Saturday 19^th July                              LISMORE  -  CORK

Today dawned very overcast and damp, after rain last night. Our plan for the day was to head into Cork city, so we got away at about 9 for the 50-minute drive to the Park & Ride south of the city. The first part was on fairly winding country roads, but for the last 20 minutes or so we were able to whiz along the motorway. The rain started as we drove along, as forecast, and was to continue on and off for the rest of the day.

                                                  Contented Irish cows

We easily got a park at the Park & Ride, and got our ticket for town (5 Euros for all of us). The bus very quickly took us into St Patrick’s Street in the middle of the CBD. Cork has a nice, old-fashioned CBD, with lots of streets of shops along the River Lee. We spotted M&S, so went into their café for an excellent morning tea. Jo tried her first toasted tea bun, and was most impressed (she is currently Googling recipes). After that, Lex headed off to check out the museum. Jo and I popped straight into Carroll’s Irish Gift shop (as I’ve said, my minor addiction!) and had a lovely time browsing leprechauns, sheep, t-shirts etc. We checked out quite a few of the local shops. Jo bought an absolutely beautiful dress in Dunnes, a favourite shop of both of ours. After a while, the rain switched from being occasional to pretty much constant, which made it more difficult, as Irish streets have very few overhanging covers. We went to have a look at the English Markets, which would have been wonderful if we were shopping for meals, but it was mostly fresh food – lots of meats and seafoods, fruit and veges etc in a big covered old market hall, but nowhere to sit down to have lunch. We came out of there and discovered Kelly’s restaurant in Turner’s pub – established over a hundred years ago, and I don’t think they’ve changed the décor since! It was a really old-fashioned eating place, and we enjoyed our lunch and the chance to sit down. While we were eating, a long protest march came past – the pro-Palestinians have had marches in a lot of Irish cities today, apparently.

Me, very excited, spotting a Carroll's Gift shop!

Cork city on the River Lee

Lunch was here

After lunch, we set out to find St Phinbarr’s Cathedral, which was across the river. By now it was raining quite heavily, so we took shelter in a second hand book shop until it eased a bit. We both ended up with a book to read (I like to reread Maeve Binchy’s books when in Ireland!) and set off again when it was a bit lighter. The Cathedral is a most impressive building, though it could do with a good clean. It was built in the 1860s on the site of a previous medieval church, and they certainly lavished a lot of love and attention to detail. The architect, William Burges was a great fan of the gothic, you can tell. The paintings on the ceiling above the altar were stunning, even after all this time.

Glorious detail on the ceiling

St Finn Barre's Cathedral, front

Me at the back, looking very damp

By three o’clock, we realised we’d better make our way back to the bus stop, as we were supposed to meet Lex back at the Park & Ride around 4. The rain was coming down again, so we were fairly wet and miserable by this stage! The GPS in my phone wasn’t working, so it was a relief to finally spot the bus stop and take shelter.

View from the bus of St Patrick's Street looks like an Impressionist painting!

Lex quite enjoyed the Cork Museum, but found it rather heavy on political history. After that, he drove to Ballycotton and had a rather damp walk along the cliffs there. It rained the entire time! We were all glad to get into the warm car and finally reach home, after a very wet drive. Since then, we’ve had tea, and will now have to think about packing, because tomorrow we head towards the west coast. It’s a cool, rainy Irish evening, but we are happy to be cosy and warm inside!

View from the cliffs at Ballycotton

Jo and I have researched Fred Astaire in Lismore this evening, and have discovered that our place once used to be Madden’s pub. His sister married the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Cavendish, and lived at Lismore Castle from the 30s to the 70s, so Fred was a frequent visitor at both the castle and the pub! His daughter unveiled the plaque outside in 2000.

                        I said the place is quirky - we get to the toilet by going down, then across,                                                                     then up.  And the chandelier is a nice touch!