Krazy Kilkenny and an Alfred Hitchcock moment

 

Driving into Cashel and having the Rock of Cashel

Block your view. A very impressive place. 

 

Paul sizing up the top of a cross that had fallen down

after being struck by lightening.

 

Paul relaxing in Miracoco

Designer shoes in the Kilkenny Design Centre.

 

The outside of Miracoco

 

more fun inside

 

The pub in Kilkenny we drained dry.

Moving on from our crystal fix we drove into peak hour Kilkenny and I said to Paul I can remember something about an event or festival that takes place here in Kilkenny in August. The event is the Kilkenny Arts festival and it suddenly dawns on you that this place is going to be like this for the duration of the festival. Very busy, lots of street entertainment, artists by the bucket full, noisy crowded pubs and pavement pizza is one way to describe this place. We just happened to see a small side street with advertised parking so on a fluke we got a park and then noticed a small B and B close by with easy access to pubs and eating places. Lucky for us there was a bed at the Inn right where all the action was taking place. It was suggested by our new hostess Eimer that we take a tour of Kilkenny to help us get our bearings.

Kilkenny is a medieval City and has a riverside castle, lots of roadside shop fronts and is also known as the "marble city" because of the local black limestone, which resembles a slate coloured marble. Walking in the castle grounds we stumbled across an amazing air sculpture (a sophisticated bouncy castle.....no bouncing allowed in this case). The leaflet we were given reads as follows. Miracoco luminarium is a sculpture people enter to be immersed in radiant light and colour. Since 1992 Architects of Air's luminaria have enchanted over 2 million visitors in 37 countries around the world, blah blah blah. We only stayed the one night here and departed late afternoon heading closer to Cork.

With out much thought we ended up on a road leading to Cashel which happens to have a big rock so we thought. This place was a big surprise as the Rock of Cashel turned into being this amazing place with an abbey and other buildings.. We quickly parked the car picked up our jaws that had dropped and headed up towards the rock. One of the best tour guides we have had so far explained all about this place. When we parked the car we once again jagged a B and B next to where we were.

Our new host greeted us and was a very polite and funny gentleman. I did wonder there for a moment if his surname was Bates as he kept referring to his Mother, however, we didn’t get to see her even though we thought we heard her. I felt much more relaxed when I checked out the bathroom and thankfully there was no shower curtain and no scary music.
As we wanted to see the meteor shower we set our alarm for 1am but didn’t get out of bed until 3am and headed back up to the rock. We only saw two shooting stars as there was a lot of cloud cover.

PAUL'S PARAGRAPH........Castle of Cahir was a recommendation from Norman, I mean Patrick, so this was our next stop before heading to the Mitchelstown Caves.  These are a privately owned, privately funded natural phenomena that was accidentally discovered by the farmer owner when trying to prise up a rock with his crow bar in the late 1800's - not a bad little earner and they won't let you take photos inside so that you buy there little 2 euro booklet - worked on me! Reminds me of when I pulled Susan's leg about taking some 'illegal' photos at Rossborough House when all I did was take photos of posters in their café when Suzie was in the loo!!!!!!!

 Next stop Killarney, and a 'passport' scare, aka - 'You ain't goin' nowhere'!

Whacky Wexford and talk about Hook, line and sinker.

Whacky Wexford is located on the most south-easterly tip of Ireland and boasts some 275kms of stunning coastline with golden sandy beaches, rocky headlands and more. It is a county steeped in history (like most of Ireland) featuring the finest castles and historic sites in Ireland…..to be sure to be sure…..I tink.

We have been staying at a small B and B (bed and bugs said one of Paul’s new friends he met on his morning walk) near Rosslare Harbour. The amount of traffic from the harbour indicates that every man and his dog must go in and out from this place. We had a visit to New Ross and went through the replica Dunbrody Famine Ship, the Emigrant Flame and the life size welcoming sculpture of JFK whose great-grandfather Patrick left for America in 1848 from this quay.

