May 10, 2024 Killarney to Waterford

Our luggage was out in the hall this morning and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. the sky had some cloud, but it was mostly sunny the whole day. Starting temperature was 12°C and by noon was 18°C with a bit of wind from the south. We were on the road to Blarney before 8:30 a.m. It took a little over an hour before the coach had parked in the Blarney Woollen Mills parking lot.

Many group members visited Blarney Castle and Gardens. The fee was €17 for seniors. We had been to the castle on our first visit, so we wandered around the town for over three kilometres. The stone Blarney Castle was completed in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster. Blarney Castle and 1401 acres were purchased in 1703 by Sir James Jefferyes Govern of nearby Cork and has remained in the family since then. His grandson, James St. John Jefferyes, brought commercial development to the village, building water mills to attract industry including linen bleaching, a paper mill, a flour mill and ironworks. In 1765 the village of Blarney was built as a place for the linen industry workers to live. On three sides of the Village Green workers cottages were built. The centre of the Village Green was used to dry the linen after it had been bleached and rinsed, The sheets were laid out on the grass and a guard watched from a guardhouse at the corner of the green. Today at the four corners of the green are small gardens of rhododendron.

With exploring done, we walked over to the Blarney Woollen Mills store, which is a four storey department store with furniture and housewares, but on the ground floor there is souvenirs and clothing including many kinds of woollen goods. As this was also a lunch stop, we bought cranberry scones and cappuccinos then sat on the patio. By 12:20 p.m. the coach was on its way to Waterford, with a 10 minute cushion of time for our 2:30 p.m. tour of Waterford Crystal.

Shortly after leaving Blarney we came to one of three road construction delays, each lasting between eight and 12 minutes. After the third delay, Peter vowed that for the rest of the season he would take the scenic route that was about ten minutes longer than our route was normally, but as far as he knew had no road works on it.

We finally arrived at the House of Waterford Crystal showroom just before 3 o’clock. The sun felt warm even though it was just 19°C. Peter was able to arrange an early (8:30 a.m.) tour of the factory for tomorrow as we had missed our time slot for today. There was almost an hour to browse the Waterford Crystal showroom or roam the Viking Triangle of historic buildings close by. After a brief look at the beautiful pricey crystal glasses, bowls, vases and frames, we crossed the street and wandered in the Viking Triangle for half an hour..

Waterford was founded in 914 on the Sur River by Vikings who were living in England. A century later Waterford was known, by fishermen who fished near Newfoundland, as located in the parish of St. John. That is how St. John’s Newfoundland got its name. In the Viking Triangle, which was the area of the first settlement, was the Bishops Palace which is over 250 years old; Christ Church Cathedral, completed in 1779; the modern Medieval museum, completed in 2013 and a reduced scale replica of the Viking ship, Vādrārfjorr by Reginald’s Tower. Originally the site of a wooden Viking fort, the Anglo-Normans after conquering Waterford built the stone tower in the 12th century. Two more floors were added in the 15th century. It has been in continuous use for over 800 years. Returning back to the coach we passed the old City Hall and Mayor’s Treasury.

Norman found a parking place and we boarded the coach for the 780 meter drive to the hotel, which took the better part of ten minutes due to heavy traffic. The passengers that had the optional pub and Irish songs excursion had 20 minutes to freshen up before leaving. We opted out and went for a wander.

The Granville Hotel was the home of the Meagers, a rich merchant family. Thomas Frances Meagher was born in the house in 1823. He was one of a delegation of young Irelanders who visited France and was inspired by the French tricolour flag. He created the green, white and orange tricolour as a symbol for Irish independence and flew it from the house at No. 33, The Mall, where an Irish flag flys today. This was also the flag that flew over the Dublin General Post office in 1916. It was not until 1937 that it became the official flag of Ireland. He was an Irish Nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the failed Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sentenced to death but received transportation for life to Van Dieman’s Land (now Tasmania) in Australia.” He escaped Van Dieman’s Land and found passage to the United States where he was warmly greeted by his Irish countrymen. He toured North and South America and was called to the bar in New York in 1855. When the American Civil War broke out he joined the 69th Regiment and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. He was one of the pall bearers at President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral. He retired from the army and was appointed United States Secretary and acting governor of Montana territory. Meager died suspiciously in 1867 having fallen or been pushed from a Mississippi steamer.

We were looking for an ice cream store since the temperature was almost 20°C, the warmest since we arrived in Ireland over a week ago. The sun shone all day with just a bit of a breeze. First we needed to get some cash and found a bank ATM near the hotel. We started on Great George Street and saw a small mall that might have an ice store, but it had moved so we went out a different entrance and walked up hill until it looked like we should choose a different street. We found a lane then some stairs and found a street with business and residential streets running from it. We turned downhill toward the spire of Christ Church Cathedral and ended up by the House of Waterford and knew where we were. We found Gino’s Gelato which had very good gelato then returned to the hotel. We changed for dinner and waited in the bar to see when the pub group would return.

They arrived about ten minutes before the dinner reservation. The group had a room to ourselves and occupied five tables. There was a limited menu with three starters and four main courses. Dessert was a plate with three different desserts - a bite size brownie, Pavlova and cheesecake. An alcoholic beverage was included as well as coffee or tea. After dinner we walked with Jeannie and Mark down Broad Street to show them Gino’s Gelato.

Total steps 16,157