time in Boston and made a very long multi-elevator/staired walk to our terminal. We had to go through security again, but arrived at our gate with plenty of time. We ate dinner at the worst Cosi in America and then returned to our gate.
The wait was most of an hour and the children were very active and also beginning to tire. The flight was on time (thank you, Aer Lingus) and all was okay at this point. Our flight was on a 757 which has three seats on one side of the aisle and three seats on the other side. Sarah sat with the two kids. We are still married and everyone is alive, but it was a rough flight for my wife! The children (especially Fionnuala) were all over the place even after most of the airplane was asleep. Eventually, Sarah got both kids to sleep but she didn't get much sleep herself. The craziest part was dinner! The food was fine, but it proved very difficult to supervise for one person.
But then, we were landing at Shannon. Liam woke up (grumpy) but Fionnuala started crying (as did the other small ones - it was 1:30 AM EST). Liam eventually became more pleasant and excited. He loved seeing the Irish signage, excitedly explaining to everyone where you could find the "slí amach". Customs and baggage were fast and easy as was the bus to Avis (which is just outside the door to the left -- there is no sign but you don't need to stop at the desk in the airport if you have a reservation). Getting the car was very fast as well. I opted for the Super CDW (which covers almost everything, but doubled the price) and Sarah installed the two car seats. At this point Liam was so excited that he might explode and Fionnuala was also excited and in a good mood.
We started off in our Nissan Qashqai filled to the brim at 7:40 AM. Fionnuala was singing and Liam was pointing out everything that was different from home. By the time we reached Ennis, both kids were asleep again. Traffic was lighter than I expected (would not have been the case at Dublin Airport) and the new motorway really makes arriving at Shannon even easier than before.
It took us an hour to reach Baile Chláir where we ate at Treat Cafe. We woke Liam, but Fionnuala slept on my shoulder the entire time. Liam was too grumpy to eat (and almost to bear). Sarah had the Veggie Brunch and I had the Mini AM Treat and we both had coffee (for €20) and everything was delicious!
SIDENOTE: Baile Chláir is technically a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) even though there won't be much Irish around. What is does mean though is you need to make sure that whatever map you use has the Irish town names as all sign posts are only in Irish. Our neighbor lent us Dundrum Maps All Ireland Road Atlas and it was wonderful and has all the Irish place names as well as speed cameras and blue flag beaches.
Claregalway Abbey
Back in the car, we passed Liam's first castle (he had been talking about them for months), then stopped across the street at the Claregalway Abbey. Liam and I explored, he was in heaven! Then I waited in the car with Fionnuala (who had slept through everything so far) so Sarah could look at the Abbey (with Liam). The Abbey was built in the early 1200s and altered in the 1400s when the bell tower was added. The Abbey is an impressive monument where the kids can explore. There is no admission, it is right off the N17, it is always open and has a big nice car park.
The courtyard of the cloister
View of Chancel Gable from the New Graveyard
View of "new" bell tower from graveyard
Old Gateway seen in background from Old Cemetery
Recess in wall of the Chancel
Groin arch support in the center of the complex
The Chancel
Liam investigates
The Bell Tower
Liam poses with Claregalway Castle in background
The New Graveyard
The Cloister
After awhile, we got back in the car to head north to Donegal and Sarah soon joined Fionnuala in sleep (She woke up at Sligo town). 1 hour and 55 minutes later we were at Drumcliff and stopped to visit. Liam at this point in the trip said that his back hurt, I wanted to see the High Crosses, and in addition they have a cafe with restrooms. There is very large car park off of the N15. We looked in the church per Liam's request, saw William Butler Yeats' grave and checked out the cross.
Yeats is buried next to the door of St. Columba's Church. His great grandfather was the rector here. St. Columba (Colmcille) founded a monastery on this site in the 500s. Below is a 10th century High Cross that was made by the monks. There is also the base of an 11th century round tower across the road from the cross. The shaft of a second high cross can be seen near to this one pictured below.
The first picture shows the eastern face of the cross. It includes: Christ in Glory, Daniel in the Lions' Den, Adam and Eve, and Cain's murder of Abel. The western face includes: the presentation at the Temple and the Crucifixion. the southern face of the shaft features the only icon of the Virgin with Christ on a high cross in Ireland.
The eastern face of the cross withe round tower in the background
The eastern face
The western face
The eastern face
The western face with St. Columba's Church in the background
The southern face
The cross with Ben Bulben in the background
Piling out of the car at Creevykeel
After we had finished roaming around Drumcliff and finished our coffees we drove north for 15 minutes and stopped at Creevykeel (there is a signpost). Creevykeel is a court tomb. I have driven past it many times and never even thought to stop. What a shame! Creevykeel is the best and most complete court tomb I have visited. Court tombs have a circular (or semi-circular) courtyard outside of a series of chambered tombs (think a covered dolmen). It was built sometime between 4000 and 2500 BC, with the older date being more likely. For perspective, that makes these monuments older than the pyramids in Egypt. The courtyard was used for some sort of ritual outside of the tombs.
Rag Tree on path to Creevykeel
Again both kids were pleased with the stop! As you approach the court tomb you pass through a series of rag trees (which we had no idea were there). These are holdovers from pagan times that have crept into Christianity. The idea is that you place a piece of clothing from a person who needs help or healing and as the rag disintegrates the prayer will be answered. The British often call the rag a Clootie and the tree a Clootie Tree. It was a nice surprise and an indication that this was a holy place for multiple civilizations and religions.
The kids loved running around and climbing all over everything. It was 21°C and sunny. We couldn't have asked for a better day! The kids especially loved climbing into the burial chambers. Another very interesting thing about this sight is the early Christian kiln that was built into the courtyard (pictured below). Here are some pictures, but there is also a video below.
The entrance to Creevykeel Court Tomb
The early Christian Kiln inside the courtyard
The tomb from the back
The kids exploring the chambers
The view from our front door
By this point it was about 12:30, so we got back in the car to make the final push. We stopped at the Supervalu in Donegal Town for groceries (head toward the town centre instead of taking the bypass), stopped in Killybegs to use the ATM and phone our landlady and then we proceeded to Teileann (Home of Seán Ó hEochaidh). Tania (our landlady) met us at the house about 3:30 PM. She is lovely and An Scrín is amazing. There is nowhere in the world more beautiful than here when the sun is shining!
Sliabh Liag from our window
Total time from leaving our house: 23 hours
Total time from Shannon including stops: 8 hours Total time just driving: 5 hours
We made a lot of stops on the way to our destination in order to break the trip up for both the children and the driver. It also allowed everyone to get some sleep as well as time outside.
Dunromin was a lovely B&B. We had a single and double bed with a large bathroom (shower only) for €70. Val was extremely helpful and cheery. We were sad to leave. We also had some really nice conversations with the other guests over a delicious breakfast -- full fry and a bar with a variety of cereal, peaches, mixed fruit salad, a bowl of apples, oranges and bananas and a pitcher of orange juice.
Our beds at Dunromin
Our bathroom at Dunromin
Our room at Dunromin
One of the castle's doors
Val equipped everyone with either a map or very detailed directions to their next destination. Ours was Kilkenny Castle. My wife, Sarah, decided that she wasn't interested in seeing anything else in Kilkenny - so off we went (into a light rain).
We used our Heritage Card for admission and made it just in time for the 10:30 tour. Then we nestled in for the introductory video. Kilkenny Castle was the principal castle for the Butler family and is the cornerstone of this medieval city. The whole tour was wonderful. After the tour we looked at the smallish Butler Art Gallery in the Castle and took a brief look at the gift shop. The whole event took us about 1 hour.
Kilkenny Castle from inside the courtyard
A closer look
The keep
The park in front of the Castle
After the castle, we headed to Kells Priory in Kells (about 15 km or 9 miles south of Kilkenny). This Kells is not to be confused with the much larger, more famous Kells in Co. Meath. Since this was the highlight of my first ever visit to Éire I wanted to go back and be able to share it with my wife.
We parked at St. Kieran's Church and came down the hill to the Priory. The church is now locked, which is a change from my first time at Kells. The Priory's protective walls are as majestic as I remembered. The government (maybe the EU) has apparently sunk some money into maintenance as one of the towers was completely surrounded by scaffolding. That is great news! This is one of the best sites in Ireland and it's FREE. It must have been impenetrable in it's day.
St. Kieran's Church
Kells Priory looks like a castle as you approach
After we finished peaking at everything we went to the Spar shop in the village where we bought two sandwiches (made to order), a 2 liter bottle of water, a packet of crisps (chips), Cadbury bar, and a bottle of Club Orange for €8. We ate in the car outside of the shop and decided to move on to the sites planned for tomorrow since we were finished with everything we had planned to see.
So, off we set towards Cashel. It took us about 45 minutes to get there. When we arrived, we parked in the Rock of Cashel carpark (€3) and we were both happy to see that they had public toilets!
We then marched up the hill and used our Heritage Card for the second time of the day (3rd total). We arrived at 3:00 and the next tour was at 3:30. It was very windy and a bit cool on the Rock, even though it had been sunny and 18 degrees since we left Kilkenny Castle.
Our tour guide was good and very knowledgeable about the site. It is one of the more striking sites in Ireland. Traditionally, the King of Munster ruled from this site. St. Patrick is said to have baptized one of them here. We finished at the Rock of Cashel at 4:30 and headed to our B&B in Cahir.
Tinsley House is located on the Square in Cahir, but we had a little bit of a hard time spotting it. So, we parked the car and walked to find it, then returned for the car. We ended up with a spot directly out of our bedroom window. Early impressions of the B&B were mediocre.
After we got settled in we went to eat. When we returned to the B&B I noticed that I didn't have the key! It turns out I had left our key to the front door inside our room. Liam (owner of Tinsley House) answered the door and was as kind as he could be! Gold star for Liam! I apologize about the mediocre comment!
We ate dinner at Galileo's, easy walking distance from our B&B. I had a good pizza, and Sarah had a salad and chips (french fries) for €25. The food was okay, but the restaurant was packed!
As our first full day in Ireland came to a close, we drifted off to sleep dreaming of better water pressure than we had in our shower at Dunromin.
Day 2 Ireland Itinerary: Kilkenny Castle Kells, Co.Kilkenny (15 minute drive from Kilkenny) Cashel (45 minutes from Kells)
Tinsley House B&B - Cahir (1:10 hour drive from Cashel)
