Cobh & The South Coast of Ireland

The smell of salt air on the breeze, the cry of gulls from above and the tolling of Cathedral bells announcing the hour...  We are on Ireland's South Coast, in County Cork starting out our Wild Atlantic Way tour in the harbour town of Cobh!

Our Airbnb Near Cobh

Crossing from County Tipperary into County Cork the landscape had changed entirely once again.  The heather-laden Knockmealdown mountains gave way once more to softly rolling hills covered in pasture lands leading down to the sea near Cobh.   The coastline was so confusing, there were so many inlets, lakes, rivers, islands and harbours it was hard to tell what was part of the mainland and what was an island.

Watching The Cruise Ships In Cork Harbour

The summer light was still intense well into the late evening, a bonus of Ireland being so far North.  After sunning ourselves on the deck of our Airbnb cottage and watching the cruise ships come and go into Cork harbour, we decided to drive the 20 minutes into Cobh (via Midleton) and check it out.  Cobh is pronounced "cove" and actually was briefly renamed Queenstown from 1849 to 1922 after Queen Victoria visited Ireland.  

Cobh sits on the south shore of Great Island in Cork Harbour.  The town is dominated by its beautiful Gothic cathedral perched regally on a cliff high above the harbour.  St. Colman's; with its tall spire reaching up to the sky.  This is one of the tallest buildings in Ireland and one of the biggest spires in all of Europe.   Forty-nine bells are housed within that steeple, and when St. Colman's chimed the hour, it was like listening to a symphony!  Walking past the Cathedral, there was a footpath that winds down some steep steps leading down to Cobh's historic waterfront.

Cork Cathedral

Now be ready, Cobh is all things Titanic. The last stop of the RMS Titanic was here in Queenstown (Cobh) to pick up 123 passengers before crossing the Atlantic on April 11, 1912.  Or at least, she tried to.  There is a wonderful virtual museum called the Titanic Experience that is housed in the actual former White Star Cruise Ship Line ticket office on Cobh's waterfront.  The pilings in the water in front of the ticket office are the remnants of the pier where the Titanic was once docked just over 100 years ago-chilling.  A €9.50, half-hour guided tour lets you experience what those passengers getting on the Titanic at Cobh experienced the night she went down.  I must admit I loved the James Cameron movie Titanic and must have watched it 100 times.  It was quite a stirring feeling standing on Cobh's waterfront and staring out into Cork Harbour knowing what was to befall all those people aboard that doomed ship.  You can purchase your tickets for The Titanic Experience online at the above link.

Lusitania Memorial 

There is a stirring memorial on Cobh's waterfront to another doomed cruise ship; the RMS Lusitania that was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915, three years after the Titanic sank. Cobh's harbour actually has a long busy history of transatlantic voyages dating back for hundreds of years. Almost half of the 6 million Irish who immigrated to North America departed from the port of Cobh as well as the mass deportations of men, women and children bound for the penal colonies like Australia & Tasmania.  Today, Cobh is Irelands only dedicated cruise ship terminal, and it sees plenty of tourist action!  

Cobh's Pub Lines Street

Stroll the waterfront of Cobh and enjoy the pretty pub-lined street; picturesque as it is historic.  We passed so many seafood restaurants, cafes, bistros and traditional Irish pubs we were spoiled for choice when it came to dinner,  but some fresh fish and chips were what we were after that night. 



Sitting in a waterfront restaurant enjoying our fish & chip dinner complete with the traditional (and delicious) side of mushy peas. We watched the last of the daylight slip slowly away into the night and the last of the cruise ships departing from the waterfront. I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine thinking about the infamous Titanic leaving from this very port 100 years ago; St. Colman's steeple being the last church the passengers ever saw.

Old Midleton Distillery

Nearby in the town of Midleton, there is a foodie mecca awaiting to be discovered.  This pretty little Market town is also home to the Old Midleton Distillery; producer of Jameson's Whiskey.  The distillery was in production here for 150 years before a new distillery complex was built next to the existing building in 1975, producing 24 million bottles of Jameson, Powers and Paddy whiskies every year.  The old distillery building has been restored to its former glory and offers visitors a short film, a 45 minute guided tour and teaches the story of Irish Whiskey making.  The tour ends up in the tasting room where you have a glass of delicious Irish Whiskey and compares Irish Whiskey to Scotch Whisky (so much more than the spelling).  The tour is  €16 (cheaper if booked online) daily in the summer from 10:00-4:430, and it is my vote for the best whiskey tour in Ireland.  www.jamesonwhiskey.com.  

