Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Northern Immersion - The Rains of Limerick

It was kind of a foul day today; gray, gloomy, and off and on showers.  So, we decided to hang around town and see some of the attractions on offer around here.  We started with Bunratty Castle and Folk Village.  This was the first time I have ever been in a real castle (or caislein as it’s said in Irish), and I was very impressed.  It was just as cool as you see in the movies…from big drafty rooms to extremely narrow staircases…from a dungeon to murder holes…from a private chapel and solars to cannon towers.  And the best part was that you got to walk through and experience them all up close.  I was even able to climb all the way to the top of the castle towers and look out at the countryside in all directions.  I imagined a soldier standing guard up here looking out at the river in one direction or the endless green fields with sheep and other livestock in the other, constantly vigilant for an enemy force.

As I mentioned, the staircases were extremely narrow and incredibly steep.  While touring around, we ran into a man doing some painting in one of the rooms.  He was eager for a break, so he stopped and talked to us about the history of the castle and the significance of some of the features.  When my wife made a comment about the staircases, he replied, “They were easier to defend.  You only had to fight one man at a time.  And the way they wind, the man coming up had to be left-handed.  If you were right-handed, then you’d hit the wall.  So, they’d call down to ask if anyone was left-handed.  That would be the first man to get it.”  He also told us about a tiny little window in one of the walls looking down into the Great Hall.  He said that women were not allowed to sit in the Great Hall during castle business, so they were sent upstairs to the solar.  However, they could watch the proceedings through this tiny window and thus know what was going on.

After the castle, we toured around the folk village.  The village consisted of various buildings from different time periods throughout Ireland’s history, such as fisherman huts and chapels.  It displayed the different architecture on display during different times.  In one farmhouse, we ran into a woman named Mrs. O’Kennedy.  She was a feisty old woman with opinions about everything…and I mean everything.  She had a very heavy accent and was the first person I have ever heard actually use the word “feck.”

We decided to head back to Limerick to have lunch and tour King John’s Castle.  We ate at a café called Jack Monday’s, which was a pretty nice place near the castle.  Unfortunately, it started raining pretty steadily while we were walking, so we were soaked by the time we got there.  It was still raining when we headed on to the castle.  For some stupid reason the castle was closed for some exhibit, so we couldn’t even go in.  We decided to walk on down the street and visit St. Mary’s Cathedral, which is a 900 year old Catholic church.  It was a large, stoic church with much of the features you’d expect in a Catholic church.

We ended the evening by heading into town and doing some shopping and getting some hot chocolate at Costa Coffee.  But it started raining badly again, so we just headed back to the hotel, eating dinner in the Absolute Bar & Grill.  My wife had a fried chicken dish, and I had a tagliatelle dish…both were excellent.  I was fortunate enough to also get to watch Chelsea defeat Porto to move on in the Champions League…so all in all, a good night.

No comments: