Kilkenny to Kenmare
Kilkenny is about an hour and a half drive south of Glendalough. I am not going to put distances between sites often because it doesn't do it justice. Some of the roads are so windy you can only drive 15-20mph, and saying something is only 50 miles away makes it seem like you should be there in under an hour, but Irish roads don't make that possible. One thing I will point out to you is to bring a jacket. Ireland is on the same line latitude as Vancouver, and doesn't get very warm in the summer. The warmest it may have gotten the entire trip was 70 degrees, and that was only for one day. Most days were in the high 50's to mid 60's, and it rained nearly every day we were there. Rain there was not like American rain though, the storms were generally quick, followed by a period of sun, then another quick storm, then more sun, then more rain, you get the pattern. Bring a light jacket that you don't mind wearing to stay dry, and can leave on until the next storm comes.
Kilkenny has been inhabited as a town for more than a thousand years, but was only made a city in 1609. Wandering through the streets you will find hidden lanes that will help you jump to another street, historic homes that have been housing people for five hundred years, and cathedrals that look like would still fit right into the Medieval age. You could spend the day wandering the streets, but there are some amazing sites to see. Before I start, one thing to remember about many of the churches in Ireland is you have to pay to tour them. Unlike the rest of Europe, they will charge a small fee like €4 to get in, but most will come with a tour from a local guide. St. Canice's Cathedral is Gothic cathedral that dates from the 13th Century. Throughout the church you will find tombs from nearly a thousand years ago holding lords, ladies, and knights. Another interesting site is St. Kieran's Chair, the seat the first bishop would have sat in when the first church was built in the 5th Century. Be on the lookout for wild animals wandering the church though, they can be pretty demanding of your attention. From there we walked to the Smithwick's Brewery, located in the heart of the city. Pronounced "Smitticks," it is the second oldest brewery in the nation. Their tour, which like half of the sites in Ireland is called an Experience, is well worth your time because of how much fun the guides are, and the pints that await you at the end of the tour. And seriously, Reagan came to visit when he was president, so it has to be cool. We finished off our day in Kilkenny at Kilkenny Castle. Originally built in 1195, the castle has undergone tremendous destruction and renovation over the last eight centuries. The current building dates from the Victorian era, and housed the powerful Butler family since the late 1300's. Inside you can wander through rooms that Kings of England stayed in on royal visits, marvel at the tapestry collection, and then finish your tour in the shocking Picture Gallery. Filling this room are portraits of centuries worth of residents. The artistic effort put into the ceiling is just as amazing. While the docent said the woodwork was meant to look like early Irish art, it could easily pass for Native American.
From Kilkenny we headed out to one of the top attractions of Ireland, the Rock of Cashel. Located in the south-central region of Ireland, Cashel (the Irish pronunciation of castle) is one of the first locations we are going to see the mention of every Irish person's favorite saint, St. Patrick. While it costs to get in, it does come with a guided tour. Reportedly on this location in the 5th Century, St. Patrick himself converted the local pagan king, which aided in the conversion to Christianity of many of the people living in Ireland at the time. The church itself was built between the 11th-12th Centuries, with other additions made over the next few centuries. As you enter the visitor's center, go down a flight of stairs to see the original St. Patrick's Cross, a 12th Century carving that looks nothing like any cross you have ever seen before. Celtic crosses cover much of Ireland, and were designed by early missionaries to include the circular design behind the cross to help make conversion easier for early pagans who worshiped a sun god. This cross, however, has support legs that hold up the arms of the cross, supposedly to represent the support of the Lord. Inside you will see the remains of a church that has been abandoned since 1749, but has remained a strong piece of Irish pride. There are frescoes that adorn some of the walls, which is amazing they still exist considering they have been exposed to the elements for more than three hundred years. The large stone you will see lying in front of the church supposedly got blown off the top of the church hundreds of years ago in a violent storm. Wander around and look at the wonderful cemetery. With people having been buried there in the last five years, they are the last that will be allowed to be buried there with generations worth of family members.
We ended our day in the beautiful little town of Kenmare. Picturesque like Kilkenny, Kenmare is smaller, but has plenty to do for a day. We had intended to spend the next day at Muckross House, a Victorian era home located in Killarney Park, but were told at our hotel the park would be closed that day because of a bicycle race with more than 12,000 cyclists. The concierge suggested we try a little known park on the outskirts of town called Gleninchaquin Park. A private park on farmland, you have to be brave to get out there, but we couldn't be happier we did. Located on one of the single lane L roads, we may as well have been pulling a horse drawn cart the road was so old. On the several mile path from the main road to the park, you will pass an ancient stone circle where druids would have worshiped the sun and the moon more than a thousand years ago. At the park you will find a lovely family that explains what there is to see on their lands, then sets you loose for a great hike that can fill the day if you want it too. On their lands you will find a farm that has been there since the potato famine of the mid-19th Century, picturesque lakes tucked between mountain peaks, and a breathtaking waterfall. Let me be clear, this hike is strenuous. The family that owns it gives you hiking poles to take so you have better footing. The trails can be described as rustic at best, but are worth every ounce of effort. From the top of the waterfall you can see for miles, and can imagine this is how this valley has looked for farmers for a thousand years. Don't be afraid to hug a sheep or two if they will let you get near them. They don't seem to mind, they just wander in front of you whether you are driving down the trail or hiking up the mountain. And when you are there please remember, don't supervise your children. I don't know, that's what the sign says.
This was a lot in one post, and it took us two days to get all of this done. When you come down from Gleninchaquin spend the day in Kenmare. We sat down for the night in an Irish pub while the locals watched a broadcast of one of the wildest sports I have ever seen, hurling. The waitress tried to explain it to us, but you have to see it to understand. From here we are on to the famed Rings of Kerry, and will start seeing the beautiful western coast of Ireland.
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