08-16-2023, 04:01 PM
May 14 To Dublin
This was our day to see a lot of spots in CountyKilkenny and County Wexford. The itinerary was packed but without too much walking.
We bid farewell after another fine breakfast to the Diamond Hill and Benny and headed towards Jerpoint Abbey. Every time I asked for suggestions on where to go in the East, I heard I should go to Jerpoint. The drive from Diamond hill only took about a half hour. On the downside, today started out with rain. A soft day for Ireland. They call them soft days because the gently rain only makes the fields and dirt road go soft as opposed to completely flooding them.
The Queen Mum opted to stay in the car rather than walk around in the rain at Jerpoint Abbey. The Queen opted to put on all her rain gear from boots to coat. I put on a jacket and left the legs bare.
The one thing that Jerpoint is know for is it’s sculptures. Legend has it that when Cromwell and his buddies came through, they hid all the Jerpoint sculptures. Later people dug up the sculptures and restored them. They did not disappoint. The best application of the sculptures was in the cloister. All the stem walls that supported the arches above used to have sculptures. People used to pay to have these three foot tall bas reliefs put in place. They were also painted. That way as the monks walked the cloister saying prayers they could look at all this beautiful artwork. No drone flights in the rain at Jerpoint. We didn’t take many pictures at Jerpoint because I only need so many moody photos of ruins in the rain and I’m pretty full at this point.
Just down the road from Jerpoint was the Kells Priory. This Kells isn’t the one where the famous book is from. The Book of Kells came from the Kells north of Dublin. This Kells was known for being big and have a huge walled compound complete with six guard towers. Kells was far less commercial than Jerpoint. No visitor center and just a car park. It was quite the hike down the hill through the fields to get to the priory walls never mind getting to the Priory. The Queen Mum gave this a pass, too, settling for pictures from the car park. Now the car park sat on a hill above the defensive fortifications of the priory. I’m no siege expert but this seemed like a poor plan. Invaders could sit on top of the hill and launch missiles into the courtyard all day long. Maybe they needed the priory to be closer to the river?
The only living creatures on the grounds with us were a couple of joggers passing through and a whole flock of sheep. The sheep would have made for great models for the pictures if they didn’t run every time I got near them. I though I had them outfoxed when I stood in the entrance to the wall but the sheep knew of a secret passage under the wall which they availed themselves of. The sheep also had a great time going through what supposed to be the sheep proof gate.
The priory itself was pretty much a ruin. Scaffolding supported the remaining walls as if there was a process of rebuilding. It was quite pleasant to stand on the modern bridge over the River Kings and look back at the Priory. But again, too much misty water falling around us. Back to the car.
On the Queen and I’s first trip to Ireland back in 2001, we hit a bunch of stops on the way from Dublin to Cork. I just have pictures of those stops without any clear memory of where those spots were located. At one of the spots, I stopped to take a picture of a pseudo grave stone at the front of an abbey ruins. The grave stone had the lines of a poem carved in it titled ‘Leisure’. The ruins were just one of those places you saw along the road and you pulled in. You spent a few minutes and then headed off. Until years later you started wondering where the stupid gravestone lay. It didn’t help that in the years between 2001 and now, they had built a new motorway that bypassed all those small towns and interesting little sights. Eventually I found the author of the poem ‘Leisure’ and from there I was able to find St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in the town of Gowran in County Kilkenny. And it was only about a thirty minute drive from Kells. Off we went.
When the Queen and I first buzzed through, I think we just pulled over and walked the grounds of St. Mary’s. Those days are gone. I drove around the church looking for parking but was unsuccessful so I dropped the Queen and Queen Mum at the path to the church and parked down the street. Once again I was excited not to have to pay for parking. When I followed the tourist pair, I realized that the dirt road was actually the road to a small car park right in front of the church. I went back and got the car and parked right next to the church.
What we didn’t realize back then was the church was full of famous relics. We really should have gone inside. There were all sorts of decorative tombs in the church some dating back to the 5th Century. Supposedly St. Patrick was in the area in his day and decreed that churches should be built. There was an ogham stone which had the interesting addition of a cross carved on it as well. The Church Docent was an extremely nice man and I think he was ready to talk about the various features of the Church for the rest of the day. But the brain can only hold so many names and dates. He did take us out to the back section of the church where he pointed out all the carved little human heads embedded in the stone work. Supposedly there were fourteen but I don’t think we found that many. The heads were in the roofless section of the church and the rain had started falling again. The Queen Mum was grateful to find a chair while we wandered.
