Day 3 17 July

We enjoyed a fairly leisurely start to our day, as we were booked for a 10 AM departure on the ferry from Kilrush Marina which is less than a 20 minute drive from Kilkee. Even then, we still managed to arrive almost 30 minutes early. The morning was cool (borderline COLD) and gray, holding forth a constant threat of rain but fortunately, it remained just that, only a threat. The boat ride was uneventful if a bit blustery and chill but, I was quite thrilled to be aboard. This was my fourth attempted to visit the island's Round Tower, so any success was a pleasant surprise.

Once ashore, we enjoyed a free guided tour that included the very knowledgeable guide, a Secondary teacher from Athlone, his non-Irish wife, my wife and I. The guide took great joy in teasing and testing me over my Round Tower obsession until I rattled him by mentioning the rather obscure theories exposed by Dr. Phillip S. Callahan:

The Round Towers of Ireland (sacredsites.com)

Our guide seemed to take particular umbridge over Callahan's suggestion that the locations of the various Round Towers closely mimic a star map of Irish northern skies during the winter solstice. Still, the visit, though cold, remained dry and the Round Tower visit was everything I had hoped it would be.

After the tour, we wandered through the restored buildings and hiked part of the way out toward the lighthouse where we passed out and back, carefully and quietly through an area of ground nesting kestrel. Both the guide and numerous warning signs advised that the birds were fiercely protective of their nests and not to be disturbed. We heeded that advice and never saw any sign of either the birds, or their nests.

Once we returned to the harbor, we were advised that our return trip would be delayed by 15 minutes or so and one of the other guides offered to provide us with a cup of tea. When my wife inquired if the island offered any concession selling snacks, one of the gentlemen brought her half of a ham sandwich from his lunch. She declined but was truly touched by the man's kind hospitality!

Following an uneventful return to Kilrush, I drove along the N67 but rather than follow the turn toward the Tarbert Ferry, I continued straight on the R486. The drive alongside the north side of the Shannon was quite pleasant.

Despite the still cloudy skies, it had warmed, a bit, and feeling a bit peckish the declined sandwich notwithstanding! I opted for a stop in Knock, at Rosie's By The Quay a small, pink food truck (trailer, actually) that rests on the concrete forecourt of the owner's home, directly opposite the harbor and dock at the apex of the estuary. There are a couple of pink picnic tables about, as well as an ample side garden for seating and resting. On offer was hot chocolate, tea, coffee, scones, cakes and toasties.

Back on the road, I followed along the R 486 until its end at the junction of the R473. Turning East, we followed along the riverbank until it intersected with the N85, just outside of Ennis. We followed it to the M18 and headed North (toward Galway), then followed the M6 to the M4 toward Dublin and our prebooked lodgings at the Clayton Dublin Airport Hotel.

More to come . . .

Day 4 18 July

After collecting our companions, my unsatisfying discussion and cramming our combined luggage into every nook and cranny of the Tucson, we set off from the airport in light rain, somewhere around 10:30 AM. We made our first stop into the Silken Thomas, in Kildare for a delightful light lunch. I also took the opportunity to visit the nearby BOI ATM Cash Point, to draw off 260 Euro. I KNOW that the Card is King now, but I've always been a Cash First person!

I also stopped into a Service Plaza further on, trying to locate some of the elusive BlueDef, but I could only find large bottles for roughly 20 Euro. Since I had NO idea exactly how much was needed and was certain that I would need to produce the remaining amount and I had no room to stash the huge bottle I decided to wait until later. That actually proved to be fortuitous.

SIL A had booked a AirB&B for us, located in Watergrasshill. It was a three bedroom, 2 ½ bath semi-detached house, complete with washer and dryer. All in, I believe she paid just under $800 four our four nights. Whilst not perfect, it was the ideal location and we were very pleased with the amenities and I would not hesitate to book in there again, if in need of an extended stay.

3 bedroom home 18km from Cork City - Houses for Rent in Priory Court, County Cork, Ireland - Airbnb

Shortly after we arrived, Cousin 'N' dropped by and insisted on taking us to dinner at a nearby restaurant where my wife and I enjoyed two most excellent steaks smothered in onions, served with a tasty pepper sauce. Despite advising the wait staff that only I should be presented the bill, I can't say how much the dinner cost as Cousin 'N' usurped my directive. The waitress advised that she had been a long-term employee of 'N' and she admired, respected and feared her wrath MUCH more than mine!

Back at the house, we visited for a while before 'N' departed after advising that we were expected for a pizza dinner at her sister's house the following afternoon / evening. Shortly after she left, my wife (who has a history of severe gastrointestinal issues) developed stomach crams and nausea that persisted for several hours. She was convinced that it stemmed from the delicious, but somewhat greasy fried onions. Between that and our travel companion's jet lag, we made an early night of it and hoped for the better, on the morrow.

Day 5 19 July

My wife rested poorly through the night and awoke feeling better, but weak and exhausted. She opted to relax at the house, while I brought the SILs into Cork to shop, visit the English Market and just do a bit of a 'walkabout'.

I parked at the Q Park (11.7 Euro ) and the ladies seemed quite impressed by our leisurely tour of the English Market. They also purchased a few Cork-centric items (mostly, a scarf and some shirts) and I bought a Cork flag. This was just a couple of days prior to the scheduled All-Ireland Hurling Final between Cork and Clare, so there were LOTS of wares on offer. We grabbed a quick lunch at a pub nearby and departed around 3 PM.

Back at the house, my wife was feeling better but decided to not take a chance on the scheduled pizza dinner and decided to stay behind determined to be 100% for the scheduled party the following evening. Thus, just the two SILs and I made the trip out to the home of Cousin 'U'. Having attended her 40^th and 50^th Birthday celebrations, I fully expected to be impressed by this, her 60^th but I have to admit that I was truly impressed (and a bit shocked!) by the immense scale of the family's preparations!

