...recounts the retirement travels of Mark and Vicki Sherouse since 2008...in Asia and the Pacific, New Zealand, Europe, South America, and Africa, as well as the US and Canada. Our website, with much practical information, is: sites.google.com/site/theroadgoeseveron/.Contact us at mark.sherouse@gmail.com or vsherouse@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Tralee And The National Folk Theatre of Ireland
Moving on into County Kerry, we headed to old friend Tralee, staying again at the Woodlands Park campground, just a ten minute walk to the city center, specifically to see a production of Siamsa Tire, the National Folk Theatre of Ireland. In 2009, we had seen their Fado, Fado--Life in Ireland in Times Past, with which we were impressed. This time we chose Turas, a two-hour medley of traditional music, song, instrumentals, and dance. We were more than impressed. There is a no fotos! policy with things of this sort, so I have only the stage before and the closing bows. It was fabulous, however, and something we'd recommend most highly.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Lough Gur Stone Circle And Tomb
Carrying on through County Limerick, we came to Lough Gur, one of Ireland's hundreds of beautiful lakes. There are several megalithic sites around, and we wanted to see the so-called wedge tomb (to us, an allee couverte) and the great Grange Stone Circle, Ireland's largest, 150 feet in diameter, with 113 stones, ranging to almost 3 meters high, and oriented toward the summer solstice sunrise. Standard neolithic, c.3,000 BC, although considerable broken Beaker People pottery was found above the clay mound inside the circle.
A bit of beautiful Lough Gur |
Two views of the wedge tomb |
All the rock conglomerate |
Modern day entrance to the circle |
Panning around |
Largest of the orthostats, 45 tons; the 360 degrees are divided by 12 such rocks, each directly facing its counterpart across the circle |
Tree vs. stone; trees always win |
Entry way; the sun shines right down the path on summer solstice sunrise |
Whirling dervish pano view of the circle |
Kilduff Castle; And So Much More
So we are driving along in County Limerick, and Vicki shouts "pull over!" She is ever on the look-out for real estate bargains and the prospect of flipping something really interesting, and I knew at once she was on to something.
Indeed it was a castle, Kilduff Castle |
Thus |
Actually just a tower house (or tower of power, as we called them in Scotland); but still quite interesting |
Alas, it failed our basic criteria of having at least three walls and a roof |
My examination of the premises certainly attracted the interest of a flinklet of bovines passing by |
But, no, this was not a prospective flipper |
Looking around, I noticed I was standing in the midst of someone's private exhibit... |
19th century hand pump; we were to see many of these in the western counties |
So the cows kept lumbering by and at length I noticed they were using a cow under-pass to get past the highway |
We have seen cow over-passes before, but never an under-pass |
Emerging on the other side |
To join the much larger herd on the other side |
All this going on at St. Anthony's Nursing Home and adjacent lands |
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Rock Of Cashel
We'd visited the Rock in 2009, but it was on the way in 2016 and turned out to be another place we stayed over-night more or less free. It was here too that we bought our OPW Irish Heritage cards. Another great deal. Important places have stood on the Rock--seats of ancient Irish kings, church stuff, etc.--but the oldest still around is the round tower, from about 1100 AD. The churchly buildings and bishop's residence date from slightly later times.
Someone else's photo, but there it is |
Helpful illustration |
Bishops' residence |
Occasionally, over the centuries, chunks fall down |
Ruins of Cistercian abbey in valley |
More faces, exterior of cathedral |
The round tower |
Inside the cathedral; note the little doorways that allowed circumnavigation of the building in the gallery |
Images from the bestiary? |
Looking back to the whole complex from the cemetery |
A prominent local family erected this monument...apparently too much for the gods, who destroyed it with lightning |
Thus |
And thus |
Original very old cross, now in the museum; very old |
Still processing this one... |
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