Rock of Cashel

On our last full day in Ireland, we drove to see the Rock of Cashel. It has so much history and legend. We heard people talk of fairies that dwell here. We've read that this is a "thin place" where our spirits feel a closeness to the other side...

I just thought it was beautiful. It made me happy to see that restoration was being done on frescoes that had been painted over in years past. Take a look:

We were feeling a little silly after a week of travel. Can you tell?

I'm going to list some interesting facts that I learned while we were visiting:

• The name Cashel comes from a Gaelic word meaning stone fort.
• Legend states that around 450 AD, St. Patrick came to Cashel and converted the king seated here.
• Some say that this limestone hill was created when St. Patrick cast the devil out of a nearby mountain cave. The devil in his anger took a bite out of the mountain and spat it out here.
• In 1101, the reigning king of Munster gave the Rock of Cashel to the Catholic Church.
• The oldest structure still standing is the tower, built with no mortar in the early 1100s.

• Cormac's chapel is also still standing and was consecrated in 1134.

• Most of the main cathedral was built in the 1200s.

• In 1647 all of the local townspeople fled to the church for protection from an attacking army. Soldiers lit fire to the church. Over 800 people were trapped inside and burned to death.
• The buildings were abandoned after that.

I'm so glad we drove out to see Cashel. It was such a unique place. I recommend visiting if you come to Ireland.

Not far from the Rock of Cashel, we could see more ruins, so we went over to check them out. It turns out that it was an abbey built by benedictine monks in 1266. It is called Hore Abbey. The monks only stayed a few short years before they were expelled by the archbishop after he had a dream that the monks were plotting to murder him.

Ring of Kerry

We spent a full day driving the Ring of Kerry. We began in Killarney with a stop at the Ladies' View. I don't know why it's called the Ladies' View, but we stopped and looked for leprechauns. David was particularly excited when he saw the leprechaun crossing sign:

We saw miles and miles of beautiful coastline along the route. I really wish the weather had been warm enough to jump into that crystal clear water:

Our drive got a little bit longer when we decided to include Skellig Ring Drive into our agenda. The kids were determined to get a glimpse of the now famous Skellig Islands. It ended up being the highlight of our whole day. The larger island was used in the most recent Star Wars movie. **SPOILER ALERT** It's where Rey finds Luke Skywalker at the end of the film. TJ was totally geeking out about it:

The other views on this detour were equally enchanting:

Back to the Ring of Kerry... According to the official sign in front of this site, Staigue Fort is one of the largest stone forts in Ireland. It was most likely built before Christianity came to Ireland. The walls are 18 feet high and12 feet thick. They are built without any mortar. The walls would have surrounded houses, out-buildings, and possibly tents:

Ballycarberry Castle was such a fun adventure. It sits in ruins in a cow field, but it is open to the public at our own risk. This castle was built in the 1590's (which doesn't seem very old when compared with the ruins from the 12th century, but seems super old when you think about the fact that it would still be another 180-ish years before we adopted the Declaration of Independence in America.)

The kids climbed all over the castle ruins while I tried to take pictures of the cows. At the end of the visit, I also started to climb the ruins. It was terrifying with holes in the floors and broken staircases and doorways to drop-offs. I'm so glad I didn't know it was like that at the beginning, or I wouldn't have been able to relax while the kids played. The fact that they are all alive with no injuries is one of the many tender mercies from this trip.

 At the end of our day, we chased a rainbow home. Sadly, it disappeared before we could find the pot of gold. Bummer!

Dingle Peninsula

I think that Dingle Peninsula was my favorite destination in our week-long vacation. This is where I decided I could live if the stars ever aligned to bring me to Ireland. The landscape. The coast. The stone fences. The sheep. The ruins. Even the local ice cream. All of it was more beautiful, quaint, magical than anything I imagined. My pictures definitely don't do it justice...

The two-lane roads that were barely big enough for one vehicle weren't even stressful after a while. The Irish drivers are very courteous. I pulled over sometimes. They pulled over sometimes. But there was never a concern with getting stuck somewhere.

A snippet from the website dingle-peninsula.ie: There is no other landscape in western Europe with the density and variety of archaeological monuments as the Dingle Peninsula. This mountainous finger of land which juts into the Atlantic Ocean has supported various tribes and populations for almost 6,000 years. Because of the peninsula's remote location, and lack of specialised agriculture, there is a remarkable preservation of over 2,000 monuments.

Our first stop was Min Aird Castle, which was built in the 16th century. We spent most of the time climbing and playing on the rocky beach and enjoying the scenery and sunshine.

Next we stopped at Dùn Beag Fort. It was built beginning in 800 BC, and was still used up until the 10th century. Much of it has now fallen into the sea. Other portions are buried under heaps of earth. But it's remarkable that so much of it still stands.

It was raining pretty hard at this stop, so Joey and David opted to wait in the car.

Joey and David were sound asleep in the car when we arrived at the beehive huts. So they missed the fun climb up the grassy hill to these unique structures. It is difficult to date these structures. Like most of the historic stone buildings in this region, they did not have mortar, only stacked stone. Most believe that they were built in the 12th century.

We visited the Reask Monastic Site. It is famous for it's christian and celtic symbols. It dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries.

The Gallarus Oratory was an early christian church. There are several theories to the age of this building. Some say it was built between the 6th and 9th centuries. Others estimate that it was built in the 12th century. Regardless of the age, it was a very unique building. The walls were so thick! I would definitely feel safe inside during a storm.

Our last historical site was Kilmalkedar Church. From dingle-peninsula.ie we read the following: The ruined Romanesque church visible today dates to the first half of the 12th century. Also visible on the site are a sundial, large stone cross, and alphabet stone (inside the church near the chancel arch). Some fine stone carving can also be found inside the church.

If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself in the city of Dingle, go find this ice cream store. It was the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I recommend the Sea Salt ice cream. I'm still dreaming about it...

Fish and chips after a wonderful long day: