Our drive from Dublin to County Kerry took several hours, but we broke up the trip with stops at Kilkenny Castle and the Rock of Cashel. Kilkenny Castle is located in (you guessed it) Kilkenny, and has been a manor home most of its life. The inside is decorated as a Victorian home -- not as castle-like as I would have guessed! The back of the castle opens up to a long lawn and garden, which we didn't get to fully explore... but Charlotte of course spotted a playground and got some time in!
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| The back side of Kilkenny Castle |
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| Looking out from the Castle to the gardens & grounds |
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| Enjoying the gallery staircase |
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| The portrait room at Kilkenny Castle |
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| Chris, Colleen, and Charlotte at Kilkenny Castle |
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| The town of Kilkenny |
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| Front of Kilkenny Castle |
Charlotte fell asleep just as we were arriving at Rock of Cashel, so Grammy stayed in the car with her while the rest of us hiked up the drive/path to the complex of buildings on the top of the hill. It was SO windy up there!! We were under a wind advisory for the whole drive down to County Kerry, actually -- but the winds definitely felt the strongest on the top of the Rock. Rock of Cashel is a church complex with historical ties to St Patrick and Irish kings, and dates back to around 1100.
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| Replica of St Patrick's cross |
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| Walls of Rock of Cashel |
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| Interior of Cormac's Chapel, built in 1100 |
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| Listening to the tour guide in the Chapel |
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| Old decorative paintings in Cormac's Chapel |
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| Interior of the Cathedral at Rock of Cashel |
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| View of Round Tower, oldest part of Rock of Cashel complex |
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| Looking across the countryside from Rock of Cashel |
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| Irish cross and grave markers at top of Rock of Cashel |
From Rock of Cashel, we had another 2 hours or so to drive to get to our hotel in Kenmare in County Kerry. It was a wet and windy drive but Paul did a great job!
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