As JFK family hails from around these parts we visited the homestead the house he visited 5 months before he was assassinated. The splendid visitors centre at the original Kennedy Homestead offers visitors an audio-visual trip through history, to help tell the story of the famous US. President and his family. All in all I thought it was tastefully and respectively done. We then moved onto the Hook lighthouse which is the oldest operating lighthouse in the world. Climbed to the top to get a great view and to see if we could spot any whales.

Tea at a small place called Fethard on sea before heading back to the National Heritage Park just out of Wexford. I had seen a bat and moth night advertised on their website so turned up there at  9.30pm. Great fun and I now look at moths in another light …not the one they are drawn to. The bats were tiny and could be seen to be skimming just above the water’s surface to feed on the insects. We were able to catch sight of the 11 pm satellite and a falling star which got us talking about the meteor showers that were going to take place later on during the week. Late night home but well worth talking to all the Wexford Harry Butlers.

We visited Curracloe beach where ‘Saving Private Ryan” beach landing scenes were shot. We regretted not having our bathers with us as it was such a lovely sunny day and a swim would have been enjoyable……not that any other beach goers where in the water. In all the time we have been travelling around we always have a bit of a laugh about how people park on the opposite to chat or to just call into the shop. The best traffic jam is when the farmer drives his tractor into the town, pub or just because he can. The cars coming in the opposite direction always have to park up somewhere quick smart.

We said our goodbyes  to our host Aiden who advised us to go to Kilkenny and not to bother about Waterford. I had this thing about seeing the home of crystal so St Paul made a small detour just for me. It was well worth it and glad we did the tour of the factory. Some pieces are not my cup of tea, however, that might be because they are out of my price range. Paul reckons some of the pieces were disgracefully tacky. A cool 30,000 euros would make you the proud owner of a non realistic  grizzly bear. After our crystal fix I went off to the ladies in the Waterford Crystal building and came out saying to Paul "Wow they have even got toilet seats that look like they are made from crystal. The effect is amazing. You should go into the gents and take a photo". Off Paul goes into the gents with the camera! Off course I was pulling his leg. Not sure what the guy at the urinal thought when Paul walked in with camera in hand ......................!!!!

 

Paul out of pocket by €30,000

 

 

Interesting graffiti

 

When the tractors come to town

 

Dunbrody replica

 

The dog is asleep and so is the shepherd

 

MO7S is the code to the lifestyle here in County Wicklow

 

 

 

 

One of the friendly sheep grazing on the side of the road

 

A view near Sally Gap. Looking down onto a Viking film production.

Guinness family own this land. The ships had already been taken away.

 

We have seen lots of dogs whilst visiting areas. The best one was when we were in a tea room at Russborough House near Blessingdon and the lady had the dog under her arm whilst making her cuppa. Imagine if all the other 30 patrons had their dogs under their arms and were in the tea rooms. Gero you are so far behind the times!?????

 

 

Sudoku champ........ask him about MO7S?

Paul and I will be a little sad come Friday as it will be time to leave our little cottage here in Knockinarragan, County Wickford. We have enjoyed exploring the countryside around this area. The big decision will be deciding on where to next. The mountains, fields, wild flowers, wee cottages to grand homes, Irish pubs with live local musicians, great local food, lakes, rivers, windy roads, ruins, various monuments to brave men and women, brambles and the different shades of green everywhere you look will only be memories and photos as soon as we turn the key to the door and then hop into our car.

We enjoyed our visit to the Dwyer McAllister cottage named after Michael Dwyer and Sam McAllister which was only about 4k's from our cottage. The cottage is owned by the Government however the local farmer is the main caretaker and opens up the cottage for visitors daily from 2-6pm. If you feel inclined check out the story as Dwyer ended up in Australia. Unfortunately McAllister was killed and this enabled Dwyer to escape.

http://www.discoveringireland.com/vacations/dwyer-mcallister-cottage/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dwyer

Friday (FNFC BACK IN GERO)

We have moved onto a small place near Rosslare Harbour, however, we are not catching a ferry from here. Wexford would be the closest city to us and Waterford is nearby as well. Time to discover this part of Ireland tomorrow as we are off to Cullutons for tea.

