The group had to be ready to go at 8 am and I was shocked that some of the people were able to get themselves together. Apparently last night was pretty wild and crazy. I'm glad that I'm not one of the hungover ones.
While enroute to our first stop Connor gave us a little Irish history lesson about how Ireland became free from the British Commonwealth. In 1916 demonstrations were planned country wide, only one in Dublin actually happened. The rebels took over the post office building. After a week of brutal fighting the British won. The Irish fighters were either executed or sent to a prison in Wales.
Even though the protest was unsuccessful, it did bring the idea of an Irish republic to the masses. In 1919 the War of Independence officially began. The Irish started by attacking British run institutions, even killing the Irish people working at them and running them. This violence forced the British to bring troops to Ireland, this is when the battle really began. In 1948 Ireland finally severed all ties with Britain when they left the commonwealth. The fields in Cork, where we were driving through, was where the majority of the fighting had taken place.
It was still early when we pulled into Blarney Castle. The Blarney Stone, located on a ledge at the top of the castle, is said to be a fight from Robert the Bruce of Scotland after Irish troops helped defeat the British at Bannockburn. The stone was said to originally come from the Holy Land. Somehow the MacCarthy family got a hold of it and used in when they built Castle Blarney in 1210. The other claim to fame that the castle has involves Queen Elizabeth I. The Earl of Leicester was commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to take possession of the castle. Whenever he endeavored to negotiate the matter McCarthy always suggested a banquet or some other form of delay, so that when the queen asked for progress reports a long missive was sent, at the end of which the castle remained untaken. The queen was said to be so irritated that she remarked that the earl's reports were all 'Blarney'.
For some reason about 300 years ago people started to kiss the Blarney Stone. To do this you have to lay down, let some old man hold you up, and lean way back. It's a bit daunting, but there are metal bars to prevent people from falling. I bet way back when it wasn't odd for a bunch of people to come up there drunk and try to kiss the stone only to fall to theirs deaths. I leaned back, tried to smile and kissed the stone. I didn't feel anything as some people suggested I would. Has my writing become more eloquent, or perhaps the stone only pertains to speech. Or perhaps I just picked up something from the millions of other people who have kissed the stone. At least I guess I got some action!
The four of us wandered the grounds taking in the stunning views. Each time we turned a corner there seemed to be a better picture to be taken. We tried to check out the caves a bit as well. It would have been really nice to have several more hours there to check out the gardens and all of the outbuildings on the grounds. As it was, Catherine and I were hungry and we ended up getting to the bus a minute or two late.
We did a driving tour through Cork, but there wasn't a chance to explore on our own. Apparently Cork thinks that it is the real capital. An advert for Budwieser even played on that.
Our next stop was a quick one at Cashel for lunch. Once again, there was a huge castle here, called the Rock of Cashel. There wasn't any time to check it out. We couldn't make up our minds and ended up bringing takeout on the bus. After that it was a straight shot to Dublin and, for me, a real bed.
I found it odd that once everyone had gathered up their things from beneath the bus they just stood around. Most of these people have been stuck together for 6 days in a cramped bus. I couldn't understand how they didn't want to just get away. I made sure to exchange information with David, Catherine and Deborah and was then on my way.
Three days is about the most I think I could handle a tour for, unless it was like a safari or something. I did get to see things that would be hard or just very expensive for me to do on my own. I was not going to be renting a car and driving over here. I just felt like everything was rushed, I would have liked to spend more time in each town, but I guess they would have each been a day trip and I would have needed more than the two weeks I have in Ireland. Next time I come here, I'm bringing a friend who can drive on the wrong side of the road and doing it that way. Still, I had fun, got to ride a horse and made some really great friends.
I was ecstatic to see Michele and Rory again and to spend time with people who I don't have to introduce myself to! After a pizza dinner we headed a short way to their local pub for a few pints. After so much time in tourist land it was nice to be in a place that tourists would never find.
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