Ireland- Summer Vacation 2015

We traveled to Ireland for this year's "Summer Vacation".  

We left for Ireland a couple of days after we moved into our new apartment in Madrid and we returned 2 days before the kids began at their new school.  It was an exhausting and chaotic few weeks...

except for the 9 days that we were in Ireland.

Ireland was basically 2 colors with the occasional rainbow.  The landscape was green, and most of the buildings were made of gray limestone which blended into the gray skies. 


It would have been quite gloomy with the overcast skies and daily rain if it weren't for the wonderful landscape .

DAY 1-Trim Castle

Our first destination was this 12th century Norman castle.  It is the largest Norman Castle in Ireland.

The river Boyne runs along the north of the castle.  This Castle was used in part of the filming of the movie Braveheart.

Northern Ireland 

This greatly decorated Manor house was where we spent our first two nights in Larne, Northern Ireland.

We were disappointed that our room was on the third floor since our new apartment is as well and both have no elevator.  We were still sore from carrying everything up 3 flights of stairs to our new apartment a couple of days before.  

Breakfast was included in each of the five places we stayed throughout the trip.  This was the full Irish breakfast served at the manor house.  We all loved the sausage, unfortunately we can't get that in Spain.

DAY 2- Giants Causeway

One of our top destinations was Giants Causeway.  Brent came here with his parents when they were serving a mission in Ireland. The area circled is the focal point of the Causeway.

We were happy that we climbed down the "Shepherds Steps" instead of climbing up them.  It is said that the shepherds, before the stairs, would carry their sheep up this hillside. 

Now we are making our way from the other side.  The first known record of this particular site was in 1693 when news broke about an amazing phenomenon discovered by Bishop of Derry the year before.

There was much argument as to whether the Causeway had been created by men with picks and chisels,

by nature, or by the efforts of a giant. 

For in the 17th century nothing like it had been seen before.

 It was not until 1771 that a Frenchman, announced the origin of the causeway to be the result of volcanic action.

Carrick-a-Rede

Carrick-a-Rede is a rope bridge connected to the cliffs of a rocky island. 

The bridge is suspended almost 100 ft above the sea.  An older rope bridge was first erected by salmon fishermen 350 years ago. In the 1970s it had only one handrail and large gaps between the slats.

From the Rocky Island there were fantastic views of Rathlin Island, and Scotland.  Brent is pointing to Scotland just behind Rathlin Island. 

This is the stunning view looking back from the Island.

Mason wandering the island alone, or was he?

 Dunluce Castle

Not far from Giant's causeway and Carrick-a-Rede is Dunluce Castle.

This castle was first referenced in 1513.  

Dunluce is also regarded as the possible inspiration for Cair Paravel in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. .

The dramatic history of Dunluce includes tales of banshees, mermaids and a story of how the castle kitchens fell into the sea one stormy night in 1639.

At the time that we were there, there was a medieval festival with food and craft booths and entertainment.

Below the castle is a cave that leads under the castle to the coastline.

After the castle we found the perfect place to pull over for a picnic.  Morgan is surveying his route through the valley up to the cliff with the ruin. 

It's not the easiest to see in this picture but there are sheep grazing on this fence-less cliff.

Kinbane

This two storey castle was built in 1547.

The castle was mostly destroyed in fighting with the English only eight years after it was built. The owner/builder died in the castle or the vicinity in 1558.

There is a story that a group of English soldiers were trapped in the cave under the castle during a siege of the castle. Fires were lit by the soldiers to call for help and locals responded and arrived armed surrounding the soldiers who were then massacred in the area in or near the cave under the castle now called the “Hollow of the English”.

DAY 3- Ireland

We left Northern Ireland, which we loved, and headed south to Ireland on narrow and windy tree bordered roads, which continued throughout all of Ireland.

Hill of Tara

 We stopped here but really there was not much to see.  It was an archaeological complex or a sacral site associated with kingship rituals dating back 5000 years.  There were a few small monuments and burials, but apparently nothing we felt more photo worthy than Kamree since this was the only photo we have at this location.