Another stop that we did in 2001 and in 2019 was the Brownshill Dolmen. I wanted to go back there because the Brownshill Dolmen has the largest capstone of any Dolmen in Europe weighing in at 100 tons. It’s a big rock. More importantly, the Dolmen was just down the road from Toughers restaurant which was really good. We only saw the Dolmen from the parking lot. The giant rock sits far from the car park and we were hungry. I remembered Toughers being just down the road from the Dolmen but I couldn’t quite remember the name. I’m sure I could find it. I couldn’t find it. We ended up at Reddy’s in Downtown Carlow. Reddy’s was an old school Irish establishment and you could tell because they did a Carvery lunch. Let’s say I was pleased to have the carvery. The women warmed to the idea. The best part of a carvery lunch is the wide variety of potatoes to enjoy.
The weather continued to improve as we drove north towards Dublin. By the next stop, Glendalough Monastic Site, the weather was perfect. Big puffy clouds filled a blue sky. Glendalough is another one of those must see sights in Ireland, much like the Cliffs of Moher. On this Sunday everybody in the country decided to take advantage of the great weather and join us there. All the parking lots were full. Since Glendalough involved a lot of walking, we left.
When I first saw the Ferryman Sculpture on the Atlas Obscura I knew I wanted to see it in real life. When I found out the sculpture of a giant skeleton reaching out of an actual pond was located in Ireland I really knew I had to see it. The Ferryman and about twenty other buddhist themed sculptures are part of Victor’s Way Contemplative Sculpture Park. As the website notes, the park isn’t for a fun day out with the kids but a place of reflection. Best of all, the park was on the route from Glendalough to Dublin. Of all the places on our itinerary, Victor’s Way was probably the place I wanted to visit most because it seemed so incongruous to find such a place in Ireland.
From the minute I stood in front of the entrance to the park which is a giant walk through vagina topped by a snake where the clitoris should be and walls lined with spikes and looked over at The Queen, I knew I was the only really excited to be in the sculpture garden. Over the last several years the Queen has developed a fervent negative position on the subject of religion. Her atheism is pretty devout. Being in a religious garden was probably not on the top of her list of places to be. I could see by the look on her face that maybe she should have stayed in the car. Now, her being unhappy made me cranky. At each statue along the path, there are signs explaining the significance of the statue. The Queen read the plaque and started to explain to me what nonsense was contained on the plaque. I snapped back that she was a little too closed minded or words to that effect. Those were about the last words we said to each other until we exited the path. My mood was not helped by two people and their drone in the middle of the Ganesh band of statues, all had musical instruments. Nothing says contemplation like a drone flying around. Yes, I’m that guy. I asked them if they had permission. They said they had. Sigh. I wandered off along the trail.
The setting was quite serene. Some of the statues were horrific. Some where whimsical. My friend the ferryman didn’t look quite as fearsome. The algae in the pond were he sat wasn’t in bloom so the Ferryman didn’t have the covering of green I had seen in other pictures. There was a giant finger tucked away in a hidden part of the park that I don’t think a lot of people found which I found quite surreal. The whole place was full of interesting things. The Queen was glad to bump into a couple of dogs. The Queen Mum met us at the exit.
I had been texting back and forth with the Chairman. He wanted to make sure I didn’t show up to the house before 5:30 as he wouldn’t be at home. Mrs. Chairman definitely wouldn’t be at home as she was visiting friends in the French Alps like you do. We had still time to kill so as my plan still had stops, we made our way to the Powerscourt Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Ireland. The waterfall lies on the Powerscourt Estate which used to cover 77 square miles of land but now is two different parks. The current owners of the estate are the Slazenger family of sporting good fame. I hoped the parking lot was next to the waterfall, but alas no. There was still a bit of a hike to the base of the waterfall from the parking lot. Although by walking a short distance, the Queen Mum could see the waterfall. She went back to the parking lot while the Queen and I went to take photos and selfies with the waterfall. One rock seemed to be designated as the spot for photos, so we went there passing all the families picnicking and having music battles with their different stereos. Pictures accomplished, we joined the Queen Mum back at the car.
I had gotten the okay from the Chairman and we headed to his house in the suburbs south of Dublin. The Chairman owns a great house, one that he tore down another house to build. While this is standard operating procedure in many parts of the United States, I’m sure the neighbors thought him mad for destroying a perfectly good house. The Queen Mum got the en suite downstairs while the Queen and I were placed in one the heirs rooms upstairs. We were told not to use the heir’s bathroom as, well, no one should be subjected to a bathroom used by two twenty something males. As point of fact, when I used the toilet, it was clogged. The heir had told the father, he was just waiting for the clog to go away on its own.
We had dinner in the lovely kitchen which looks out over the big backyard which looks out over the golf course. The Chairman plays a lot of golf but not on the course that abuts his house. Dinner was beef stew cooked by the Chairman himself. We all went to bed early because the colds were raging in the Queen and I. I’m sure the Queen Mum was still recovering, as well.