The back third of the home one acre lot had been set up as a parking area, but it also included a large rental trailer / portable his and hers toilets, complete with mirrored, dual sink counters. Across from it was a 0 or 3 foot mobile kitchen /catering truck. The walkway between them passed through a decorated arched hedge, which let to an entry into a side curtained marque (tent) that was easily 30 or 40 feet wide and 100 to 120 feet long! On the side opposite where we entered was an unwalled (curtained?) section that connected to a raised garage door within which, they had constructed a full service bar replete with two Guinness taps, a full, USA sized refrigerator filled with assorted bottled and canned beer, ciders and wine coolers as well as every type of soft drink, mixer and type of alcohol known to man (or, at least, known to ME!).

In the rear half of the tent they had constructed a raise, plywood floor that tapered down, at the midpoint where the floor became the brick paver surface. Most of this area had been filled with tables and chairs suitable to seat a small horde. To one side of the brick floor area, well beyond the bar, there was an 8 by 10 area rug, on which was located a sofa and two upholstered chairs. Along the opposite wall was a large area set up as a 'stage' for the scheduled band. Between those two areas was suitable open space for dancing and milling about. Exiting the front of the tent brought you to a paved, open courtyard, with scattered chairs and cafe tables all surrounding a massive, rectangular ( 4 X 8?) fire pit. I won't even mention all the decorations!

Tonight wasn't the party, though. It was merely a small, intimate dinner for family so, only 40 or 50 people. Everyone expressed concern about my wife but we assured them that she was, or would be fine and that she would be at the party With Bells On. Although my wife and I had visited with the Cousins the previous year, it had been about 5 years since the SILs had last been back, so there was much 'catching up' and getting reacquainted. We departed fairly early, eager to rest up and mindful of our hosts needs to do the same.

All in all, I believe that a good time was had, by all.

More to Come . . .

Day 6:   20 July

We're having a party but, first, a little touring!

In the morning, my wife recovered and all of us well rested, we decided to do a bit of exploring. We had decided that the four of us would purchase a gift card for the Fota Island Resort as a present for the Birthday Girl. Since Cousin 'N' had advised that there were two fuel companies in Midleton that had BlueDef pumps, I opted for the slightly out-of-the-way, but quite scenic ride along the R626. Just North of Midleton, I stumbled across one of them and added 10 Euro worth of the elusive fluid into the Tucson. True to the promise, the warning light immediately extinguished and I never saw it illuminate again.

After our stop into Fota where a suitable gift card was secured, we headed into Cobh and found it to be surprisingly crowded. I just managed to find an available parking space well down Lynch's Quay (about 500 meters from town center which is the first time that we have found the town to be so busy. We meandered through town, checking out a few shops and past the ubiquitous vendors selling Cork flags, hats and shirts. With only two days to go before the All Ireland, they were numerous and rather raucous!

We enjoyed lunch at the Commodore Hotel and then drifted across the street to the park, to listen to the live music performance by Brian O'Glanby. After returning to the car, I drove up past and above the Cathedral and the ladies popped out to secure pictures of the Deck Of Cards' houses. Moving on, I stopped to add 71.2 Euro worth of diesel (39.36 Ltr @ 1.809 Euro per litre) and again, for exterior photos of the delightfully restored Belvelly Castle. Since we didn't need to be at the cousin's until 5 PM, we used the remaining time to do a bit of laundry and get ready.

THE PARTY! In brief, as 'twas not exactly a touristic experience but interesting, nonetheless!

We were some of the first to arrive and discovered the scene even more decorated than it had been the night before which was no small feat! A Full Mass was said in the house, partly in Memorial to those that were no longer present. There were two priests that officiated and those crowded in could have easily filled a moderate sized church. After the Mass, everyone filtered into the Marquee and a professional photographer proceeded to take charge. Shortly after, the caterers set up two long buffet/carvery tables and people lined up for what proved to be a delicious meal. FYI There was a four tiered shelving nit that was heavily loaded with every sort of desert imaginable including two huge, deep bowls overflowing with sweets that delighted the younger children in attendance.

After most of the meal was completed, a live band took to the stage and the roughly 200 250 attendees ate, drank and made merry. As mentioned earlier, the day had been clear and dry so, naturally, around 8 or 9 PM, rain began to fall. That barely impacted either the crowd, nor the festivities, though.

About 1 AM, when the band was packing up (but before the scheduled DJ made his appearance), we valiant few, we aged Yanks, we less than hearty revelers, made our departure after making plans to return, on the morrow for a tiny bit less hectic visit and to watch the much heralded All Ireland Hurling Final on the television in the company of rabid Cork fans.

Day 7:     21 July

We spent a leisurely morning doing laundry and organizing our luggage for our impending departure before arriving at the Cousin's home. We helped with some of the tear down folding and stacking tables and chairs, removing light strings from the tent rafters, removing assorted decorations and general clean up. Others set up a large screen television in the area previously set aside for the band. As the final showdown between Clare and Cork took place on Sunday, July 21 at 3:30 PM in Croke Park, cellular broadband was utilized to live stream the match with few (and thankfully, brief) connectivity issues.

Of course, Clare won the final by a single point in Extra Time much to the anguish and chagrin of the viewing fans but the results remained in doubt right up to the last moments, 329 to 134 . That's 38 37 for us Yanks. It was certainly an exciting and informative experience, proving how people can be so different, yet so similar, at the same time!

After many conversations, much eating and many hugs and hearty handshakes, we departed around 9 PM. There was still much packing and organizing to do prior to our scheduled departure the following morning with a longish day's travel planned.

It was time to play Tourist!

More to come . . .