Cork, Blarney and Dingle

Getting to our hotel in Cork was quite an experience to say the least. For some reason, mom opted out of the GPS for the rental car, and I did not let her forget this the entire trip. We drove into the city of cork, out of the city of cork, around the city of cork (twice,) and then we finally found our hotel. We had plans to go to the Jameson Distillery and to the Cork City Gaol but it was pouring rain and we weren’t quite up to it. Instead we walked into town (in the pouring rain) to get some food. We ended up at a restaurant recommended by our hotel called Newport; they had good food, beer and it was out of the rain.

Monday morning we woke up early to head to the Cork City Gaol before heading to Blarney to visit the Blarney Castle. Because we didn’t get to see the Gaol in Dublin, I was really excited to see the one in Cork. You can do either an audio tour or a reading tour. The tour takes you through the Gaol and shows you the prisoner cells, the Governor’s office, the Warder’s room and tells you about a few prisoners who were kept there. Many of the prisoners were sent to the Gaol for stealing; including Edward O’Brien, a 9-year-old pick pocket who was sentenced to 3 weeks at the Gaol with whipping twice a week. Ouch. If a prisoner had previously tried to escape custody they would be forced to put their clothes outside of their cell at night so they would be less tempted to escape. The building itself was huge and I can’t remember the exact number of years it took to build, but it was put up very quickly, around 4 or 5. I really enjoyed the Gaol and the self-guided tour, it is definitely something I would recommend doing while in Cork.

After the Gaol we headed to the town of Blarney, only about 15 minutes away, to visit Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. Blarney Castle is on beautiful grounds, with a stream running through it and gardens throughout. There are extensive walking trails throughout the property that I would have really liked to explore: if it hadn’t been so damn cold. We waited for about an hour in a line that went throughout the castle, to kiss the Blarney Stone. The views from the top of the castle are really beautiful though, you can see the whole property and everything was so green and warm looking, even though it was anything but warm. The stairs going to the top of the castle may have been the smallest spiral staircase steps I have ever encountered. Be prepared to balance on them if you are waiting in line. Now in order to kiss the Blarney Stone you have to lay on the ground, grab some metal bars, lean your head back, and be held over a 2-foot gap between the top of the castle and the stone by a stranger. If you fell through, you would die.  There is a really great picture of me kissing the stone; however, I don’t have it. They have a professional photographer at the top taking your picture as you kiss the stone and you can purchase your photo as you leave: like Disney. However, the guy printing the photos did not understand that Mom, Dad and I all wanted our photos printed and instead printed just my mom and dad’s. We didn’t realize this until we had already left the castle’s property and it was too late. While I was very disappointed: it just means I will have to make another trip to Blarney and make sure I get a picture of me kissing the Blarney Stone.

Next stop on the trip was the Dingle Peninsula. When we got in on Monday we were really hungry so we dropped our stuff off at our B & B and went straight to dinner. We ate at Doyle’s Seafood Bar, which I highly recommend. Between the three of us we got: seafood chowder, oysters, crab cakes, goat cheese salad and seafood risotto. Everything was absolutely amazing and did not disappoint. After dinner we walked around town for a little while and then Dad and I went to a pub to hear a live band play for a little while.

Tuesday we were hoping to take a ferry to the Blasket Islands, but it was too cold and windy for them to be running. Instead, we drove the Slea Head Drive around the Dingle Peninsula. There are many interesting sites to stop at throughout the drive and many, many places with absolutely amazing views. Some of the places we stopped were the Dunbeg Fort, the Gallarus Oratory and the Blasket Island Visitor Center. The Blasket Island Visitor Center was a mini museum dedicated to the history of the Blasket Islands and to the writers that came from there. The Blaskets are a set of islands right off the coast of Dingle that were evacuated in the 1950s because the population had dwindled so low. The visitor center doesn’t look like much from outside; but inside it is very well taken care of and pretty high tech. It was one of my favorite things we did in Ireland and I definitely recommend it.  

After finishing up the Slea Head Drive we headed back into town and got dinner at Lord Bakers, the oldest pub in Dingle. Not only was the food absolutely amazing, but the service was incredible as well. The owner himself waited on us and he took the time to talk to us and you could tell he really cared about our satisfaction. If you plan on going during the busier season, a reservation is definitely a must. Following dinner we headed to a pub near our B & B to listen to some traditional Irish music for a couple of hours and drink more Guinness.

If the weather had been warmer there is much more we would have done in Dingle. I would have absolutely loved to go kayaking, bike riding and hiking. Even though there is more I would have liked to have done and seen, I still had a fantastic time in Dingle and would recommend it as a stop on anyone’s Irish vacation.

Up next we headed to County Clare to see the Cliffs of Moher and stayed and a Hotel Spa with some very interesting rules. That blog will be up in a couple of days!