This was our day to see a lot of spots in CountyKilkenny and County Wexford. The itinerary was packed but without too much walking.
We bid farewell after another fine breakfast to the Diamond Hill and Benny and headed towards Jerpoint Abbey. Every time I asked for suggestions on where to go in the East, I heard I should go to Jerpoint. The drive from Diamond hill only took about a half hour. On the downside, today started out with rain. A soft day for Ireland. They call them soft days because the gently rain only makes the fields and dirt road go soft as opposed to completely flooding them.
The Queen Mum opted to stay in the car rather than walk around in the rain at Jerpoint Abbey. The Queen opted to put on all her rain gear from boots to coat. I put on a jacket and left the legs bare.
The one thing that Jerpoint is know for is it’s sculptures. Legend has it that when Cromwell and his buddies came through, they hid all the Jerpoint sculptures. Later people dug up the sculptures and restored them. They did not disappoint. The best application of the sculptures was in the cloister. All the stem walls that supported the arches above used to have sculptures. People used to pay to have these three foot tall bas reliefs put in place. They were also painted. That way as the monks walked the cloister saying prayers they could look at all this beautiful artwork. No drone flights in the rain at Jerpoint. We didn’t take many pictures at Jerpoint because I only need so many moody photos of ruins in the rain and I’m pretty full at this point.
Just down the road from Jerpoint was the Kells Priory. This Kells isn’t the one where the famous book is from. The Book of Kells came from the Kells north of Dublin. This Kells was known for being big and have a huge walled compound complete with six guard towers. Kells was far less commercial than Jerpoint. No visitor center and just a car park. It was quite the hike down the hill through the fields to get to the priory walls never mind getting to the Priory. The Queen Mum gave this a pass, too, settling for pictures from the car park. Now the car park sat on a hill above the defensive fortifications of the priory. I’m no siege expert but this seemed like a poor plan. Invaders could sit on top of the hill and launch missiles into the courtyard all day long. Maybe they needed the priory to be closer to the river?
The only living creatures on the grounds with us were a couple of joggers passing through and a whole flock of sheep. The sheep would have made for great models for the pictures if they didn’t run every time I got near them. I though I had them outfoxed when I stood in the entrance to the wall but the sheep knew of a secret passage under the wall which they availed themselves of. The sheep also had a great time going through what supposed to be the sheep proof gate.
The priory itself was pretty much a ruin. Scaffolding supported the remaining walls as if there was a process of rebuilding. It was quite pleasant to stand on the modern bridge over the River Kings and look back at the Priory. But again, too much misty water falling around us. Back to the car.
On the Queen and I’s first trip to Ireland back in 2001, we hit a bunch of stops on the way from Dublin to Cork. I just have pictures of those stops without any clear memory of where those spots were located. At one of the spots, I stopped to take a picture of a pseudo grave stone at the front of an abbey ruins. The grave stone had the lines of a poem carved in it titled ‘Leisure’. The ruins were just one of those places you saw along the road and you pulled in. You spent a few minutes and then headed off. Until years later you started wondering where the stupid gravestone lay. It didn’t help that in the years between 2001 and now, they had built a new motorway that bypassed all those small towns and interesting little sights. Eventually I found the author of the poem ‘Leisure’ and from there I was able to find St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in the town of Gowran in County Kilkenny. And it was only about a thirty minute drive from Kells. Off we went.
When the Queen and I first buzzed through, I think we just pulled over and walked the grounds of St. Mary’s. Those days are gone. I drove around the church looking for parking but was unsuccessful so I dropped the Queen and Queen Mum at the path to the church and parked down the street. Once again I was excited not to have to pay for parking. When I followed the tourist pair, I realized that the dirt road was actually the road to a small car park right in front of the church. I went back and got the car and parked right next to the church.
What we didn’t realize back then was the church was full of famous relics. We really should have gone inside. There were all sorts of decorative tombs in the church some dating back to the 5th Century. Supposedly St. Patrick was in the area in his day and decreed that churches should be built. There was an ogham stone which had the interesting addition of a cross carved on it as well. The Church Docent was an extremely nice man and I think he was ready to talk about the various features of the Church for the rest of the day. But the brain can only hold so many names and dates. He did take us out to the back section of the church where he pointed out all the carved little human heads embedded in the stone work. Supposedly there were fourteen but I don’t think we found that many. The heads were in the roofless section of the church and the rain had started falling again. The Queen Mum was grateful to find a chair while we wandered.
