October 14 Friday Blarney Castle, Rock of Cashel, Dublin

 Friday, October 14

We head out this morning, with final destination Dublin, but lots to see along the way.

We head East to County Cork on R577, what some call "the REAL Ireland". Michael Collins, a hero in the war for Independence was born here.  We see a few banners which say "Free Cork from Dublin", attesting to their independent spirit.

Cork is the 2nd largest harbor in the world, after Sydney, Australia. Most of those fleeing Ireland during the Famine left from this port.  It was also the last stop of the Titanic.  It's population is 220,000 vs Dublin's 1 million.  Dairy is big business here, as well as horse racing.  We first stop at Blarney Castle which is famous for it's Blarney Stone.

 Kissing it once supposedly gives one the gift of eloquence.  Kissing it twice takes the gift away. A famous chieftain named McCarthy lived here when Queen Elizabeth I wanted the castle. Whenever the Earl Of Leicester attempted to negotiate with McCarthy on the Queen's behalf,  McCarthy suggested a banquet or some other kind of delay.  When the Queen asked for progress reports, a long missive was sent but the castle remained untaken.  The Queen was supposedly so irritated that she remarked that the earl's reports were all "Blarney".

Some Autumn colors appear here.

Greg and I pass on the stone, but enjoy walking the gardens, including medicinal plants in the Poison Garden.  Several carnivorous plants too. Wooded area with caves with names like Druid's Place, Witch's Cave, etc.

We walk to the nearby Blarney Woolen Mills, for lunch and shopping.  The rain arrived during our lunch of egg salad sandwiches and chips (crisps). 

 Lots of traffic in this area as we head north.  We notice quite a few Aldi Grocery Stores, and several signs advertising caves and castles.   Our "surprise" stop is the  Rock of Cashel, also known as St. Patrick's Rock.  Built in the 12th century, it served as the seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years before the Norman invasion. Supposedly St. Patrick preached here and this is the most intact monestary in Ireland.

Next we head to Dublin, Europe's most popular vacation destination. We note there are no billboards on the major highways.  Also note very little police presence outside of cities.

We notice a few horses in pastures and David says that racing is very popular. Horse breeding is nationalized - government run!  He talks about the famous racehorse named Shergar that was kidnapped in 1983 and never heard of again after a ransom of 2 million pounds was demanded and refused. Some suspect the IRA.

Dublin was founded by Vikings 1,000 years ago, so is a relatively young city.  It was the seat of British power in Ireland until 1922. The River Liffey creates a port which is still active today.  Low Corporate taxes have attracted companies like Amazon, SalesForce and others to set up European hubs here.

We arrive at the Clayton Hotel and have a light dinner here.  Beth isn't feeling too well, so we pass on a walk around town. We'll have a tour tomorrow.

We've covered a lot of ground this trip, but David and GoAhead Tours have done a good job of breaking it up.  We've never gone more than 2 hours without a stop, and usually less.