Old unknown Abbey

Along the way we noticed this amazing climbing structure.

There was an old bridge over the river behind the ruins.

Oddly, we had to talk Morgan into getting out of the car to explore this.

This place was quite enjoyable, I wish we had written down the name so that we could research it.

Clonmacnoise

Clonmacnoise is a monastic site overlooking the River Shannon. It was founded in 548.  The settlement was originally built by wood until the 10th century when stonework began.  

The extensive (10th  -13th century)ruins include a cathedral, castle, round tower, numerous churches, two important high crosses, and a large collection of early Christian grave slabs.

This large round tower, built in 1124.  As most of the round towers in Ireland, the doorway is well above ground level for defensive purposes and not to keep someone with really long hair prisoner.  

Above the River Shannon, next to Clonmacnoise are the intriguing remains of a castle built in 1214.

It was destroyed as early as 1300.

We then continued on our route for our next 2 nights in Doolin.

Doolin

Doolin is a very small coastal town (village) catering to tourism of the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher.

DAY 4- Inisheer

It was nice to be in an English speaking country where we understood most everything.

We took a Ferry to Inisheer which is the smallest and closest of the three Aran- Islands. The residents' first language is Gaelic.

Inisheer is the smallest of the three Aran Islands.  It was ruled by the O'Brien Dynasty which built the fort/castle in the background.  

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As we docked we were welcomed by a very friendly dolphin.

We first set out to find the resident seals, however, we only found one, which Kaiya never spotted until she saw the picture.

We found jellyfish in the water as we were looking for the seals. 

 We found several jellyfish also living in the pools in the rocks.

Besides the animal population, Inisheer has a human population of about 297 year around with a large jump in the summer months to entertain all the tourists. Interestingly there are only six surnames among the locals.

We hired a horse and buggy and the three younger kids took turns holding the reins along our tour.  Our tour guide was fantastic as he had grown up on the island and knew every square inch of it and everyone that lived on it including their cats and dogs. 

This iconic island sight was a freighter that bottomed out on the rocks in bad weather in 1960.

It's hard to see Morgan here since he squeezed inside this massive piece of rust.

The Island also includes its own natural lake.

Our tour guide told us that several owners of this type of home  abandoned them years ago.  They are houses made for thatched roofs and the upkeep was too costly and frequent. 

The remains of a 15th-century O'Brien stone fort was built near the island's highest point.

When the ferry came back to pick us up our bodies were ready for an excuse to quit walking, except for Kamree and Mason.  They disappeared nearly as soon as we boarded.  Every so often they would quickly running past us. Brent found them playing hide and seek or tag inside the empty cabin at one point. 

Cliffs of Moher

Our ferry tickets included a drive-by of the Cliffs of Moher.

They rise 390- 702ft  above the Atlantic Ocean and are 5 miles long.

The rock protruding from the ocean is called the "rocky needle" and the small tower atop of the cliff on the left is O’Brien’s Tower, built in 1835.  The Cliffs of Moher have appeared in several films, including The Princess Bride,  ("The Cliffs of Insanity"), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , and Leap Year.

After seeing the cliffs from below we decided to see them from above since that is what everyone else does and frankly we had absolutely nothing else to do.

As we meandered through the maze of windy roads trying to find a place close enough to the cliffs that allowed for parking, Kaiya took this udderly wonderful photo from the windshield.

Kamree is expressing how jubilant we felt as we finally reached the awesome views of the cliffs at Hags Head inclusive of authentic Irish music played by a group of kids. Perhaps that's what the teens do in Ireland when they hang out.

The kids are eyeing the famous "rocky needle" far out in the distance.

This old Napoleonic signal tower was built in 1803 on the site of the 1st century "Mothar" fort for which the cliffs were named.

I usually love Kamree's energy, but not here while we were surrounded by these extremely high drop offs that led to certain death.

Thankfully, Mason was cautious near the cliffs.

It was tense until we finally began our hike back to our car.

DAY 5- King John's Castle in Limerick

This castle was built on the orders of King John of England in 1200 on the shores of the Shannon River in Limerick. 

 It is one of the best preserved Norman castles in all of Europe.  This was one of the few castles we did not go in, instead we took a walk around the Shannon River.

We took a break from our walk to assist an elderly man feeding the pigeons.

Desmond Castle in Adare Ireland

This castle was built around the early part of the 13th century. It became a strategic fortress during the following turbulent years.

A castle or fortress is said to have first been built with an ancient ring-fort, by the O'Donovans, rulers of the region into the late 12th century, 

This castle is unique in that it has a moat inside the walls with a castle (on left) inside the moat. 

Some of the streets in Adare are lined with original thatched cottages built in the 1820’s by Lord Dunraven.

DAY 6- Glanworth Castle

Glanworth Castle is a Norman fort built in the 13th century.

The Glanworth Abbey on the right was built in the 13th century.

The information I found regarding this castle stated that the castle is "now used mainly as a public walk or courting area" I think they forgot to also add "jungle gym".

This is what is left of the keep.  It is interesting that there is a clean break of the 4th wall of the keep.  

Glanworth Bridge

This 13 arch bridge was built below the Glanworth Castle in the 15th century.  It is said to be the narrowest and oldest public bridge in everyday use in Europe as it is barely wide enough for 1 vehicle at a time.

In its picturesque setting it is one of the most photographed bridges in Ireland.

 

Cahir Castle

This 13th-15th Century Castle was designed to be a state-of-the-art defensive castle.   It appears to grow from the rock on which it stands.

Although, it is most famous for it's use in the film "Excaliber", It has been the scene of actual sieges and bombardments for centuries,

In 1599 the forces of Queen Elizabeth attacked.  One of the cannon balls from this battle is still lodged in the wall of the northeast tower (it is circled in the picture on the left).

The antlers on the left are from a long extinct Irish great elk which was one of the largest deer that ever lived. It is estimated to be between 8000-50,000 years old.  

Swiss Cottage

Between 1840 and 1846 the Butlers who were the owners of the castle built the Cahir Cottage about a mile from the castle as a more comfortable residence than the castle.  However, our tour guide told us they never actually slept here but would come here to enjoy sunny days.

Hore Abbey

This Dominican friary, was founded in 1243-1266 by the Benedictine order.

 

Tradition says that the same Archbishop that gave this abbey to the Benedictine monks expelled them after he had a dream that they were about to kill him. 

The Archbishop endowed the Abbey generously with land, mills and other buildings previously belonging to the town, which caused local resentment.

As expected, the kids enjoyed playing all over these old ruins... 

..or at least trying to.

 

Rock of Cashel

After climbing on every possible wall that was climbable we moved on up to the "Rock of Cashel" at the top of the hill.  Few remnants of the early structures survived; the majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries.

This is the view of Hore Abbey from the Rock of Cashel. 

According to local legend, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil's Bit, a mountain 20 miles north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in   Cashel. 

This chapel's interior contains the oldest (1134-1170) and "most important Romanesque wall paintings in Ireland". The remaining paintings depict narrative scenes such as the Nativity.

Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century. The large piece of stone in the foreground is the corner of the keep that fell during a battle.

Dunmore Cave 

Dunmore cave is seemingly a hole in the ground in the middle of a large field  "Around 928 the Vikings of Dublin were marching to attack their rivals. On their way, it is said they raided and pillaged the surrounding countryside of Dunmore Cave. When they arrived at the Cave, they found a large number of women and children hiding in it...

 

Allegedly hoping to capture them alive so that they could then be sold as slaves, the Vikings devised a plan to drive them out of the cave. They lit large fires at the mouth of the cave in order to force them out of their hiding. The fires grew too large and consumed the oxygen in the cave, resulting in the suffocation of the refugees. It is recorded that a thousand people died in this manner.  In 1973, silver pieces and the bones of 44 people, mainly belonging to women, children and the elderly, were found in Dunmore Cave."