Another stop that we did in 2001 and in 2019 was the Brownshill Dolmen. I wanted to go back there because the Brownshill Dolmen has the largest capstone of any Dolmen in Europe weighing in at 100 tons. It’s a big rock. More importantly, the Dolmen was just down the road from Toughers restaurant which was really good. We only saw the Dolmen from the parking lot. The giant rock sits far from the car park and we were hungry. I remembered Toughers being just down the road from the Dolmen but I couldn’t quite remember the name. I’m sure I could find it. I couldn’t find it. We ended up at Reddy’s in Downtown Carlow. Reddy’s was an old school Irish establishment and you could tell because they did a Carvery lunch. Let’s say I was pleased to have the carvery. The women warmed to the idea. The best part of a carvery lunch is the wide variety of potatoes to enjoy.
The weather continued to improve as we drove north towards Dublin. By the next stop, Glendalough Monastic Site, the weather was perfect. Big puffy clouds filled a blue sky. Glendalough is another one of those must see sights in Ireland, much like the Cliffs of Moher. On this Sunday everybody in the country decided to take advantage of the great weather and join us there. All the parking lots were full. Since Glendalough involved a lot of walking, we left.
When I first saw the Ferryman Sculpture on the Atlas Obscura I knew I wanted to see it in real life. When I found out the sculpture of a giant skeleton reaching out of an actual pond was located in Ireland I really knew I had to see it. The Ferryman and about twenty other buddhist themed sculptures are part of Victor’s Way Contemplative Sculpture Park. As the website notes, the park isn’t for a fun day out with the kids but a place of reflection. Best of all, the park was on the route from Glendalough to Dublin. Of all the places on our itinerary, Victor’s Way was probably the place I wanted to visit most because it seemed so incongruous to find such a place in Ireland.
From the minute I stood in front of the entrance to the park which is a giant walk through vagina topped by a snake where the clitoris should be and walls lined with spikes and looked over at The Queen, I knew I was the only really excited to be in the sculpture garden. Over the last several years the Queen has developed a fervent negative position on the subject of religion. Her atheism is pretty devout. Being in a religious garden was probably not on the top of her list of places to be. I could see by the look on her face that maybe she should have stayed in the car. Now, her being unhappy made me cranky. At each statue along the path, there are signs explaining the significance of the statue. The Queen read the plaque and started to explain to me what nonsense was contained on the plaque. I snapped back that she was a little too closed minded or words to that effect. Those were about the last words we said to each other until we exited the path. My mood was not helped by two people and their drone in the middle of the Ganesh band of statues, all had musical instruments. Nothing says contemplation like a drone flying around. Yes, I’m that guy. I asked them if they had permission. They said they had. Sigh. I wandered off along the trail.
The setting was quite serene. Some of the statues were horrific. Some where whimsical. My friend the ferryman didn’t look quite as fearsome. The algae in the pond were he sat wasn’t in bloom so the Ferryman didn’t have the covering of green I had seen in other pictures. There was a giant finger tucked away in a hidden part of the park that I don’t think a lot of people found which I found quite surreal. The whole place was full of interesting things. The Queen was glad to bump into a couple of dogs. The Queen Mum met us at the exit.
I had been texting back and forth with the Chairman. He wanted to make sure I didn’t show up to the house before 5:30 as he wouldn’t be at home. Mrs. Chairman definitely wouldn’t be at home as she was visiting friends in the French Alps like you do. We had still time to kill so as my plan still had stops, we made our way to the Powerscourt Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Ireland. The waterfall lies on the Powerscourt Estate which used to cover 77 square miles of land but now is two different parks. The current owners of the estate are the Slazenger family of sporting good fame. I hoped the parking lot was next to the waterfall, but alas no. There was still a bit of a hike to the base of the waterfall from the parking lot. Although by walking a short distance, the Queen Mum could see the waterfall. She went back to the parking lot while the Queen and I went to take photos and selfies with the waterfall. One rock seemed to be designated as the spot for photos, so we went there passing all the families picnicking and having music battles with their different stereos. Pictures accomplished, we joined the Queen Mum back at the car.
I had gotten the okay from the Chairman and we headed to his house in the suburbs south of Dublin. The Chairman owns a great house, one that he tore down another house to build. While this is standard operating procedure in many parts of the United States, I’m sure the neighbors thought him mad for destroying a perfectly good house. The Queen Mum got the en suite downstairs while the Queen and I were placed in one the heirs rooms upstairs. We were told not to use the heir’s bathroom as, well, no one should be subjected to a bathroom used by two twenty something males. As point of fact, when I used the toilet, it was clogged. The heir had told the father, he was just waiting for the clog to go away on its own.
We had dinner in the lovely kitchen which looks out over the big backyard which looks out over the golf course. The Chairman plays a lot of golf but not on the course that abuts his house. Dinner was beef stew cooked by the Chairman himself. We all went to bed early because the colds were raging in the Queen and I. I’m sure the Queen Mum was still recovering, as well.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm