Ireland with grandchildren

     It’s been awhile, and we are now back in the states. But we have a few stories left to tell and it’s time to catch up. This is a collaborative entry, with multiple authors. It is about a return visit for all of us to Ireland, the land of our ancestors. But for some this is a sixth visit; for others it is the first time since they were three (Jack) and seven months (Ellie). So the perspectives and insights will vary.

     We were treated to Irish weather throughout the trip. Periods of rain, interspersed with sunshine, and winds varying from refreshing breeze to hold-on-to-your-new-Irish-cap wind. We were only minutes from the Dublin airport when we were treated to a full rainbow. That’s a nice Irish welcome.

     We made our way to Cahir, County Tipperary, the site of a great castle and more importantly, some of Kate’s relatives. She got acquainted with cousin Claire, while the rest of us climbed ramparts and explored old rooms. According to Ellie, “it was really fun because there were lots of places to climb up on and we took some really cool pictures.”  

From there we spent a few minutes at the Rock of Cashel, famous as a gathering site of the kings of Ireland.  The weather was turning blustery again, and we had some miles to go for our hotel, so the visit was brief. Again, Ellie’s view: When we got into the castle it was not as much fun as the other one because, well, there was nothing to climb on and that was basically a highlight for us. Even the Rock of Cashel was not that big or exciting, it looked like just a piece of the building that had fallen.

Nevertheless it provided some good photo ops.

     We spent the night in Mallow; we were running out of energy and daylight. The next morning, we discovered it too had some appeal—another ruined castle. As told by Ellie:  On our way out we looked for another castle or ruins to explore since we had time.  We found this one castle in ruins and it was a free for all, we got to walk in, no one was there to pay.  There were lots of spots that you could climb up and get some good pictures. 

 

My brother and I climbed up to a window that was fairly high up and we decided, “hey, lets jump out of it”.   So, we did!  And it was really scary because it was not that high…but it was.  It was tall enough to be nerve-racking….but we made it and were just fine.  Then my mom decided to take some pictures of my brother and me.  We were by a ledge that was not too steep but it was still a ledge.  Of course my brother had to pretend to shove me off it, then he yanked me back at the last minute, which freaked me out! 

     The next day, some of us found the gift of gab. Others were not so limber or flexible to bend over and kiss the Blarney Stone. Blarney Castle retains some authenticity and charm despite all the tourist trappings. Ellie’s account:  We went up in the castle first and Lola stayed on the ground to take pictures of us.   

The spiral stairs were really, really, really tiny and I was just afraid that I would slip and start tumbling down!  So I had one hand on the rope and the other on the ground and was making sure my feet were in the right place.  Fun fact:  Most staircases were spiraled to the right and most people are right handed so that if intruders come the person on the highest step (looking down and defending the castle) could easily swing at the person coming up the steps.  The person that was attacking the castle and coming up the stairs would hit the center wall of the staircase as they swung so it was an advantage to the other person; which I thought was kind of cool. 

When we made it up to the top, it was nerve-racking and the wind was really, really bad so it made it that much more scary. There was just a big hole in the center of the castle and no roof, so we walked around the outside wall.   

There were beautiful views but it was really high up. We got in line to kiss the Blarney stone, which is supposed to give you the gift of gab. Jack went first because I was not going to go first! He sat down and there were bars underneath him and bars behind that he grabbed on to and bent back and kissed the stone.  It was my turn next, but of course because of my size I couldn’t reach the one bar when I was upside down.  So the guy had to help me lean back more so I could reach the bar.  I quickly kissed it because I looked down and saw what was holding me up and how far up I was from the ground—I freaked out and quickly came back up.  Then my mom kissed the stone and we took more pictures. 

We went down and met Lola and went to the poisonous and non-poisonous gardens.  In the poisonous garden there was one of the plants, a mandrake, from Harry Potter.  It’s the one where when you pull it up it starts screaming, I thought that was pretty cool.  There were also lots of great views from the garden.  We spent the whole day at Blarney; it was crazy how much there was to do there.  

     Another day, another castle. This time Ross Castle in Killarney. It has been in a process of restoration for about thirty years. What it has gained is a more complete condition and tour guides; what it has lost is the freedom to roam that was allowed a couple decades ago.

As Ellie saw it: This castle was not in ruins and they furnished it to look like a castle in the old days. You had to go with a tour guide through the castle and you could not take pictures.  Lola hung back and did not go with us because she has seen it before. It was kind of cool, but not my favorite because there was nothing to climb on and that was one of my favorite parts about the castles!  

The weather was even more blustery this day, but it offered a different sort of picturesqueness as the clouds came down over the mountains.

     At this point John had to leave to return to teaching in Oxford. The others moved on to Dingle.  For Jack, the highlight of the trip was traveling the Dingle Peninsula.  His view: We got to drive around the whole peninsula. The narrow road wound thru the hills so you could see all the landscapes. When we got to the ocean views, it was crazy! All you saw was ocean on one side and these huge hills on the other side.  

     We went to Inch Beach but did not stay long because of the weather, wet, cold and very windy, which blew the sand on to us. It would have been a cool beach if the weather had been better. I actually liked the weather. I liked the gray skies and rainy days, so I thought it was really pretty. 

     We visited the beehive huts. That was pretty amazing to see how long they had lasted. I could see why they would have chosen to settle there too, because of the view! During part of the drive you could see little islands off in the distance. I don’t know if you could visit them but it would be pretty cool. I think the view from there looking back at the tip of Ireland would have been amazing. 
 

Beehive huts

Gallarus Oratory

      There was a small town (really a group of houses) where there was a valley on one side, the ocean on another and then mountains on another, it was so cool to see. I think it was near the Ballyferriter cemetery and the Ceann Sibeal golf course. I have only seen a few things in my life where the view was that great of something natural. 

Jack concludes, I have a lot of personal connections with Dingle because this is where our family has settled before and there are still some there today. I had a connection with the place because it was part of my heritage. Dingle definitely had that affect on you where once you finished the drive you wanted to do the route again. It was an amazing place and I would really recommend it for anyone going to the south of Ireland, it is definitely worth your time. 

And Ellie has a story about Dingle: We wanted to go to the old O’Connor family house [in Ballyferriter] and see another house of a relative. We kept looking for it but could not find the golf course that was near the house.  Finally we went too far down a road, and we turned around.  Then my mom started driving on the wrong side of the road!  We came around a corner and a lady was in a car on the right side of the road.  The lady stared at us in shock and my mom frantically was trying to get around her because the lady was not moving.  Meanwhile my Lola started screaming, “there is the golf course, I see it, it is over there!”  So, my mom is saying “okay, okay’ in a frantic voice. After that episode, we turned the corner to find the golf course.  Then, after one phone call to papa and quite a few arguments, we finally made it to the O’Connor house and took some pictures.   

We also headed to a graveyard that Lola thought we would want to see.  It was kind of fun except for the fact that I think I stepped on a grave by accident because there was no headstone above it but just a big mound of grass and that freaked me out so I ran back to the car.

The final day was a visit to a last castle, Carrigfoyle, an ancestral home of the O’Connors on the River Shannon. 

 

Ellie: We got there and it was really cool but unfortunately we could not get inside because we were there at the wrong season.  There was a big hole in the middle of the castle, where it had been blown up by the attacking English, and there was part of a large stone fence surrounding the castle.  We climbed all over the stone wall and took pictures.  We could only look at the castle and could not see too much inside which was a big disappointment. We took lots of pictures there.  Then we started walking back and Jack was running around acting like a two year old and taking goofy pictures.