Then there is Paul who has been trying to work out the code on the roads here. MO7S? Easy isn’t it? Should I tell him? MO7S down you’re moving fast, you’ve got to make the morning last…..

 

Glendalough ....nearer my God to thee

   

 

Glendalough (pronounced Glendalock).

Glendalough, the valley of the two lakes, is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlements founded by St. Kevin in the 6^th century. I have to say the name Kevin doesn’t sit right with me as it conjures up Australian names with Kevin Bloody Wilson and Kevin Rudd as examples. Not sure if Ruddy is still in the top job as we haven’t seen any TV up here in these mountains. We have had another great day of just taking in all of this wonderful green countryside. Apart from the few little noises from me as the navigator to Paul, who has been doing most of the driving we are doing remarkably well, but then again Paul does have the patience of a Saint.

As I have had a little red wine, I will give you some info about Glendalough straight from the horse’s mouth = the brochure handed to us at the Visitors Centre. (I will do an abridge version though). Kevin was a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied, as a boy, under the care of three holy men. During this time it is told he went to Glendalough and lived “In a hollow of a tree”. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery. His fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in 618. For six centuries afterwards Glendalough flourished.

The present remains in Glendalough tell only a small part of the story. The Monastery in its heyday would have included workshops, areas for manuscript writing and copying, guest houses, an infirmary, farm buildings and dwellings for both monks and a large lay population. The buildings which survive probably date from between the 10^th and 12^th centuries.

It is a pretty amazing place to visit and it is free! We did do a small film and an exhibition before we tackled the sightseeing and it was only 5 euros for both of us as Paul got his seniors rate. No one asks for any ID to see if you have turned the big 60 and I am guessing that it is up to you to request the seniors rate as no one wants to assume that you are a senior and you’re not. (Like me). I was told that this is the second biggest tourist spot in Ireland and I can see why. What is the biggest attraction then? Blarney Castle and kissing the Blarney stone, The Ring of Kerry……..to be continued to be sure to be sure. I will find out. The one disadvantage of being a top spot is apparently the number of break-ins to vehicles. I am now paranoid that our hire car will have a smashed window. St Paul (the Patron Saint of safe travel) is placing all objects of value into our boot. After clocking up a few k’s of walking we headed home via a different route with spectacular views….you never get tired of them.

Once we were home and items for our tea packed away in the fridge, St Paul decided that we should go for a walk to what was considered our local pub, via the short cut around the back of where we were staying. With our local dog “Star” joining us we set off down the track, passing the Military Land that no-one dares enter unless you were a sheep. Star’s mate from up the road tagged along so there we were two happy tourists with 2 local dogs going for a walk to the pub. OMG…the back road that is not accessible by car has pot holes galore, a small creek to cross, brambles that seem to come from nowhere  and empty bullet shells on the track to remind you that if you hear someone shout out the word  “duck” you need to do just that. This walk is going to be worth a couple of pints of Guinness I am thinking to myself as I start to froth at the mouth. We eventually hit the pub “Glen of Imaal” known to the locals as “Fentens”. I now know how Slim Dusty felt when he wrote the song “Pub with no beer”. The bloody pub was closed and I had another F word to describe it and it wasn’t failure! It had only taken us 50 minutes to walk there. The dogs seemed pretty happy though as they were still madly racing about. Chins up we tackled the journey home knowing that there was a good bottle of red at home with our names on it. Nearer my wine to me.

Over hill over Avondale we will hit the Irish walking trails

The two of us..... (photos at the end of the wee story)

We arrived in County Wickford after spending a couple of nights in Dublin with Mick, Leonie, Imogen and Mike and Ann. Dublin is a beautiful city and we have not done it justice for the short time we stayed there. It will be a city that we return to. Judy texted me a name of a restaurant "Winding Stair" that had a review in the Good Reading Magazine back in Australia. We were able to reserve a table for the 4 of us left in the City, which were Mike, Ann, Paul and myself. I am so glad that we booked as it was a very popular place as people were being turned away. The food was delicious and not that expensive. Great tip Judy, glad you are reading the subscription I gave you. 