Dunmore cave is a large limestone cave particularly well known for its rich archaeological discoveries and for being the site of the Viking massacre.  A ninth century Irish triad poem mentions Dunmore Cave as one of the ‘darkest places in Ireland’. 



Our tour guide frequented this cave as a teen in the 50's but missed the hoard of 43 silver and bronze items that was discovered deep in the cave in 1999.  Archaeologists dated this hoard, consisting of silver, ingots and conical buttons woven from fine silver, to 970 AD. 

Kilkenney Castle

We toured this castle the following day and forgot to take even one photo of it.  It was great, but I take this as a sign that we have seen too many castles and our enthusiasm for them has worn off.  This was built in  1213 as a square-shaped castle with towers at each corner; just three of the original four towers are still standing.

DAY 7

Kilkenney was voted as the most friendly Irish city.  It was friendly which we found typical of Ireland and had other typical Irish attractions such as many kids with hurling sticks,

Many old ruins,

Many Churches,

Many mostly familiar stores and games,

And at this particular time and place, many cool old cars. 

DAY 8- Glendalough

This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century.

Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries.

This round tower is considered by many to be one of the most finely constructed and beautiful towers in Ireland. The tower is divided internally into 6 storeys by timber floors, connected by ladders.  It is still in near perfect condition even though it is nearly 1,000 years old.

Kamree couldn't keep her paws off of all the wild blackberry bushes found throughout the grounds. 

Even when she needed to go to the bathroom.

DUBLIN

Our last stay was at the Tipperary house right in the middle of Dublin.   

 

We were able to walk to most everything we wanted to see, thus Brent and Kamree took the car rental back to the airport a day early and rode back to the hotel on the double decker.

 Phoenix Park is one of the largest walled city parks in Europe.  It includes large areas of grassland and since the seventeenth century has been home to a herd of wild Fallow deer.  

We wandered through the park a bit since it was so close to our hotel looking for the deer but only found squirrels. pigeons, swans and ducks.

We rode the light rail train to the far end of Dublin to walk a bit along the pier.

DAY 9- Kilmainham Gaol 

Kilmainham Gaol was built in 1796 to replace the old prison which was more like a dungeon.   Kilmainham Gaol operated as a prison until 1924. Many of the adult prisoners were eventually deported to Australia after their stay.

During its history, the gaol contained not only ordinary criminals and political prisoners but also children.  During the famine, many people committed crimes in order to be admitted into the prison, where they were at least guaranteed a basic diet. During the famine years, the cells built for one soon had 5 + prisoners and eventually became so over crowded that prisoners began sleeping in the corridors. 

Trinity College

The University of Dublin aka Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university.

It was founded in 1592, with most buildings being restructured in the 1700's.

This university has provided academic thought and discussion for over four centuries.

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle was built on the orders of King John of England in 1204-1230 as a defense center against the Normans, and serve as the seat of the English government. No trace of medieval buildings remain above ground level today, with the exception of the great Record Tower, pictured in the center of the photograph; it is the sole surviving tower of the original fortification

As we waited for our tour we spent some time behind the castle in the castle gardens. The kids played a game of tag restricted to the narrow pathways.

One of the many archways, originally built around the castle walls, and part of the wall survived being buried underneath the 18th century buildings. The archway has been filled in.

These are the stairs next to the archway in the picture. Famously, the Irish Crown Jewels were stolen from this Castle in 1907. They have never been recovered.

This is the breathtaking Gothic chapel built between 1760–1829 next to the last remaining castle tower.

Christs Church Cathedral

People have been coming to this cathedral to worship God for nearly one thousand years as it was founded sometime after 1028. Currently the two buildings of the church are connected above a roadway.

St. Patricks Cathedral

This cathedral was founded in 1191, and it is the largest church in Ireland.

While we were there, they were having an awareness fair for cancer in children and passed out treat backpacks for the kids.  This picture was taken just before Morgan tapped the one in black on the shoulder as he walked by making Kamree look like the culprit.

The next morning we awoke at 4:30 am to catch our flight back home and back to reality 2 days before the kids began at their new school.