The Rock of CashelOct 15, 2010
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Hore Abbey
| This morning we got up early and had a nice cooked breakfast made for us, courtesy of the B&B owner. As we were leaving, I couldn't find where I'd put the room key, then found it in my jumper pocket as we were walking out. We didn't have any time to explore as we had to catch the ferry. Along the way to the pier I managed to get some nice pictures of dawn. We arrived back to the mainland mid-morning, jumped in the car and headed to The Rock of Cashel, located in South Tipperary. Everytime I saw the words 'Tipperary' I would hear the song 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' in my head. Half the time I would start to sing it aloud. The Rock of Cashel is a single craggy hill, rising out of the surrounding plain and topped by a cluster of wonderful medieval buildings which dominate the skyline. It was the fortress of the kings of Munster, who ruled the southern part of Ireland, and Cashel came to prominence in the 4th or 5th century AD. The dominant building was the 13th century St Patrick's Cathedral which was roofless but still impressive, with its long nave and chancel, and a 26 metre tower. Inside the cathedral were many old monuments and important tombs. Also amazing was the Round Tower and Cormac's Chapel which were the oldest structures on the Rock, dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. The chapel contained a remarkable stone sarcophagus carved with sophisticated Celtic patterns. There was also the 15th century Hall of Vicars with a display of stone carvings in its vaulted undercroft and above it a splendid hall with a minstrels' gallery, huge fireplace and timbered ceiling. It was an amazing thing to see. Once we'd finished exploring, we followed the signs to Hore Abbey, located about a km away from the Rock. Hore Abbey appeared to be on 'the road less travelled', as there was virtually no-one around. It stood alone and untouched, and was just as amazing as the Rock of Cashel in my opinion. Once again time was against us so we travelled on until we reached Kilkenny Castle. Kilkenny Castle was huge and spectacular. Though its origins were back in Norman times, the castle was adapted over the centuries and reflects the splendour of the 1830's, enhanced by the Butler Gallery of Contemporary Art in the former servant's quarters, the Medieval Room in the South Tower and a cultural facility. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Castle. An Italian lady gave a talk about the history of the old paintings. The backyard consisted of beautiful gardens and a water fountain. We then went to the Kilkenny Old Jail and Courthouse. We were given audio-guides. The jail cells were set up with replicas of the prisoners. Some of the cells had writing on the walls done by the prisoners which was interesting to read. Afterwards we wandered the streets of Kilkenny and had a look in some shops. We then went and bought some lunch at a supermarket. The supermarket had lots of ready-to-eat foods at the deli department, including burgers, chips, made-to-order sandwiches and wraps. We bought a wrap each and some wedges. We went back to the car and still had a bit of time left on our parking meter, however we continued on to our hotel in Blarney. It was a fair drive to Blarney and we checked into our hotel at around dinner time. We had dinner then did some research on local Irish pubs. We found one on Google which sounded good, Muskerry Arms, which was a family-owned hotel located right in the heart of Blarney Village. There was traditional Irish music playing in the lobby of the hotel and in hindsight, we should have gone done earlier to listen to the music then gone to the Muskerry. We arrived at the Muskerry sometime after 10pm. It was very busy but we managed to get a little table right near the front of the stage. I managed to borrow a chair from another table but Andrew had to stand as there were no more spare chairs. The live band was a man singing typical pub songs along with music. We had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the atmosphere. The pub was decorated with coasters and posters and the people there were all ages, but mostly mid 20's-30's. We stayed until the live music was over which was 1am and made our way back to the hotel, getting to bed at about 2am. |
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