weekend in cork

I spent the weekend of May 2-3 in Cork, visiting N.O. and hanging out with his dad (and other members of his family, as it turned out).

Cork is a fun town. I had a great time. N.O. senior drove us around to see the sites around Cork. We went to:

On 02.05.2009:

1a. The Rock of Cashel (aka Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock): located in Munster - in the town of Cashel, County Tipperary. The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years before the Norman invasion. The buildings on the site date from the 12th and 13th centuries! It is known to be the place where the King of Munster was converted by St. Patrick (himself) in the 5th Century AD. As my friends at Wikipedia report: According to local lore, the Rock of Cashel originated from Devil's Bit - a mountain north of Cashel - when St. Patrick banished Satan (yes, Satan himself) from a cave. The Rock landed in Cashel with a wallop.

1b. As part of our trip to the Rock of Cashel, we also saw "Hore Abbey" -- unfortunately named. Also unfortunate was the used condom I saw on the way back from the Abbey (signs of the "new Ireland") -- Hore Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery near the Rock of Cashel. The best thing about Hore Abbey was the numerous cattle that were guarding it. Some big, ugly beasts. They didn't look to happy for us to be trespassing on their land.

2. Cahir Castle: We didn't actually get to go inside this castle, since it was already closed by the time we got to it. It was built in 1142 and is also in County Tipperary.

3. On the way back home, we headed into the University College Cork so N.O. senior could pick up some stuff from work. He is a very accomplished physicist and had an amazing office full of very incomprehensible stuff. Brain busting, pain in the temples type of physics equations.

4. Dinner at home. N.O. cooked up some delicious meat and potatos. We rounded out the evening with a viewing of two action movies: "Taken" and "Wanted". Massive adrenaline, over the top. Sweet dreams.

On 03.05.2009:

Another awesome day of site-seeing. We headed out West to the Dingle peninsula in West Kerry.

1. We stopped at the Lakes of Killarney. I was forbidden from entering the city of Killarney itself. I couldn't have entered it even if I wasn't forbidden to, since I was in N.O.'s car, hurtling down the road at breakneck speed. There are three lakes and the landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. A bit of local knowledge: There is a famous German Butcher Shop in the area which came to be because of the Liebherr Factory, which builds container cranes. Liebherr is a German company, which had many German employees. The factory was built in Killarney because it was the only part of Ireland the owner had knowledge of. He'd heard it was beautiful (it is).

2. We stopped in the town of Dingle for lunch. Dingle: Population of 1920 people, at least as of 2006. There was a parade taking place in Dingle during the time we where there. I later found out that the parade was part of Feile na Bealtaine arts festival. We didn't check it out for long though. Back on the road.

3. Dunbeg Promontory Fort: Most Promontory Forts date from the Iron Age, but this one might date from the Bronze Age! Dunbeg is really quite remarkable. It's located on steep cliffs at the base of Mount Eagle. There are four lines of banks, five fosses and an inner rampart with an entrance flanked by two guards-caves. There's also a strange and freaky sou-terraine under the fort, which N.O.'s grandfather climbed into and walked along. In a suit. Many years ago, when the passageway was open to the elements and adventurous souls. Dunbeg was excavated in the 1970s. There aren't too many date-able finds in the fort, so it isn't easy to date the structure. There are dates of 900 AD found in the occupation layers of the "beehive" structure in the center of the fort, suggesting it was inhabited in the 10th or 11th centuries AD. But a charcoal layer under the top soil produced a radiocarbon date of around 580 BC - this layer might have been the result of the burning of a wattle fence (whatever that is). Very cool.

4. We then hit the beach. A beautiful sandy beach surrounded by sheer cliff. I'm not sure what the name of this beach is. It was quite a neat little place to explore and people were out enjoying the uncharacteristically sunny weather. In fact, two people were surfing! And some nutbars were frolicking in the water without the benefit of a wet suit. Fools!

5. Ballyferriter: The home of N.O. senior's first cousin. We stopped in on her (A.) and her husband (B.) since we were in the neighbourhood. What was really funny was the reaction of her husband when we arrived at their place. We were in a rental car with Dublin plates and since the steering wheel is on the right-hand side, I was the one sitting nearest B. He's looking at a brown girl in a car and can hear a manly voice speaking Irish asking after his wife. He was completely baffled by the scene before him. Once he realized N.O. Senior was driving, he responded: "Christ!" Hilarious. We went in and had some coffee with the two of them. Really lovely people. It was nearly impossible for me to understand anything B. was saying, even when he was speaking English and sitting right beside me. Later their son and his girlfriend showed up.

6. The Blaskets: All the way along our trip to West Kerry, there were sightings of the Blaskets. The Blasket Islands are amazing. A real sight to behold. They name of the Islands might have derived from the Norse word "brasker" which means "dangerous place." The description is apt. There are 6 principal islands, collectively called the Blaskets: Great Blasket, Beginish, Inishnabro, Inishvickillane, Inishtooskert (aka "dead man's island" - it looks like a dead man when viewed from the east) and Tearaght Island. The Blaskets (mostly Great Blasket) were inhabited until 1953 by a completely Irish-speaking population. They were evacuated to the mainland then. A lot of the descendants of the Islanders emigrated to the U.S. and many live in Springfield, Massachusetts. The story of the residents of the Blaskets took root and there was a great deal of interest in the the Irish they spoke and the island culture. Irish school-children had to read an (apparently, highly sanitized) account of one woman's life on the Blaskets -- Peig Sayers. I'm reading a book about the Blasket-ers called "Hungry for Home: Leaving the Blaskets" by Cole Moreton. N.O. Senior's cousin - A. - gave it to me. I spotted it at her place and she insisted I take it. It's an interesting read.

7. Gallarus Oratory (The Irish name translates directly to "The Church of the Place of the Foreigners") A very old (1300 years old) stone building that is shaped like canoe upside down, basically. It was built by early Christians and is believed to have been built between the 6th and 9th Centuries. The oratory has a really interesting design. It was built without mortar and uses something called "corbel vaulting" - a technique developed by Neolithic tomb-makers. The stones are all laid at a slight angle, lower on the outside than on the inside, so rainwater runs off. The interior is relatively dry even though there is no mortaring. The building is in really good shape. There is only one window in the building -- on the wall opposite the door. Local legend says that if a person crawls out the window, their soul will be cleansed. I am still a sinner.

8. Dinner in Cork: We went out for dinner in Cork - at a new restaurant (called Hardwood) that N.O. reported to be his best meal ever in Cork. The food was delicious and we had a great time. Post-dinner, we headed over to the city center to find a pub. N.O. Senior's youngest brother is very social and is friends with the owners of a local pub, called Counihan's - so we headed over there -- on the off-chance that N.O.'s uncle would be there. He was, along with another one of N.O.'s uncles and N.O.'s aunt and her husband. It was super fun. There was a band playing -- an Irish band called "Arundo" -- check them out here. I bought their CD and N.O.'s aunt got it autographed for me. The real deal Irish experience! Well, not the autographing, but you know what I mean.

On 04.05.2009:

Both N.O. and I were leaving Cork and in the morning we went to Blarney Castle (where I did not kiss the Blarney Stone -- I talk enough already) and the Blarney Woollen Mills. The Woollen Mills had some really amazing sweaters, but the ones I liked were entirely too expensive. Fortunately, I had left my wallet at home so I could only spend 50 bucks. I dodged a financial bullet by leaving my wallet at home. We explored caves under the Castle and walked all the way up to the Stone at the top. It was super, and the views from the top are amazing.

And that ends my report of Cork. Super-fun and I'd love to go back.