We first saw the beautiful coast of Ireland upon our arrival at Cobh, the port city for Cork. This day was spent on a motor coach from the cruise line and we first headed along the southern coast of Ireland to the quaint village of Kinsale. While we had a lovely walk around this little seaside town, on this day it was overrun with tourists (like us) and we were happy to head off to Cork. Here we enjoyed a lunch of Irish Lamb Stew (at least, Jim enjoyed it; me not so much) while a wonderful Irish band played and young women danced the beautiful Irish dances, then we headed off to the main attraction, the Blarney Castle. The castle is now a partial ruin and at the top is the Stone of Eloquence (the Blarney Stone). On this day the line to kiss the stone was about an hour long (again just us and a thousand of our closest friends) and besides, anyone who knows me knows I CAN NOT hang upside down to kiss that stone at the top of the castle so we opted for a visit to the castle grounds area called the Rock Close. This is a mystical place where majestic yew and oak trees grow around an ancient druidic settlement. There is a water garden with waterfalls but when you follow the trail you will find areas called the wishing steps, the witch's kitchen and the fairy glade which are said to be home to witches and all things magical. Wonderful find. From the castle we wandered over to the Blarney Woolen Mills to shop a bit, then headed back to the cruise ship terminal for a wonderful afternoon at the Cobh Heritage Centre. Here we walked through a fascinating display about Cobh, the emigration center. Over six million people left Ireland between 1848-1950 with over three million leaving from this port headed to a better life in other countries. We believe our Moffett, Middleton and Mullen ancestors departed from Cobh. The display told how the extended families had "live wakes" for the family members leaving rural Ireland since they were certain they would never see each other again. They then travelled to the port in wagons, on horseback and on foot carrying with them the food they would need at the port until the ship arrived as well as all they would eat while onboard for the long sailing journey to their next home. There was a display showing shipboard life for the immigrants; we owe these people a great debt for what they endured. Can you tell I loved this genealogical treasure??? Lovely first day in Ireland. MA
We first saw the beautiful coast of Ireland upon our arrival at Cobh, the port city for Cork. This day was spent on a motor coach from the cruise line and we first headed along the southern coast of Ireland to the quaint village of Kinsale. While we had a lovely walk around this little seaside town, on this day it was overrun with tourists (like us) and we were happy to head off to Cork. Here we enjoyed a lunch of Irish Lamb Stew (at least, Jim enjoyed it; me not so much) while a wonderful Irish band played and young women danced the beautiful Irish dances, then we headed off to the main attraction, the Blarney Castle. The castle is now a partial ruin and at the top is the Stone of Eloquence (the Blarney Stone). On this day the line to kiss the stone was about an hour long (again just us and a thousand of our closest friends) and besides, anyone who knows me knows I CAN NOT hang upside down to kiss that stone at the top of the castle so we opted for a visit to the castle grounds area called the Rock Close. This is a mystical place where majestic yew and oak trees grow around an ancient druidic settlement. There is a water garden with waterfalls but when you follow the trail you will find areas called the wishing steps, the witch's kitchen and the fairy glade which are said to be home to witches and all things magical. Wonderful find. From the castle we wandered over to the Blarney Woolen Mills to shop a bit, then headed back to the cruise ship terminal for a wonderful afternoon at the Cobh Heritage Centre. Here we walked through a fascinating display about Cobh, the emigration center. Over six million people left Ireland between 1848-1950 with over three million leaving from this port headed to a better life in other countries. We believe our Moffett, Middleton and Mullen ancestors departed from Cobh. The display told how the extended families had "live wakes" for the family members leaving rural Ireland since they were certain they would never see each other again. They then travelled to the port in wagons, on horseback and on foot carrying with them the food they would need at the port until the ship arrived as well as all they would eat while onboard for the long sailing journey to their next home. There was a display showing shipboard life for the immigrants; we owe these people a great debt for what they endured. Can you tell I loved this genealogical treasure??? Lovely first day in Ireland. MA
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