Honeymoon In Ireland - Cahir and the Ring of Kerry

An updated version of this site can be found here

30 June, 2008

Cahir viewed from the Castle tower

So... at 11:30 PM last night, someone went into our bathroom and woke us up.  We're pretty sure she is a nun lol.  It turns out that a French TV Channel was doing a documentary on a woman who was beatified and had lived in Cahir for four years.  Our bathroom invading nun was their guide.

Cahir from the Castle gate

Our room at Tinsley House was large, with three beds and looked out on the street and the Square.  We had a private bathroom, but it was just outside the door to our room instead of en suite.  I can't imagine that there is any better accommodation in town.

The right-hand side of our room at Tinsley House

The left-hand side of our room at Tinsley House

Anyway, the breakfast at Tinsley House was very good.  Cereal was laid out with a ton of really good brown bread and a pitcher of water.  On each table was a small pitcher of orange juice.  We both had the fry and it was great.

Before breakfast we woke up to go running (we were far too beat yesterday morning) and we were rewarded by a beautiful run down the path along the Suir River next to the Castle.  The path is gorgeous and goes by the Swiss Cottage.

After breakfast, we checked out (it was €70) and said goodbye to Liam.  We parked in the lot next to the Castle where we bought some postcards and a Dublin street map in the Tourist Office (there is a public toilet in the next building over).  The woman there was very sweet and helpful.  Then we were off to the castle.

Cahir Castle

I had visited Cahir Castle before and remembered it being a highlight of my trip.  This is one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world and is probably the best castle to visit in Ireland.  We used our Heritage Pass for our admission (it was our forth Heritage site of the trip).  We received our own (just the two of us) guided tour from Edmund (it was 10 AM).  He was OUTSTANDING!  What an incredible and informative tour of a spectacular castle.  Our stay lasted 1 1/2 hours including the time we wandered around after Edmund finished.

Outer wall of Cahir Castle

The front gate to the castle

The keep

The only working Portcullis in Ireland

The inner courtyard

The Great Hall (on right) and the Keep (on the left)

The portcullis at Cahir Castle

We then walked up to the Square to visit the Spar where we bought some bread, cheese, apples, coffee and more bottled water (€9 total).  


Next, we made our way to Killarney.  The drive took us about 2 hours.  We were hoping for a picnic, but settled for lunch in the car outside of the tourist office. (The lot in Cahir and Killarney are both €1/hour.  When we finished eating, we took advantage of yet another public restroom that was in the carpark.    When we were finished, we called our B&B to make sure that the directions we had were correct.  Even though it was only 1:30, she told us to come on up to the house.

The Ring of Kerry is famous for two things:  natural beauty and incredibly bad traffic.  We wanted to see the Ring of Kerry, but not be ON the Ring of Kerry.  So, since we were trying to stay places that would be good for running, we decided to stay IN McGullicuddy's Reeks (the interior of the Ring of Kerry).

Near Kittie Kearny's

We followed the road through the Gap of Dunloe - stopping briefly at Kittie Kearny's Cottage for another confirmation of directions (FYI - there are public restrooms here too).  The road past Kittie Kearny's is not really open to the public, it's for residents and their visitors only.  I actually wouldn't recommend driving it anyway.  You can walk or get a pony & trap - and should - the views are spectacular.  The glacier certainly did some impressive work here!

Entering the Gap of Dunloe

Sunshine in Kerry

A roadside loch

Just a hint of what was to come

Entering The Black Valley

 

If the rest of the area had nothing, this made it worthwhile

We only met one car on the road

As we neared our B&B (Shamrock House) it began raining which really spoiled the views.  After we unloaded our bags, we decided to head out for a walk (the B&B is on the Kerry Way), but it was cut short in favor of food.

The Kerry Way from Shamrock House to where it leaves the road:

It seemed like a good idea to continue the rest of the way down the road to Sneem.  It took FOREVER - wonderful scenery - but really tough driving.  We got to Sneem at about 5:15, and ate at The Blue Bull.  We ended up with an abbreviated menu because we were too early for dinner, but we got some really nice pub grub: a panini, burger, 2 club lemons and a pint of Smithwicks for €29.  Then it was off to the Staigue Fort.


We got there easy enough - the guide books say that the road to the fort is small and rough, but they obviously have not been on the road we took to Sneem!  The owner of the land charges €1 per person to visit and it is far better than the other stone forts I have visited.  There was even a free toilet to use and a telescope that you could use for €1.  Anyone who has any interest in these kinds of forts needs to see this one.

The Staigue Fort, Ring of Kerry

Inside the Staigue Fort

We returned home the long way through Kenmare and Killarney Park.  Even in the bad weather it had some stunning scenery.  We finally returned to the Shamrock House just after 9 PM.  The setting is uncomparable, wild.  The rooms are nice, but have tiny bathrooms and aren't the cleanest rooms ever.  They are ok, just not as spic-and-span as many places.  Shiela and her husband are very friendly though.  Just try and avoid that cup of tea - I bet you can't!  

Pics of Shamrock House:

Our room - the door is the bathroom

The view from Shamrock House

Shamrock Farmhouse, Black Valley, Kerry

The horse across the road from the house

Day 3 Ireland Itinerary:
Cahir
Killarney (2 hour drive from Cahir)
Black Valley/MacGillycuddy Reeks (40 minutes from Killarney to Shamrock Guesthouse)

Honeymoon in Ireland-- Kilkenny, Kells, Cashel and Cahir

An updated version of this site can be found here

June 29, 2008

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)