Ireland, part 5: Ennis and County Clare

Desmond Hall

It was nearly the end of a wonderful two week trip!  We drove up from Killarney, making an impromptu stop at Desmond Hall, built in the 15th century, used by the Earl of Desmond strictly for entertaining.  Our tour guide was so interesting, pointing out a spout that was used to pour holy wine back into the foundation of the building (a 13th century church originally on site).  He even allowed us to sit in the 'thrones' in the banquet hall. There was a second hall on site that was converted to a dance hall and then a movie theatre in the early 20th century.

A second banquet hall 

The Royal Family ;-)

  Next we went a bit out of our way to see the 4000-year-old Grange Stone Circle, about 150 feet in diameter with 113 stones.  It is the largest in Ireland, built during the Bronze Age. It may have been built and used for a Celtic feast to celebrate the beginning of the harvest.

The cows didn't seem impressed --
but we were!

The Ennis Friary had beautiful 14th century carvings, including one of St. Francis, plus lovely limestone statues.

Carvings at Ennis Friary

 

We checked into the B&B earlier than expected, so we drove out to the Cliffs of Moher.  This turned out to be a great idea because it was a clear day and we arrived after most of the crowds had left. The cliffs themselves were spectacular. We walked along the cliffs for quite a bit, passing someone playing the flute, which added nicely to the soundtrack of the day.  We had a lovely dinner in Lisconner and a beautiful sunset on the drive back to Ennis.

The Cliffs of Moher defy description!

   

Thursday we drove to the Burren Centre, which was a mistake as we meant the Burren National Park visitor center.  Oh well.  A nice lady explained where we could go to hike, which was our real intention. The Blue Loop Trail was a "very strenuous" 7.5 km hike that felt a lot longer, but was worth every stop.  The limestone rock stretched out in very direction.  We hiked up hill after hill, then found a herd of mountain goats at the peak.  How  amazing!  After a picnic lunch, we headed back to the car under a very light drizzle that felt amazing as well.

Hiking through the Burren

A selfie with mountain goats!

     
 




Further into the Burren, we went to Poulnabrone dolmen, which is older than the Pyramids of Giza or Stonehenge.  Then we drove along Galway Harbor to Block Head, with view of Aran Islands and Connemara National Park.  We stopped along the water for tea and brownies, then had a great Mexican dinner (yes, really) in Ennis.

Friday was our last full day in Ireland. At breakfast we discussed plans for the day: Loop Head, Connemara, or castles...  Castles won out.  Dysert O'Dea Castle and Clare Archaeology Center has 25 field monuments. First was a church with 12th century high cross.  Then we went to the castle (self-tour) and paid extra for a map of the monuments.  We know how to read a map, but somehow missed ll of the sites we were supposed to see.  We did find where the stone fort would be, but the thick, thick mud made us turn around.  Oh well.  Dysert O'Dea was probably the biggest disappointment of the trip, but still wasn't that bad.

Dysert O'Dea

Beautiful carvings

We couldn't end with disappointment, so drove to Limerick to King John's Castle (and museum).  It was a wonderful museum with interactive displays and a minstrel who played such lovely music on a variety of instruments. St. Mary's Cathedral was nearby, but had closed by the time we arrived.  We did get to eat some yummy street crepes (banana and Nutella) as we walked through Limerick.

Crawling through tunnels
during the siege

  
Our last stop was spontaneous, following a sign for Quin Abbey, a 12th century ruin, but most of it was intact, including a full cloister.  What a tranquil spot -- one of my favorites of the trip.  Right across the street was The Abbey Tavern, a great spot for our final meal in Ireland.

Quin Abbey

We were blessed to have such a wonderful (and relatively dry) trip.  Our rental car had almost 3000-km on those narrow winding Irish roads during our two-week trip, as we tried to get a real taste of Ireland without rushing to squeeze in as much as possible.  Speaking of 'taste', we ate some great food, drank some great beers (only my husband, beer is just not for me), and enjoyed so many interesting snacks as well.  Roast beef and Irish stout flavored potato chips or pulled pork popcorn are not available in the States!  Maybe we'll go back for another two weeks to focus on the sites -- and the food-- we missed, but there's so many other places we haven't seen yet...

Back to the first part of our trip:  http://readyforthenextvacation.blogspot.com/2016/10/ireland-part-1-counties-kildare-and.html