The Gift of Gab - or Not, Our Ireland and Scotland Journey, Part 3

Day 4

We woke up in Kilkenny, Ireland to a windy, overcast day.  Forecast was

Kilkenny Castle

to be windy with off-and-on showers.  Our plan for the day was to see the local castle and cathedral before heading south to the Rock of Cashel and Blarney Castle.  Last stop for the day was a bed and breakfast in Killarney for two nights.

Starting off with another great buffet breakfast at our hotel, we then walked over to the castle for some photo ops before the place opened at 09:30.

Kilkenny Castle was really special.  Originally built in 1195 by Richard

Portrait Room

de Clare, 2^nd Earl of Pembroke and commonly known as Strongbow, the castle was purchased by James Butler in 1391 who established himself as the ruler.  The Butler family were in possession of the castle for the next 500 years, not too shabby.

Various interior rooms of the castle have been restored, most notably to us was the incredible Portrait Room.  Simply marvelous.  Paintings of the Butler family and others from the 15^th to 18^th century as well as a set of tapestries from the late 16^th century.

Back side of the cathedral

From the castle we retrieved our car from the car park (parking garage) and drove down to see St. Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower and the Black Abbey on the other side of the historic area.  Not too much circling this time, I was able to find parking on the roadside near the cathedral.

Round towers are a testament to Irish

Round Tower

ingenuity.  They were constructed to protect people and treasures at major religious sites from invaders such as the Norse.  The doorway is typically 8-10 feet above the ground so they could climb up and then pull up the ladder for safety.  This particular tower is estimated to be from the 9^th century and is roughly 100 feet high.

St. Canice’s Cathedral as it now stands was primarily built in the 13^th century but the site traces back to the Church of St. Canice of the 6^th century.  The church also contains a very large collection of medieval effigy


tombs including many of the Butler family of Kilkenny Castle.  The tombs were very cool and the detail was incredible.  Each link of chain mail was shown, every last detail finished by master craftsmen of the day.

Effigy Tombs

We probably spent too much time here but it was worth it.

Black Abbey

Next we walked over to the nearby Black Abbey.  They were about to have their 13:00 service so we didn't go in, just walked around it and left.  Jumped in the car and headed to the Rock of Cashel a little over an hour away.

The Rock of Cashel is a prominent, rocky hilltop in the town of Cashel, County Tipperary.  Yep, no surprises there.  It is easy to see why the kings of Munster used it for centuries as their home.  It appears to be easily defended and is surrounded by lush, green fields that serve to both supply the occupants and also makes it easy to spot the approach of adversaries.

This site was used by the kings of Munster from roughly the 5th century to the 11th century when it was donated to the Church.  Most of the existing structures date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.  No sense getting too exact.  Let's just talk in centuries, shall we?

It was extremely windy on The Rock and difficult to hear our guide.  However, there was very little rain, just an occasional mist so no major complaints, could've been worse.  It was a little eery to walk through the empty buildings.  Nothing left but the walls essentially.  Roof missing.  Cold and windy.  It certainly gave one an appreciation for the people who lived on that rock 500 years ago.

One very cool feature I noticed was openings on the walls.  Look at the three windows on the left side of the photo below.  The level with the main wall openings has a walkway or corridor through the inside of the walls that one can see if you look close.  Walls were thick, probably between 3 and 4 feet.

So we finished here, paid for parking, and got to the car about 16:00.  With a 2 hour drive to Killarney remaining we elected to skip Blarney Castle, simply not enough time.  Maybe next time.  I'm an engineer anyway.  The Blarney stone isn't going to do anything for me.

After some traffic issues (funeral I think, and then a cattle crossing blocked the highway) we did indeed arrive at The Mountain Dew B&B, our home for the next two nights.  We walked over to town and had a good meal at Tatler Jack before heading back, having a bit of tea, and retiring for the night (as soon as I get this blasted blog done!).

And I got Kim to pose with our rental car tonight!

Until tomorrow.

Randy