Carlow and Around Dublin

Small but beautiful

Kilkenney Castle, Co. Kilkenney:This pair of images was meant to be a sort of panoramic shot of the castle, but I couldn't seem to reconcile the two without losing a good deal of the picture quality, so you'll all just have to use your imagination. ;) Kilkenney Castle is special for me because it was the first true castle I saw in Ireland. Also, it has an interesting history; apparently, while Cromwell was rampaging around the countryside, he decided to harass the owners of this castle. When the owner, a lady, refused to give it to him, he knocked down the fourth wall. This is the direction we're facing it. Talk about throwing a tantrum.

Afternoon on the River Boyne: This is a portion of the River Boyne from a bridge on the walk to Newgrange (see below). Just upriver from here was the famous Battle of the Boyne, which led to the Flight of the Earls from Ireland to England, leaving much of the country in semi-poverty and semi-lawlessness. The arts were especially affected at this time, as there were no patrons.

Newgrange (Bru Na Boinne): Ok, I "borrowed" this picture. Newgrange is quite an interesting thing. It is a megalithic ("big stone") passage tomb built during the Bronze Age, I think. The whole structure is made of a mound of rocks and dirt. Many of the rocks came from far away, and it is still unclear how it was made. Around it are several sentinel boulders, and a highly organized burial site for (sacrificial?) animals.

Newgrange, entranceway and front stone: Here is the entrance passage which is lined with large upright carved stones, and which leads up into a central burial chamber covered over by a capstone and a big pile 'o dirt. In the chamber itself there are three smaller burial areas, aligned with the compass. In different areas of the chamber, and on the front rock, are carven abstract images of swirls and other designs, whose meaning is unknown. On the Winter Solstice, the sun enters a small window set above the passageway, strikes the back wall of the chamber, and illuminates the whole inside spectacularly.