Ireland Trip Part 2

Day 3 started with my final run on the Killiney Hill Park trails. After checking out from Fitzpatrick Castle, Asia and I headed west along the M4/N4 highway which runs east to west from Dublin to Sligo. While looking for something to eat we stopped into Tormey’s Bar. Unfortunately they weren’t serving food yet but all was not lost since Hugh, the owner, poured us a couple perfect pints of Guinness. We spent roughly an hour chatting with Hugh about New Jersey, Ireland, sports, and of all things “The Sopranos” series. After finding food a bit further down the road, we visited the Boyle Abbey. This 12^th century Cistercian Monastery is a very impressive mixture of Roman and Gothic architecture. The church itself was built in the shape of a cross and its tower still stands at over 60 feet tall. It is also the burial site of 13 kings of Morlurg and 12 members of the royal family of Boyle. Other than the care taker, we had the entire place to ourselves to explore and costing us only 4 Euros each it was definitely a bargain.

Our next stop was to explore the nearby Lough Key Forest Park (formerly Lough Ce). We had a choice of paying to park in the recreation area lot or parking beside the road for free. Do I really need to tell you our decision? Boats were not available to get out to Castle Island so we had to settle for taking pictures of the castle from the dock. It’s said to have been the home of the McDermotts, the Kings of Moylurg, as early as 1184. We visited the remains of the family’s private chapel, giant red cedars, and the Ice House (a fairly large underground storage room). We also had a great chat with an elderly couple that were very eager to share some local and national history and folklore with us.

 

As great as these things were, our favorite find happened totally by accident when I had driven down a wrong road and had to turn around. We found a trail off the side of the road and I could just make out the unnatural shape of a wall through the moss-covered trees. We parked the car and investigated. Much to Asia’s and my surprise we found the very large, unmarked ruins of what we believe to be a wealthy landowner’s compound and farm. This place had everything we could hope to find. Tall walls, beautiful archways, large barn and court yard, and the best of all…a tunnel! We explored this site until dark and finally headed to our next castle hotel, Kilronan Castle.

 

Kilronan Castle, located near Ballyfarnon in the County Roscommon, was built in 1820 and was home to Colonel King Tenison. It sits on over 40 acres of fields, woods, and a lake (Lough Meelagh). The castle oozes with opulent splendor with high vaulted ceilings, coats of armour, hand-carved furniture, fancy dining and reading rooms, and curtains and linens fit for a king. My favorite part though was the dungeon bar where we enjoyed cold pints and live music. We also met some great people including Dave who was celebrating his 40^th birthday.

For more photos of these sites and more, visit me on Facebook at Gary Davidson Runs.

Ireland Trip Part 1

Thanks to my daughter, Asia, I am currently in the land of my ancestors, Ireland! She purchased this trip as a present for my 50th birthday. We are staying 6 nights in 4 castles spread out around this beautiful country. Rather than be part of a tour and be told where and when we have to be somewhere we decided to rent a vehicle. This is allowing us the freedom to choose which places to visit and what routes to take. I admit I was a bit anxious about driving on the opposite side of the road; but, after about 15 minutes I was driving like a pro. Our first two nights were spent at Fitzpatrick Castle in Dalkey, roughly 10 miles south of Dublin. While the castle was very nice it was its location that appealed to me the most. It sits conveniently next to Killiney Hill Park. There is a little something for everyone. There’s a large playground for kids which has the expected equipment but also includes a small zip line. There are fields, hills, woods, a quarry for rock climbing, a large obelisk, a pyramid, trails of all type, and spectacular views of the town and Irish Sea. There are numerous castles to visit, a beautiful shoreline, and the many pubs and restaurants one would expect. We were sad to leave this wonderful area but were eager to head west.

The spectacular morning view of Killiney and White Rock Beach.

I'm going to miss this view.

Almost to the top.

This was one of my favorite trails.

The pub at Fitzpatrick Castle is in the former dungeon, pretty cool.

Inniscorrig Castle was built in 1847 and has its own private working harbor.

Of course we had to tour the brewery.

Built around 1840, this castle was formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle but is now home to the Irish singer Enya. Enya calls it Manderley Castle but all the locals we met just refer to it as Enya's Castle. 

Goat Castle is now the home of Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre and the entrance to the ruins of 10th century St. Begnet's Church and graveyard.

Taking a short break during one exploration of Killiney Hill Park.

 

We staked claim to this pyramid for Clan Davidson. We hid a small item (it says Davidson on it) somewhere in the pyramid. If you visit the park and find it let us know.

 

My final hill workout before heading west.

12th century Bulloch Castle overlooks the village harbor.

 

 15th century Archbold Castle stands across the road from Goat Castle.

St. Begnet's Church ruins found on Dalkey Island dates back to the 9th or 10th century. I was happy this came out clear as I placed my camera against the eye piece of a local telescope in Bulloch Harbour.