Venturing out on our first day in County Wickford “The Irish Garden”. Avondale House and Forest Park was a complete surprise to us as we were heading off to visit Glendalough a famous monastery when we took the wrong turn which happens frequently here in Ireland especially to Paul and me. Our friends had left us with a Paddy Paddy aka Tom Tom, however, you are not always guaranteed a signal especially in the mountains where we started from.

The forest park is some 214 hectares and I reckon we walked at least 212 of them! The park lies on the west bank of Avonmore River and is lined with lovely towering conifers. As you walk along the River Trail you see where the trees are desperately hanging onto the earth as some parts of the riverbank have eroded. Some of the trees look like they could topple into the water at any moment. As we walked along there was evidence of where trees had been felled and a sign attached to the stump apologising to the public for this action. A note at the end of the apology stated that a new tree has been planted for the tree that needed to be chopped down. We did get caught in a couple of heavy showers of rain, however, we kept mostly dry as we had that many huge trees to choose from to stand under. Our raincoats were left in our knapsack back in our cottage! (I had my hands full with maps and other incidental items and I thought that Paul had picked up the knapsack and vice versa.)

Avondale House was built in 1777 for Samuel Hayes, a barrister, also known as the “tree man of Avondale”. His passion for trees led him to write a book on Irish Forestry. Avondale passed to the Parnell Family in 1795, and on 27 June 1846 when Ireland was in the grip of famine, Charles Stewart Parnell was born. Charles went into politics (not when he was a baby) but as a young man and went on to become one of the greatest leaders of modern Irish history. In O’Connell Street, Dublin, you can see a massive triangular obelisk of granite, fronted by a bronze statue of Charles Parnell – “The Uncrowned King of Ireland”.

Setting the Paddy Paddy, we ventured off to another close by attraction “Meeting of the Waters” before heading back to our accommodation. This is where the Avonmore (large river) meets Avonbeg (Small River). This area is another lovely picnic spot with tables and bbq’s for the locals and tourists to sit and enjoy the view of the rivers. It is also famous for the tree of “Thomas Moore” where the poet would sit and compose his poetry. Paulapedia fact - Thomas Moore is the Irish equivalent to “Robbie Burns” from Scotland. Moving on from here we stopped at Avoca where Ballykissangel series was filmed. The houses in the main street that were used in the production are all painted in beautiful soft colours and the street is well maintained. On our journey home when our Paddy Paddy died we only went around in a circle once. I was driving at this stage and mentioned to Paul that we needed to get around the mountains, soon enough we were back on the wee winding track that led us to Knockanarrigan and our accommodation. Another meal cooked by me, red wine and a movie on the life of Peter Sellers and we were ready for bed tired from the 212 hectares!

 

                                                           Avondale House

                                                  Ballykissangel - the main street in Avoca

 

Erosion on the bank of the river

 

Gatekeepers cottage at the entrance to Avondale House

 

The Big 60th Surprise and Whiskey on a Sunday, a Monday, a Tuesday

 

 

It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.

The Big 60^th Surprise.

Most of you reading this would know that Paul’s friends Mike and Ann McCourt had been planning since September 2012 to be at his party as a surprise. It nearly killed me to keep this secret from Paul as I am well known in the Connolly family as the “Bush Telegraph”. There were a couple of occasions where the cat had been let out of the bag so to speak but Paul being Paul didn’t even pick up on the little slip ups that occurred as he was either too busy drinking, reading the paper or zzzzzzzzzz on the chair. To cut a long story short Mike’s code name was Toby. Toby was the mobile salesman that kept pestering me in London and Ireland at all hours of the night and day trying to sell me other mobile products. Paul fell for it hook line and sinker. Mike and Ann were already at the Ballygally Castle Hotel and were laying low in their room. Mike rang Paul from Western Australia so Paul thought to wish him Happy Birthday. After a general chin wag with Mike, Paul and I headed to the bar. Mike and Ann came to the bar and casually walked over to where Paul was sitting with Yve and David. Trac had the camera rolling and Ann asked Paul “If his drink was ok”? Paul looked up and was absolutely gobsmacked to see Mike and Ann standing there. He was speechless and his first words of greeting were “You bastard”. After all the handshakes and good wishes we informed Paul that everyone knew about the surprise.

