|
 
                
|
LIMERICK, IRELAND
I arranged a tour from Limerick along the coast to Galway at the Dublin Tourism Center since I was short on time and wasn't going to rent my own car. I got to Limerick by taking the 7:00am train from the Dublin Heuston station. I transfered at Limerick Junction and arrived in Limerick at 9:00am. I met the driver and 4 others (1 guy from Wales, 1 guy from England, and 2 women from the states) and we were off at 9:30am.
 We went to Dolan's Pub (3/4 Dock Road) for breakfast. I ordered the Full Irish Breakfast for €6.95 which included 1 egg, 2 sausages, bacon, black & white pudding, beans & sauté and potatoes. MMMMMM! Delicious! Oh yea and I also had a Smithwick's. Mmmmmm! Beer goes with everything! Luckily the Welsh and the English guy were with me and I didn't have to drink alone. That's no fun! Then they talked me into a second pint and we raced and I actually beat the English guy. Humm maybe I shouldn't be proud of that! He must have let me win. I was really getting full so I gave half my breakfast to the Welsh guy to make room for our last pint. I was a wee bit loopy by the end of breakfast. My tolerance was pretty low since it wasn't football season!
 After breakfast, we went to a few Angela's Ashes sites - though I was the only one in the group that had read the book. We went to see South's (4 Quinlan Street but the entrance is on O'Connell Street), the pub Frank McCourt's father Malachy frequented. Then we saw St. Michael's Church of Ireland where Frank and his friend watched the Protestants play croquet on the church lawn. Then we headed to Windmill Street where the tenement homes of the Keatings and McCourts stood. The area is now within the urban renewal zone and it is being gradually cleared and rebuilt. However, many of the small houses still stand.
 We then drove 13 miles to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park. Bunratty Castle (or Bun Ráite in Irish Gaelic) is one of the surviving examples of an Irish tower house. It's position on the river Shannon has made it the center of many battles, and it has it has been destroyed and re-built on at least eight occasions. The Castle is a cross between the earlier Norman Castles and later Gaelic tower houses. It is a rectangular tower with three main floors and four, six-storey corner turrets. It has been furnished with the finest collection of Medieval furniture in the country, thus preserving a vital part of the Celtic heritage.
 The Castle was quite impressive! A guide told us about the history in the main dining hall and then we got to wander around on our own for about an hour. We could walk up the winding stairs in all four towers and one of them led to the roof and beautiful views of Shannon River and Limerick.
After seeing the castle, I walked around the folk park for a while. The park recreates rural and urban life in 19th century Victorian Ireland. Yes, it was a bit on the cheesy side but it did give you a sense of how village people from different economic backgrounds lived. For the last 20 minutes, I browsed the gift shop and bought a Guinness lanyard and bottle opener. I'm trying to find gifts for 30 or so students I work with but no luck here. Guinness souveniers aren't quite appropriate for high school students! hahaha
Doolin >
|
The origin of Limerick city dates back to the 9th century a site settled by the Vikings.
Limerick City is known as "City of the Broken Treaty", due to the treaty which was signed surrendering the city to William. The terms of the treaty included respect for the rights of Catholics were immediately breached. The treaty was signed on the Treaty Stone which can still be seen today.
Bunratty Castle Booking Office:
Telephone : (061)36 0788
Fax : (061)36 1020
liddyt@shannon-dev.ie
|
