Day 209 - Back home in Gloucester, VA

Today is Wednesday, October 19th and we're back on Queen Kathleen after a great two weeks in Ireland.  We left here on Saturday, October 2nd spending the night in NYC and then met our daughter, Sherrie, at the Newark airport for the trip to Ireland.  It was an overnight flight so jet lag was hitting all of us when we arrived which made it interesting when mike took the wheel of the rent car.  The wheel was on the right side and driving is done on the left side of the road.  Several times during the trip Sherrie yelled "Dad, get on the left side!"  Anyway, we arrived at the Shannon Airport and drove to Ennis where we spent two nights at the Woodstock Hotel.  We caught up on sleep and set out to see the Cliffs of Moher which were spectacular!  However, the wind was vicious and as Sherrie and I soon discovered, a hairdo in Ireland is impossible. We had dinner at the Bunratty Castle and saw a show including traditional Irish song and dance, a fun evening.

Mike's purpose in going to Ireland was to see the Clare Heritage Center and trace his roots although his Uncle Jack had previously done this.  It seems that his family came from County Clare and he wanted to see the area.  We learned about the severe potato famine which occurred in 1850 and caused the deaths of a million people and a million more immigrated to other countries including the U.S. which was 25% of their population.  Very interesting and sad.

We next went to the city of Galway for a couple of days and did a lot of shopping.  Most of our nights were spent in local B&Bs and eating local fare in pubs. After leaving Galway, we drove through the Connemara National Park area and came on a place called Kylemore Abbey & Gardens and decided to go see it.  Wow!!  It was incredible and I've never seen gardens such as these!  So glad we stopped. We went to the city of Kenmare and stayed at the Shelburne Lodge which was so lovely and had an incredible breakfast.  We drove part of the Ring of Kerry which is through a mountainous region and it was gorgeous but scary as the roads are so narrow and you meet tour buses everywhere as well as cattle and sheep on the road!  We went to the towns of Glengarriff and Bantry and visited the Bantry House built in 1750.

We went to the city of Cork which is huge!  We visited the infamous Cork City Gaol (jail) which was horrible but interesting.  They imprisoned people for such minor offenses it was unbelievable.  Also, in the 1820s and 1830s it housed prisoners bound for Australia on convict ships which was their method of getting rid of them.

While in Cork we had the most interesting experience of all - dinner in a traditional Irish household.  Mike and I had lunch with Father Murphy in San Antonio last year asking him for advice on what to see when we took this trip.  He mentioned that he had a brother in Cork and he would love to have us over for dinner.  Well, they did have us over in their home built in the 1700s and the meal was spectacular.  Jack and Joan Murphy own 4 acres outside of town and they grow all their own vegetables and Joan prepared an amazing dinner for us.  The food and conversation were so enjoyable.

On to Cobh (pronounced Cove) where we visited the Queenstown & Titanic Story.  Cobh was previously called Queenstown after a visit from the Queen but was changed back to Cobh.  Anyway, this is the exact location where the mass exodus occurred in the mid 1800s during the potato famine.  It's also the last stop the Titanic made before heading on it's ill-fated journey.

We visited the city of Waterford and went to the crystal factory which was closed down last year but then purchased by a New York investment firm so has reopened.  This city is the third oldest anywhere and was discovered in 914 by the Vikings. 

Our last city visited was Kilkenny where we went to the medieval Kilkenny castle built in the 12th century.  Everywhere you go in Ireland you find these old rock structures which have been there for centuries and are partially standing but they are left for all to see.

We left Shannon on Sunday morning, October 16th heading back to the U.S. and as many times and places we have traveled I'm always so grateful to return home.  The people of Ireland are wonderful.  They're courteous, considerate and friendly and I would highly recommend a visit.  Just be prepared for rain!!