Ireland Day 5: Rock of Cashel
Here we are at day five. Our main goals for the day were to check out
the Rock of Cashel (link 2)and
to make our way south to Killarney. It was finally my turn to drive,
which was quite an experience! The rural roads are just so small...
Barely enough room for one lane each way, with no shoulders. Then there
is the farm equipment. Lots of large threshers and such, which are kind
of a pain to pass. Luckily, I'd driven in the UK before, so it wasn't
too much of a shock.
The Rock is a large fortress occupying the only high ground in the region. It has been a fortress for hundreds of years, and has had a variety of religious buildings on it since the 1100s. All of the different buildings were just built up against each other over the years, although most fell into ruin. They have done a lot of restoration in the 30 years or so, and the work is still continuing. This was the first time that we saw a characteristic of the Irish churches. Many of them have carvings of heads above exterior doorways and interior rooms. I heard a couple of different explanations of this on the trip. The tour guide here said that they were representations of various saints, and the ones at cashel were unique since they showed features of different ethnic groups who were not present in Ireland when the church was built. Another website said that the heads were self-portraits done by the architects and builders as a sort of signature.
The rock had a large cemetery as well, with some very nice examples of the celtic cross. One of the largest was on the family tomb of one of the richest families in town. It was struck by lightning in the 1950s, leaving just the base. The rock overlooks the town of Cashel, as well the ruins of a nunnery (and about a billion sheep).
Next, we drove on to Killarney. We wanted to use it as a base to explore Killarney National Park and the southern coast. We found a B&B that looked like it was only built a year or two ago. The innkeeper and his wife were a trip. They had the strongest accent, and kept telling these stories about their relatives in America. It was a nice place though, and we stayed there again later in the trip.
After checking in, we went into town and looked around. Killarney is a bit of a tourist trap, but was still a decent town.
Proceed to Day 6: Ring of Beara.
Go back to Day 4
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....
The Rock is a large fortress occupying the only high ground in the region. It has been a fortress for hundreds of years, and has had a variety of religious buildings on it since the 1100s. All of the different buildings were just built up against each other over the years, although most fell into ruin. They have done a lot of restoration in the 30 years or so, and the work is still continuing. This was the first time that we saw a characteristic of the Irish churches. Many of them have carvings of heads above exterior doorways and interior rooms. I heard a couple of different explanations of this on the trip. The tour guide here said that they were representations of various saints, and the ones at cashel were unique since they showed features of different ethnic groups who were not present in Ireland when the church was built. Another website said that the heads were self-portraits done by the architects and builders as a sort of signature.
The rock had a large cemetery as well, with some very nice examples of the celtic cross. One of the largest was on the family tomb of one of the richest families in town. It was struck by lightning in the 1950s, leaving just the base. The rock overlooks the town of Cashel, as well the ruins of a nunnery (and about a billion sheep).
Next, we drove on to Killarney. We wanted to use it as a base to explore Killarney National Park and the southern coast. We found a B&B that looked like it was only built a year or two ago. The innkeeper and his wife were a trip. They had the strongest accent, and kept telling these stories about their relatives in America. It was a nice place though, and we stayed there again later in the trip.
After checking in, we went into town and looked around. Killarney is a bit of a tourist trap, but was still a decent town.
Proceed to Day 6: Ring of Beara.
Go back to Day 4
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....