Ireland
We visited Ireland over a four day, Forth of July weekend. We flew in to Dublin and drove through Waterford, Cork, Kinsale and Limerick. Here are a few pictures from our visit.
Guinness brewery, Dublin. We toured the brewery and had free samples at the end.
Trinity College, Dublin. The book of Kells, the beautifully illustrated book written in 800 A.D. is available for viewing in Trinity's old library.
Blarney Castle;
the location of the Blarney Stone is indicated by the red arrow. The stone is
set in the wall of the high tower. The walls of the castle are 18 feet thick.
The Blarney Stone is half of the Stone of Scone which originally belonged to
Scotland. Scottish Kings were crowned over the stone, because it was
believed to have special powers. One of the stories says that an old woman
cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning.
Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to talk
sweetly. He was able to talk anyone into doing things. The
stone was given to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in return for his
support in a battle. Queen Elizabeth I wanted the Irish chiefs to agree to hold
their own lands under title from her.
Cormac Teige McCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, handled her every Royal
wish with clever promises keeping loyalty to the Queen without "giving
in". Elizabeth proclaimed that McCarthy was giving her "a
lot of Blarney." This is how the story began that if you kiss the blarney
stone you will also be able to make clever promises.
Kevin, kissing the Blarney Stone