Friday 25th July ROOSKA EAST -
ADARE - LIMERICK
Another day, another church, another castle here in
Limerick! We all slept well last night
in our lovely quiet farmhouse. Unfortunately, when we woke, it was very foggy
and misty, and light drizzle was falling, so not the glorious sunny day of
yesterday.
We got ourselves ready though, making sure we had layers and jackets on hand, and set out towards Limerick, to the north. Our first stop was Adare, which I’d read was very pretty and very historic, so those two qualities suited us very well! It’s quite a big town; most of it relatively modern, but in the centre, there is a row of beautiful surviving thatched houses – some are still homes, but others are shops and restaurants. Adare also boasts a beautiful park and a few abbeys and monasteries, so there is plenty to look at. Despite the light drizzle, we had an enjoyable wander around, and went into the visitor centre which had the all-important toilets plus several lovely shops. We went into the church attached to the Trinitarian Monastery (have never come across one of those before) for a look, and when we came out, discovered that the weather was clearing slightly.
We weren’t quite ready for morning tea yet, so headed onwards for Limerick. It’s a very big city for Ireland, with a population of about 210 000 and a very long history back to Celtic settlement, then Vikings, then the Normans. Our first destination here was King John’s Castle, a Norman stronghold which Bad King John ordered to be built in the 1200s. It’s a huge castle and a lot of it is still in very good condition. It’s right in the heart of Limerick, on the Shannon River. We discovered a car park which we got free as long as we produced tickets to say we’d been to the castle – excellent value, considering some of the prices we’ve paid for parking here!
Our first stop at the castle was the Siege Café for morning tea, then we headed to buy our tickets (15 Euros each) and into the display. There were several rooms which explained the history of the castle, major players of the day, and Ireland, so that by the time you got to actually go into it, you understood its history and the major events which shaped it. As I’ve said before, there are no happy endings in Irish history, and King John’s Castle’s history is full of horrific betrayals, sieges, attacks and lots and lots of brutal slaughters. I’d never really understood until this trip how the Tudor dynasty so badly affected Ireland, and its culture never recovered.
Despite all this, it was a lovely castle to explore. We were able to go under it to see the archaeology of the foundations, including where both sides were ‘mining’ during sieges to try to either escape or undermine the buildings. There are also remains excavated of the Great Hall, which is now well below ground level. Then we went up into the existing towers and along the ramparts for some excellent views of the Shannon and the city. They had pictures of what it would have been like in the Medieval period, which were great to show how things have changed. We thoroughly enjoyed climbing up and down spiral stone staircases and exploring all of the rooms and chambers.
Lex had finished at the castle earlier than Jo and I, then he headed over to the Hunt Art Museum, which houses the art collection of John and Gertrude Hunt and works from pre-history right up to last century. Jo and I found St Mary’s Cathedral, and went in for a look. It was of course originally Roman Catholic, but is now Church of Ireland. It dates back nearly 900 years to 1168 and is another amazing building. Inside, the walls are much rougher and unfinished than most churches and cathedrals we’ve been in. You can see the Viking heritage with the boat-shaped wooden ceiling, too.
After this, we were definitely ready for lunch. We spotted a sign for 10 Euro lunches at Locke’s Bar, so decided that would do very nicely. Lex came along just then, so we had lunch at the outdoor tables beside the Shannon – very nice. The burgers were huge and delicious, and came with a mega-sized serve of Rosemary chips. There was no way we could eat all that, but we did try!
After lunch, we walked along the river and across several of the bridges (there seem to be lots). Lex went upriver even further to see the locks there. After all this walking, our feet were hurting, so we made our way back to the car via another RC church (it was built less than a hundred years ago, so no potential family history for Jo).
It took the best part of an hour to get home to a much-needed
cup of tea/coffee. The day had fined up so much that we were able to sit
outside and admire the valley views. Since then, we’ve cooked tea (roast
chicken), done a load of washing, written diaries and sorted photos. Tomorrow
is yet another travelling day, so Lex has been looking at plans and routes for
that. We are off to County Sligo!
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