Blogs from County Cork, Ireland, Europe

Today we were up early as it was a moving day. We were leaving Dublin for County Cork and the surrounding area and we had to have our suitcases outside our door by 7:30 AM. One thing nice about this company is they porter your luggage, as long as you have it where it supposed to be at the appropriate time. We couldn’t be late or we’d have to drag our luggage downstairs onto the bus by ourselves! We again have a breakfast buffet, and we’re to be on and out by 8:30 AM Today it was chilly. Plus it was raining. It wasn’t just a drizzle, but it wasn’t a hard rain…. Yet! Well I don’t mind riding the bus in the rain, but it makes it hard to take decent pictures! It was a ... read more

Today was to be another long and emotionally fulfilling day where we would traceback Rose's family heritage and locations of her Grandparents and Great Grandparents. To start with, we went to Blarney Castle, and no we didn't kiss the stone. More importantly for our journey was Emerald House, which sits at the gates to the Blarney Castle estate and was once owned by Thomas and Margaret Nesdale who purchased the house for their retirement which included a large garden now mostly a carpark for Blarney Castle. After a lovely walk around the Blarney Castle gardens, a quick cup of tea and an interesting conversation with the Blarney Cafe owner who has lived in Blarney her whole life. She informed us that Michael Murphy who is the current owner of Emerald house, inherited the property from his ... read more

Today was a long drive day with 4 hours of driving and 5 sights to see. First of all, we started at Dunguaire Castle , built in 1520, and mostly as it was originally. The 4 different floors were staged as it would have been for a different century with the ground representing the 20th century, first level representing the 19th and 18th centuries, the third floor the 17th century and the top floor the 16th century. The castle sits on the picturesque shores of Galway bay. Our next stop was Limerick where most of the stores where closed on Sunday as the whole town was attending a Gaelic Football match between Limerick and Tipperary, given their proximity to each other, it may have been a grudge match. Having now completed most of the driving we ... read more

MON, 08 AUG 2022 – “Day 9: Sights of the Ring of Kerry and culinary delights in Kinsale - It’s bye-bye Dingle and hello to some of the sights of the Ring of Kerry; Have your phones fully charged to take photos of Moll’s Gap, Torc waterfall and Ross castle in Killarney National Park. Built in the 15th century, this stronghold is said to have a resident ghost, that of O’Donoghue Ross, the chieftain who came to an untimely end, when he allegedly fell out of one of its windows! Sightseeing and ghost-hunting over, it’s time for a spot of lunch in Kenmare, a village full of treacle scones, Guinness breads, quirky shops and curiosities. It’s off for our last night, (boohoo) and to historic Kinsale, a gourmet’s utopia. Head to The Spaniard, an olde world ... read more

Another day of sunshine! We had planned to drive around the Ring of Kerry today, before heading to our next stop about 2 hours drive away. I’m delighted to say though, that following a recommendation from Man with Donkey yesterday as well as one or two other people in Dingle, we changed our plan and did the Slea Head Drive instead. Slea Head is a promontory in the westernmost part of the Dingle Peninsula. National Geographic magazine once said it was the most beautiful place in the world; I’m not qualified to agree or disagree on that because I haven’t been everywhere else, but it is absolutely stunning! We had a yummy breakfast in Dingle Town, then headed off. As we left the town we spotted a Buddhist Monk who had been on the road near ... read more