Ardmore's Round Tower

A great day trip from Cobh is the little seaside tourist town of Ardmore about an hour away towards Waterford along the N25.  Ardmore (Ard Mór or Aird Mórh meaning "great height" in Irish) is a sweet little resort town with the most fantastic swimming beach.   For the history buff, Ardmore is a must, with a beautiful ruined Church and a completely intact gorgeous round tower.  The Abbey is the oldest Christian settlement in Ireland because of Saint Declan who arrived here and built an ecclesiastical hermitage in 416 a good 15 years before St. Patrick set foot in Ireland.  The round tower up on the hill overlooking Ardmore is one of the finest in all of Ireland with three distinct outer rings which is most unusual.  The surrounding graveyard is so serene; its Celtic crosses overlooking the Irish Sea.   The ruined Cathedral has many early Christian carvings on its west facade, and inside the Cathedral there are two fantastic Ogham Stones. Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet consisting of lines used to write the Old Irish language.  Most of the Ogham stones that survive today are located in Southern Ireland. 

There is also a lovely scenic stroll around the cliffs of Ardmore that is a gentle, one-hour walk.  Park at the beautiful Cliff House Hotel and follow the path along the cliffs for stunning coastal scenery (it eventually heads inland and back into town).

The South Coast of Ireland has so many charming towns to discover you could spend weeks just rambling from village to village. We were so taken with Cobh, we didn't even get the chance to visit Kinsale with its impressive star-shaped fort overlooking the waterfront.  This broke my heart a little because I was looking forward to seeing Kinsale, but it makes me realize I will have to come to Ireland again to see all that I missed on my first visit.   

Even though Cobh is a busy tourist port of call for cruise ships that pull into the harbour daily in the summer, most passengers don't stay to explore amicable little Cobh or the other small towns of the South Coast.  The tourist crowds go straight on excursions to Killarney National Park or to slobber on that old Blarney Stone, leaving Cobh, Middleton, Ardmore and Kinsale a peaceful delight to discover.  I hope you have the chance to explore all that Southern Ireland has to offer too!



Have you discovered any favourite little Irish villages?  Let me know in the comments below❣

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Ireland's Ancient East-Off The Beaten Path

"Irelands Ancient East" is a tourist route stretching from Dublin to Cork.  While Ireland's East holds many splendid monuments, its the little surprises of discovering towns off the beaten tourist path that makes this area a delight to explore.

Hore Abbey As Seen From The Rock Of Cashel

Atop the mighty Rock of Cashel, the clouds threatened rain all morning, and the wind was continually whipping us about.  We had thought to walk out to the picturesque Hore Abbey at the bottom of the Rock of Cashel to explore the evocative ruins.  You can drive down to Camus Road and park in the little pullout and walk the few hundred meters to the Abbey; most likely you will be the only ones there!  The abbey was founded in 1266 right before the dissolution of the monasteries in Ireland, which left 12,000 people (1 out of 50 according to the population of the time) out of work!  In fact, it was the last Cistercian Abbey in all of Ireland.  The name of Hore Abbey was curious to me, and I asked our Rock of Cashel tour guide if it referred to hoarfrost and he said the name was actually related to the Irish word "iubhair" or Yew tree. Hmmm... I thought.  Yew trees were the "tree of death and rebirth" in the Druid and Viking mythology...how fascinating!
The Abbey was dissolved in 1540 ended up in the hands of the Butlers, a powerful family in the region.



After a few hours upon the cold, windy and forlorn Rock of Cashel, in County Tipperary, we were ready for some hot lunch, so we decided to skip the walk to Hore Abbey after all, and go off the beaten path a bit and have a pub lunch in the town our Airbnb hosts had recommended: Cahir.  There is an excellent website run by the Irish Tourist Board Ireland's Ancient East that is a great resource for everything to do in the East/South of Ireland.  

The Busy Streets Of Cahir

Cahir is an ancient Irish town, and the name derives from "Cathair"  which means "stone ring fort."  The name is pronounced "care," but we had no idea and called it "KA-here" until I asked someone.  Today Cahir is a pretty little market town with a big castle smack in the middle of it.  One of the biggest castles in Ireland, it sits on an island in the River Suir and has several white swans swimming leisurely around in front of it.  The castle was built in two parts, the first on the site of a stone ring fort in 1142 by one of the O'Brien clan descending from The High King of Ireland. Cahir Castle was then expanded and gifted to the Butler family in 1375 by King Edward III of England.  The Butlers became the Earls of Cahir in 1542, and for hundreds of years, Cahir castle remained in the Butler family.  Hey wait; are these the SAME Butlers that owned Hore Abbey?  Yes-they owned everything (including the Castle in Kilkenny)!  



Cahir has so many good pubs to choose from it was ridiculous!  Now that the sun was out, we decided to skip the pub this lunch, and settled on a fresh food cafe across the street from Cahir castle called The River House Cafe.  A large variety of salads, sandwiches made on order, traditional Irish hot lunches and tempting desserts; this cafe had everything we wanted to eat, plus a patio where we could soak up the sun and admire the views of the castle.

The Swiss Cottage

Mimicking Natures Design

After lunch, we walked around town and kept seeing signs for "The Swiss Cottage."  It was listed on my OPW brochure as a heritage site, so we decided to go check it out.  The Swiss cottage was just a 5-minute drive out of Cahir along the R670 or a 2km walk from Cahir Castle.  Following the tourist signs down a pretty tree-lined lane, you come to a shaded parking lot, and a footpath leads you through the forest and across a bridge over the  River Suir. Liam decided to have a nap in the car, while "the olds" went to check out the cottage.  A tunnel built straight into the hillside leads you to the entrance of the Swiss Cottage.  This was once the servant's entrance to the house, and the kitchen area is now the OPW office where the cottage tour begins.  

Swiss Cottage Balcony

The Swiss Cottage is a name the locals gave to the Cottage owned by the Butlers as a country getaway from the castle.  This house was built in 1810 and is a "cottage orné" or an ornamental cottage like Marie Antoinette's "petit hameau" at Versailles.  A free 40 minute guided tour of this fully restored thatch cottage is included in the price of admission (€5, or free with your Heritage Card) and is a great way to spend an hour. 
  

1,000 Year Old Yew Tree

This small cottage was so unique; mimicking natural design with supporting beams carved like tree trunks, furniture carved by hand to look like tree branches, custom wallpaper from Paris and no two windows in the entire cottage are alike!  The Swiss Cottage fell into disrepair when the last Duke of Cahir spent the Butler fortune and died without any children.  The cottage fell into ruin, was covered with brambles and even a local farmers' horse was squatting in the house!  Some local residents feared for this historic building and started to clean it up.  A Canadian Woman bought the Swiss Cottage in the 1980s with the intention of renovating it (there is no kitchen or washrooms in the cottage), but she fell ill and had to return to Canada.  The Swiss Cottage luckily fell into the hands of the local historical society and is now fully restored and run by the OPW.

There are no formal gardens at the Swiss Cottage, but there is an ancient Yew tree at the side of the house that was thought to be planted by monks 1,000 years ago when this was rumoured to be the site of an early Celtic/Christian monastery.  Here was another example of Irish monasteries and yew trees mentioned together; now my interest was peaking.  What was the connection?

View From Vee Gap

We needed to get moving to Cobh to check into our next Airbnb before the dinner hour, so we set a direct route on our Garmin GPS unit; Sangeeta.  We continued along on Regional Road 668, and as soon as we passed a village called Clogheen, the road began to twist and wind it's way up the mountainside in repeated hairpin turns rising above the farmer's fields and church steeples.  We didn't know it at the time, but we were on a scenic route through the 'Vee Gap' in the Knockmealdown Mountains and entering County Waterford.

Knockmealdown Summit

Knockmealdown is an Anglicised version of old Irish "Cnoc"= hill  "Mhaoldomhnaigh" = Muldowney.  So 'Muldowney's Hill' is just over 2,600 feet and separate County Tipperary and County Waterford.  The drive was worth the twists and turns offering peeks at photogenic sheep and pretty views of heather-covered mountains.  There is a viewpoint near the top of the mountain called Bay Lough car park, and you can walk to the summit of Knockmealdown (The Google said it was a 38-minute walk to the Knockmealdown summit cairn).  There is lots of hiking and walking in the Knockmealdowns check out this website:   www.knockmealdownactive.com for more ideas. 

Lismore Castle

Our route continued to take us south on the R668 to the beautiful village of Lismore, in County Waterford.  Lismore (or Lois Mór in Irish, meaning Great Ringfort) is a delightful little village with a huge castle which was built about the same time as the Cahir castle.  Also like Cahir castle, Lismore castle was built on the site of a large ringfort of an Irish King.  This is one castle NOT owned by the Butler family,  but there is a long and sordid history for this beautiful landmark.  The Lismore castle is now owned by the Cavendish family who lives in the castle, so it is not open for touring, but you can rent the castle as a small group, or you can visit the castle's public gardens.   Lismore also has a Medieval Cathedral dedicated to Saint Carthage who "founded" Lismore in the early 600's.  What this really means is that St. Carthage (also known as Mochuda or Mo Chutu in Irish) built the first abbey in Lismore and started converting the Pagan Kings, which wasn't too hard for him since both his mother, father and clan foster-father were influential members of three prominent Irish tribes.  St. Mochuda was an interesting dude, and the cathedral is definitely worth a peek.  It has been reconstructed several times over the centuries due to fires, but the stained glass windows (by artist Edward Burne-Jones) are freakin' sublime!

 
Eventually, we arrived at our little Airbnb house overlooking the harbour town of Cobh.  The view was magnificent, and we could smell the salt air of the ocean on the wind.  We spent some time lounging on the deck in the sunshine having a delicious Irish beer and reflecting on all the places we had discovered that day.  Ireland's East has so much to discover!

Have you found some off-the-beaten-path places in Ireland's Ancient East?  I would love to hear about it in the comments below!

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Rock Of Cashel, Ireland

Above the Plains of County Tipperary, a castle set high upon a rock outcropping dominates the skyline.  The Rock Of Cashel was once a stronghold of Kings and a sacred place for Saints; now, it is a top tourist attraction for Ireland...

Freshford Airbnb

Travelling over the heather-covered Wicklow Mountains from Glendalough and across County Carlow to the fertile, rolling hills of County Kilkenny felt like a dramatic change.   Looking at the mountains covered in farm pastures reminded me of a patchwork quilt gently pulled over the undulating land, tucking it in for a night of deep sleep.  Each pasture seemed to be a different shade of green or gold and dotted with tiny cotton balls that I realized were sheep grazing in the fields.  We had spent the night in a sweet little Airbnb near a small village called Freshford, between the medieval town of Kilkenny and Cashel.  Once crossing into County Tippery that morning towards Cashel, the land changed again into flat pastoral farmlands that were once vast Oak forests.

Hore Abbey; Dreamy Plains of Tipperary

County Tipperary (or Tipp, as the locals call it) is in the Province of Munster.  The Rock of Cashel was once the seat of the High King of Munster from 300-1100, c.e., and you can see why.  The 200-foot limestone outcropping allows for a 360-degree view of any armies advancing towards the rock.  The walled fortification completely encloses the castle and is still solid 1,000 years after their building.   
Here are the details for visiting the Rock of Cashel:

TIP: The Rock of Cashel is one of Irelands busiest tourist sites, so heed my warning: GO EARLY OR LATE IN THE DAY!  There is a parking lot at the base of the Rock, and it cost €4.50 for the day.  IT FILLS UP FAST!  You could easily spend an hour or two in the morning at The Rock of Cashel and then walk down to the town of Cashel to grab lunch or do some shopping.  The opening hours of the Rock are 9:00 am- 7:00pm in the summer, and the cost is €8 per person or €20 per family (unless you have your Heritage Card).  You can not purchase tickets ahead of time or online, and a FREE 45-minute tour is included in your entry fee.  You must pay €3 extra to tour the newly renovated Cormac's Chapel.  The Rock of Cashel is run by the OPW, and their website for the Rock of Cashel is HERE.

Tour Group At The Rock Of Cashel

Walking up the 100-metre road to the entrance of the Rock feels intimidating. You can't help but think of the thousands of years of history behind this mighty Gaelic Kingdom stronghold.   Our tour guide told me the pre-Celtic Pagans called this place "Rock Of The Mists," and archeologists agree this was highly likely a Pagan sacred site from the first century BCE.    There is strong evidence that Carraig Phádraig (the Irish name for Rock of Cashel) dates back further to the Bronze- Age 500 b.c.e, and more research is scheduled to be done at The Rock.  There is a well in the centre of the Rock that probably comes from a natural spring.  The first original "Caiseal " or Iron-Age stone forts and subsequent buildings were built around this well.  Ask your tour guide to show you where the well is; it's almost entirely hidden near the back entrance of the Cathedral.  In 1848 the well was dredged, and an ancient chalice was found! 

