Day 10

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Day 10

Today was a sight seeing day, after our appointment with Christy Keating, a Genealogy tracker that helps you locate documents for people you think are ancestors, then on to the Blarney Castle.

The day began with a cruise ship blowing it’s horn to announce I am here. It was so long, I couldn’t get all of it in on my phone camera. We watched them tie up to the dock, and then went to breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

After breakfast, we visited with another couple from Ohio, that were going to do some sight seeing today. They were leaving today and were planning to see the Quiet Man museum and on to their next stop.

We had tickets to the Cobh Heritage Center and Museum, where our meeting with Christy Keating was, at 10:30. We went over, and decided to look around the museum before our meeting. The museum focused on the port of Cobh, and how they were sending Irish people to other lands in the mid 1800’s. Some were penal prisoners being sentenced to the British Colonies of North America, US and Canada, Australia, and people were glad to be leaving a home that had people dying, or sick, and a new life possible, after serving their 3 or 5 years of service in the new land. The port shows 1.5 million people left through Cobh between 1845 and 1851. It only had 5 million people to start with.

We met with Christy Keating, and discovered a lot information which we could fill in some holes in the data that we had gleaned already. We looked up actual census records that were available on some of the Irish record sites. We also discovered another ancestry site that specializes in Irish records, http://www.findmypast.ie.

We ate lunch in the museum before heading out to Blarney Castle. Everywhere we have gone here, the people have been extremely kind, friendly and making you feel they are glad you are here. Today at the eatery in the museum, was the first time we felt that the attitude is “I have to work here, whaddayawnat”? And, if you change your mind, whoa, more attitude. It could have been we got there along with the 800 ship passengers that just docked and were also in the building and surrounding area. We ate, then dropped stuff off in the room and departed for Blarney Castle.

The Castle was a fortress built to withstand attacks. Its claim to fame now, is the Blarney Stone. It is in the wall of the Castle, on the top floor. People lay on their back, put their head and shoulders backward through a hole in the floor to kiss the stone embedded in the wall, slathered with lipstick and saliva from the hundreds before you. There is a gentleman holding you so you don’t fall down and another one taking a picture of you so you will have something to buy when you get through the gift shop. Of course lots of people were using their phones to snap pictures, but the official camera was much closer and had a better view.

No, we didn’t kiss it. We did walk up the stairs to the top floor, where the stone is, to see the view from the top of the Castle, as well as the views from the various floors you can look out to the countryside. Mike and Gail had been here before and walked to the top, but decided to wait on us on the ground level. We walked up. The staircase is one man wide, one tiny skinny man wide. The stairs are circular, meaning they are triangular in shape. Size 14 feet are not happy on these stairs, but they made it to the top, and back down again. The stairs are narrow as a defensive measure, because only one attacker can come up at a time, and you stab him with a sword, and he falls backward onto the others behind him.

The Castle grounds are kept in very good shape, funded by the generosity of the visiting tourists I’m sure.

We came down, met Mike and Gail, and had an ice cream cone before going through the gift shop, and to the car.

Back at the hotel, we met for dinner, and wanted to try another local place for a change. The Titanic Bar and Grill was just down the street from where we are staying, so let’s give it a go. A great place to eat for sure.

And, thus ends another day on our tour of the Green Isle of Ireland.

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Photos

Celebrity Silhouette
Announced her arrival at 7:00 this morning.

Cobh Heritage Center and Museum
Gail coordinated a meeting with a Genealogy specialist, Christy Keating. How coincidental is that.

Gail, Christy, Michael and Richard Keating
Yes, we were surprised as well. I'm 6' 2", Mike is 6' 3", so you can see Christy is a big boy.

Always the clown.
Not sure what this rock is for, or why it has a round hole in it.

The top is in sight.
After climbing all the little stairs, you exit on a section that you can see a great view of the countryside.

The top floor.
You walk around to the other side, after kissing the stone, which is to the right out of picture.

Looking down into the castle.
You can see the floors are missing, but you can also see they are working on doing something.

Back looking for a place to eat.
Will this do? Yes, it did, and did in great style.

My meal for the evening.
Baked Hake, asparegus, green beens, mashed potatoes and a delicious sause. Hake is a soft white meat fish, similar to cod. This one was prepared perfectly.

Comments

[James Keating]

Sounds like a great day
that castle sounds cool. I know what you mean about the triangle circular stair case. no matter how far on the outside you take you still end up slipping and taking 3-4 stairs on the back of the heel like skies.