Ireland part five - the Rock of Cashel, and Dromoland Castle

return to Ireland Scotland Index

return to main index

On Saturday, a week after we arrived in Ireland, we left Tramore on the southeast coast to drive back to Ennis, on the southwest coast, and halfway there we stopped at the Rock of Cashel, one of Ireland's most historic sites.   

The powerful Kings of Munster, rulers of all of Ireland from 300 to 1100, measured the success of their reign on their ability to command this natural outcropping, and for centuries clan warfare was the norm, trying to take and hold the high ground, an endless pursuit. 

But Irish clans with their cattle raids & incessant warfare passed out of existence a long time ago, and visitors today see what's left of chapels built from the 12th century, in Norman times.   

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	pub in Cashel		Dahlias & red  Japanese Maple		first look at Rock of Cashel		period furniture
		13th century  tapestry		smiling monks in the woodwork		listening to our tour guide
			Celtic designs
		Mary & QE2 posters		see note		Celtic cross
	nearby Cistercian Abbey from 1261-1550 AD				two Irishmen		Paul
		some German tourists		in town flowers		cruising for scones

note - Oops, I learned later that permission from a parent is required (in the EU) before photographing their children, which maybe explains the look on the Mom's face. 

Dromoland Castle is near Ennis & Shannon Airport, where Mary had to fly out the next morning. Doris & Paul stayed Saturday night at the Castle (it was a Paul surprise) while Mary & I drove to a B&B in Ennis, having seen the first half of the hurling championship between Counties Cork & Clare in the Castle bar. 

I'd never seen a hurling game before and players can score 3 points if they hit the ball into the net below the crossbar, defended by a goalie, or, they get one point for 'hurling' the ball between the goal posts above. The vast majority of shots the players took seemed to be of the long-distance one point variety. I think it was tied at 18 each at halftime. 

When we arrived in Ennis, Mary and I knocked on the B&B door around 5 pm, and the owner's stand-in host was beside himself, a total basket case, barely able to talk, because County Clare was ahead, with only a few minutes left in the game. 

We saw the last 2 minutes on TV and County Clare put the game away with a minute or so to go & held on to win, 27 to 23.  Like in any European soccer game, the fans went utterly nuts for a long time.               

The host once calmed said the B&B owner Mary & her son were at the match, in Dublin, a two hour drive away. He said he knows almost all of the players on the County Clare team, because they are locals, many being firemen. 

He said that Shane, the 19 year old just-named top-scorer & MVP of the match, is the long-time best friend of the B&B owner's son, and these days they both attend the same College in Cork. Shane has visited here for years, since he was a kid. 

"He sits right there" our host said, because a miracle had happened, whereby a local kid who you've known for decades is being interviewed on national TV as the game's MVP. 

Our host pointed like a mad man at a black leather chair, so Mary & I dutifully looked at the chair with a sense of reverence for local (unpaid) athletes who become sports MVPs, and, for nutty Irishmen in general.   

But it was a big deal, because shortly thereafter the town blew up. When Mary and I soon drove downtown to a dinner spot, three minutes away, we were surrounded by a sea of sports-crazed revelers, hanging out of car windows, screaming, with horns blaring.   

Once inside the subdued-noise restaurant, Mary and I toasted to our good fortune to have made it to Ireland, the land of our ancestors, for one week. We enjoyed great food & shared a bottle of red wine. 

The next morning after driving Mary to Shannon Airport, I met Doris & Paul back at Dromoland Castle, and we walked the ground.    

	Doris & Mary on Saturday  afternoon				since the 1500's
Sunday am		Dromoland Castle		the Owner		his son the  Manager
	more of our family history (at the bottom)		Temple to Mercury, I think				Doris & Paul
				on his daily walk, he said		Dromoland Castle links
			Paul in a classic walled garden
				roses in October		variegated hydrangea
			our last day in Ireland
		unscripted				Doris & Paul
			rainy day				County Clare colors
MVP Shane on today's front page

On the Sunday evening turbo-prop ride from Shannon Airport to GLA, we climbed above the clouds & it was nice to see the sun again.

But when we landed in Glasgow it was overcast and evening turned to night quickly. We found our way downtown to settle overnight in center city Glasgow. 

go to next page Scotland part 1 - Glasgow & Stirling

return to Ireland Scotland Index

return to main index