The Cathedral Of The Rock

You may notice that The Rock of Cashel is also called The Rock of Kings but is referred to as St. Patrick's Rock as well.  In 450 CE, Saint Patrick came up to the Rock and baptized Ireland's last Pagan King, King Aengus, to Christianity at this sacred site.  The conversion of Irish Pagans to Christianity took a very long time, and you can see evidence of this in the graveyard at the Rock of Cashel.  There are some splendid Celtic High Crosses in the cemetery here.  The Celtic Cross has a ring around the Latin cross representing the Sun, which was venerated by the Irish Celts, therefore trying to make Christian conversion a little easier on the Pagans. 

Irish High Cross in Rock of Cashel Cemetary

The other early Christian symbol found on the Rock of Cashel is its impressive Round Tower.  The Rock of Cashel was famously given to the Catholic Church in 1101 by Murtagh O'Brien to prevent the powerful rival McCarthy Clan from regaining its possession.  The first building the Church built in 1101 when they gained possession of The Rock was the 28 meter, 3-foot thick stone round tower still in excellent shape today.  This tower served as a lookout and bell tower and is a structure very unique to Ireland.

Round Tower Of Cashel

Now, you can read all about the history of  Carraig Phádraig online or in books, you can look at pictures on Google Images, but I want to tell you how The Rock FEELS to me.  This place is intense, the strong wind whips you, and it howls through the old stone buildings making eerie sounds.  The mood is heavy and sombre, even when the sun was out.  I couldn't understand why it was so majestic atop The Rock yet so desolate and even forsaken feeling - why?  

Cormack's Chapel Next To The Cathedral

Shortly after the round tower was built, The Rock of Cashel needed a "real" church to have a bishop.  In 1127 the King of Cashel, Cormac McCarthy, ordered the building of a church named after him;  Cormack's Chapel.  The church was built in a Romanesque style. This style was influenced by continental European basilicas of the time but still very unique to all other Irish Romanesque churches.  Cormack's Chapel was consecrated in 1134 and has been the bishop's official seat since 1152, and therefore needed a Cathedral; those renovations projects never end!  

Do tour Cormacks Chapel; it is beautiful and contains the oldest and best-preserved frescoes in Ireland dating back to 1160-1170.  This is quite a feat considering how wet Ireland is...and plaster does not like moisture.   This was another trend brought to Ireland from Rome via the church.   Also, the elaborately carved sarcophagus of King Cormack (or perhaps his older brother King Tadhg) is housed in the Chapel, moved here in the 1800s from its original place in the Cathedral.

Inside Cashel's Cathedral

The most evocative place upon The Rock of Cashel hands-down is the Gothic Cathedral.  Construction began in 1169 and lasted several decades, and was finally consecrated in 1234.
Wander around in this massive, roofless structure and gaze up and imagine how glorious this Cathedral must have been in its prime, bathed in alabaster light from the enormous windows.  

Medieval Tombstone

This is where the history of Cashel becomes dark, bloody and sad.   When Oliver Cromwell's army came through during the Confederate Wars in 1647, they attacked the Catholic stronghold of Cashel.  The surrounding countrysides village and townspeople (between 2,000-3,000 people) fled to the safety of the mighty Rock of Kings and into the cathedral's sanctuary.  Cromwell's men packed turf around the cathedral's exterior and set it ablaze, burning all the men, women and children inside it alive.   After this massacre, Cashel never regained its former splendour and stood a symbol of rebellion against the English rule.  Walking on top of the medieval tombstones that line the ground and looking up to the open sky where the cathedral roof used to be, one can imagine the tragic horror that occurred in this very spot hundreds of years ago.  You also get the eeriest feeling that you ...are perhaps being watched. 👻

From the 1700s on, the buildings on the Rock began to fall into sad ruin, and the bishop of Cashel moved to the village.  The Rock of Kings sat derelict for hundreds of years until relatively recently when historians, archeologists and tourists have revived interest in this historic place.  Renovations on the buildings are ongoing while the site remains open to the public.  The Rock has also become a highly sought-after venue for theatre events, concerts and masterclasses, rejuvenating this iconic place to another incarnation (a hopefully happy one) of its long history.

Touring the Rock of Cashel is an experience I will not soon forget and provided me with a visceral lesson in Irish history.

Have you ever gotten the "heebie-geebies" in a historic site?  Tell me about it in the comments below...

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