Back Where We Began

We started this morning with another great breakfast... there seems to be a trend developing, huh? After breakfast, we packed up and headed out of Kilkenny. Our first stop was the Rock of Cashel, originally the seat of the Kings of Munster (the southwestern province of Ireland). The rock rises about 300 feet around the surrounding plain, providing the king with miles of visibility in every direction. Legend has it that St. Patrick converted the King of Munster to Christianity here in about 450 A.D.

None of the original fortifications survived... the oldest structure remaining today is the round tower from 1101, shown below on the right of the picture. The property was later given to the Church, which built St. Patrick's Cathedral, the other building in the photo, between 1235 and 1270.

We went down the road a little to Cahir, and visited the Cahir Castle, built in the 13th century. It was granted to James Butler, the Royal Butler to King Edward III, in 1375.

Both of these villages are located in County Tipperary, the original homeland of the O'Sullivan clan. It's a beautiful, rural area with green, rolling hills. We would have loved to stay longer, but from here we headed south to Middleton for a visit to the Jameson Distillery.

The tour was well done, explaining the steps in the process all the way from harvesting the barley to aging the whiskey in the oak barrels. The tour takes place in the original distillery, which has been replaced with a modern facility nearby.

Our stop for the night was in Cork. We found a nice restaurant and Jim enjoyed a pint of Murphy's (brewed here).

After dinner, we took a walking tour around the town to learn a little about Cork... here's the cathedral.

Off to Blarney Castle in the morning...