Thursday, 6 September: We departed Cork at around 10.30 am and began our tour of the Sliabh Luachra (pronounced SCHLEEVE LOO-kra, Gaelic for "Rushy Mountain") region, which straddles the border of Cork and Kerry Counties. We took a winding (no other is possible in Ireland, believe me!) route through Mallow, Rathmore, Knocknagree, Ballydesmond, Knocknaboul Cross, Newmarket Cross, Cordal, Castleisland, and Scartaglen to look at various places of interest regarding Sliabh Luachra musicians. My favourite of these was Newmarket Cross, the site of the home and school of Padraig O'Keeffe. A monument to him is there also. O'Keeffe was a schoolmaster-turned-traveling-fiddlemaster who taught an entire generation of children in the area to play during the beginning of the 20th century. He walked everywhere, usually traveling 15-20 miles a day. We went back to Castleisland for lunch, and
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