I had organised a meal in the restaurant at the castle with a birthday cake included. Ross, Jonn, Tom, Owen Conway, Julia, Robert, Mick, Leo, Imogen, Mary-Attracta (Trac), Yvonne and David Whyte who came over from Portugal for the event, Mike and Ann, Paul and me. 16 party revellers! Thanks to all for making this such a special occasion and to all our family and friends who sent their wishes to Paul via texts, emails and cards.

On the road again, sightseeing with family and friends.

Party Bus took to the road again on the Friday heading up towards the Giants Causeway. The roads were very narrow and windy at times making the journey a slow one but well worth the time. First port of call was a rope bridge that went from the mainland over to an island. Carrick-a-Rede was used by the local fishermen to do Salmon fishing. The views were amazing and the island had lots of birds that had nested into the sides of it. Ross and Jonn along with Owen and Tom were keen to do a whiskey tour at Bushmill's. Bushmill's is one of the oldest distilleries around and also bottles Jameson’s whiskey. Even Imogen went on the tour with her older cousins. No sampling for her of the whiskey at the end but she did get a coke……not the same thing that’s for sure.

We arrived at the Giant’s Causeway around 5pm and had missed a heavy shower of rain. There seemed to be a lot happening here as there was a helicopter hovering, police and rescue cars heading down the road to where we were going. Apparently there had been an accident with a tourist falling down the rocks. One of the locals mentioned that during the busy times there could be up to 100 rescues from the area. It was mostly people trying to get the best photos of the area and not really concentrating as to where they were stepping onto slippery rocks. Lots of walking and viewing this magnificent area. We decided that we would have tea at the local hotel as it would be too late by the time we got back to Ballygally Castle. IT was 11.30 pm before we arrived back and we were all worn out, however, we had to have a nightcap at the bar!

Party time again with us meeting up with the Connolly relatives. There were heaps at this shindig as well. IT was so nice to for Paul’s family and our boys to meet them. Our friends Paul (Rowdy) and Joy from Geraldton also arrived just in time to be a part of this shindig. IT was a wild night and I think it was bout 230am before I hit the bed. As I had volunteered to drive the bus back and forth from the venue I had some locals that needed a lift home as the taxi service was very busy. I eventually agreed and the locals guided me to their drop offs. One of them stayed with us until Larne so it was easy to find ourselves back at the Castle. When I finally got to my room after making sure all of the Connolly lads were in their rooms I found Paul asleep on a chair with one shoe off.

The next day most of the party crew had the day laying about. Trac, Leonie and I decided to go for a dip in the Irish Sea. I took along the Australian flag so anyone observing us would know that we were mad Australians. It was very cold and my chunky dunk lasted a little longer than Trac’s and Leo’s. Whilst we were at the beach Paul had gone for his afternoon walk up to the “Meeting House” to catch up with the local relatives. A mini golf challenge had to be put on the backburner as a storm brewed up and we all ended back up at the Meeting House for tea.

 

Whiskey on your porridge, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

 

Carrick-a-Rede swing bridge

 

Tom embracing the panorama

 

High on a hill there was a motley group

 

Paul with his cousin Jim's son Paul Connolly

 

Our friends from Geraldton Joy and Paul

 

Pack up day on Monday heading to Belfast. Tom and Owen off to Derry. Jonn's friends Phil and Elle from Australia jumped on the party bus and headed to Belfast with us to fly back to England.

Fabulous Fermanagh

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the first party being done and dusted we left Kelly’s Inn and headed to Rosslea in County Fermanagh. You can never be lost in Ireland! You just discover new places along the way to stop off and see. We somehow stumbled across our self-catering accommodation and I must admit it was great to have a place where we could cook meals, do some washing and generally chill out for a couple of days.

Ross had invited Julia and Robert two of his friends from Germany to help Paul celebrate his birthday and they also met up with us at the “Old Rectory” our accommodation. Ross had met Julia at Curtin University in 2007 and Julia had stayed with us in Geraldton. Ross ventured to Germany in 2011 and met Julia’s friend Robert who fitted into the Connolly lifestyle……drink, eat and be merry! We were now a tour of 12 so the party bus was really rocking with back seat drivers. Lots of snow globe points were handed out when we were all together.

Whilst staying in this area a day trip to Newgrange and Knowth located in the Boyne Valley was a highlight. The Boyne Valley is home to the most famous cluster of prehistoric tombs which are possibly 500 years older than the Egyptian pyramids. Newgrange being internationally famous for its sun penetrating scenario. Before going inside the 5000 year old passage and chamber, the significance of the Famous Entrance Stone as well as the Roof Box are explained. Inside the chamber, the winter solstice phenomenon is explained as well as the burial ritual. Mick reckons that my Dads (Rolly’s) cave guide tours was on a par or even better especially the part when the guide turns off the lights to show everyone how dark it is without lighting and how far the sun would penetrate into the chamber.

The guided tour of Knowth explains the many phases of Knowth’s complicated history. It highlights tremendous examples of Neolithic art and explores possible interpretations of their meaning. There are also standing stones and settings of exotic stones outside the entrances of the tombs. A reconstruction of a Timber Circle, which was originally built about 2,500 BC, dominates the eastern site. Within the mound, a specially designed room allows us tourists to see down the eastern passage. The room’s main focus is a huge ditch built in the Early Christian Era.  As Jonn pointed out to me the guides always end their talks with “I think or we think” !

Jumping on the bus again we headed over to visit where the Battle of the Boyne had taken place on the nearby banks of the River Boyne. Very hard to keep track of all this history that surrounds you and this battle is famous as it is where the Father in law kicked his son in laws ass so to speak. After this we decided to go the short way home on the back roads……should have stuck to the main road as we took twice as long to finally reach our destination. On the way home we were going through a town called Cootehill and Paul the driver who doesn’t read any signs all of a sudden noticed that there was a bar called “Connolly’s Corner”. Screech of breaks, burning rubber and a bit of whiplash that could only be fixed by a Guinness we approached the bar with trepidation. The bar had 2 locals in it and seeing I was sent in as the scout mentioned to them I had brought more of the Connollys in for a drink. The locals didn’t blink an eyelid however the owner Ann Connolly was so happy to see us she was just about in tears. It had been owned by 3 generations of Connolly who weren’t related. The current owner Kenny Connolly pulled everyone a beer before nicking off for his game of darts. One of the locals Dougal hopped in his car and we followed him on to a place that served food as Kenny’s skills didn’t go as far as pub grub.

Late night home so chill out day the next day. Morning at the shops buying the biggest beef roast ever to feed the hordes and chocolate mousse on the dessert list. Paul, Mick and Trac went off to visit their Mother’s old family farm over near fivemiletown. They were off to get their inheritance. Thomas McDermott resides on the farm with his wife Rosemary. Apparently Paul looks like Thomas so Rosemary was in her element with the 2 men.

Caroline the owner of the accommodation has Archery lessons on Tuesdays down on her tennis courts so off went the Connollys who weren’t involved in cooking the roast. Paul was aiming to make the Irish Olympic team and scored 2 bullseyes. Ross and Tom also let fly some wood and feathers. Imogen also was an excellent shot and she and Uncle Paulie had a shoot off with Imogen letting Paul win something about respecting your elders. Great fun all around.

Packed up on Thursday morning and headed towards Larne as we were meeting up with other friends for Paul’s 60^th.