Ireland in 5 days: Day 4, Southern tour

Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey! This day could have won an award for ‘most sites sighted.’ Instead of travelling the direct route from Dublin to Galway which would have taken about two hours, we had mapped out a 7- to 8-hour route that took us south toward Tipperary, Cork, and Dingle. Sadly, we didn’t get as far as Cork and Dingle, but we did see:
The Curragh. Wow, with a name like that, it was bound to be a sight! Well, not really. It’s basically a pretty field best known for battle scenes from Braveheart. But wasn’t he from Scotland? Yeah. As we drove along attempting to find the Curragh, we came up to a long line of traffic and having spotted some orange cones up ahead, we thought we ought to turn around to avoid construction. We found a different route to bypass the construction. However, when we finally came to that area, we realised that what we thought were orange construction cones were actually someone’s sheep! They had been sprayed orange (owners do this to tell whose is whose). And the delay was simply all of these orange sheep crossing the road to the other field. What a sight!! I dare say better than the Curragh.
A few pictures and we were back in the car to make our way to the Rock of Dunamase. This is one of the few ‘free’ sights on our journey and it’s actually one of the most historic in Ireland. First settled in the 9th century, the castle was built in the latter half of the 12th century. I think I can speak for everyone when I say, it was one of the most enjoyable and beautiful sights we encountered on this trip. I strongly encourage a look at pictures.
By this point, we thought it was about time for a pub stop. We popped into a lovely and certainly ‘local’ pub. Just a swift half with the three locals in the pub and we’d be back on the road. Next on the agenda was the Rock of Cashel. Also known as the Cashel of the Kings, it was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasions. While we did have a look at the outside and followed the ‘path of the dead’ a bit, we opted not to spend the money to go in. Instead, we had a lovely traditional lunch at Ryan’s Daughter cafe. It was the perfect warm and cosy setting since by that point it had begun to rain again. When our food came out, we knew we had chosen well... each plate only had the colours of the Irish flag: green (peas/celery), orange (carrots/yams), and white (mash) along with whatever meat dish we had chosen. Grande.
Irish spring is a maker of soap, tour-guide grandma was a seller of dope, at Castle Cahir, I did hear, the hung them both by a rope.
As you may have inferred from that bit of talented writing, Matt Metras began entertaining us in the car with some spontaneous limericks... After all, we were headed for Limerick. We didn’t stop in Limerick, but Matt Metras did recite one of his own as we drove through the city.
One last sight to see on our drive to Galway and this was definitely not to be missed. The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare are a well known tourist destination, but certainly one of those that really should be seen. Matt whipped the car along the winding and dipping roads through the rain in a frenzy to get us there before dusk. Once again, we defied death and made it just in time. Despite a few moments when I could feel my fear of heights getting the best of me, we managed to snap some really amazing shots of the cliffs and the sea far below.
We reached our B&B in Oranmore, a small town outside of Galway. We quickly dropped off our bags and went out in search of supper. Despite the size of this town, we found an incredible Indian restaurant. It was the most delightful Indian food I have EVER had. Once full and noticeably exhausted, we went back to our B&B and, as Metras said, “... to our surprise, there were no wifis, so we snuggled up cosy and warm.”

Side note: No where along this 7-8 hour drive was there a place to find a teacup. Foiled again! Tomorrow is another day?? Maybe?

Wales & Ireland