14 May ’05, Saturday.
Finding our way out of Dublin was a snap. This as you know, hasn’t always been the case. Our drive today took us south by southwest and our first stop at Kilkenny. The castle was very evident as we pulled into town, but the closer we got, it just seemed to disappear. Now that was something that we could find, but what we had trouble finding was parking. It seemed like every tourist in Ireland thought today would be the perfect day to see the Kilkenny Castle. I almost pulled into a line, that wasn’t moving, that was “queing” for the next available spot. Fortunately, I dodged around them and made a turn at the next corner and found another gate that lead into the same parking lot. We had to wait at the gate for a minute, but then it opened and we had a parking place. As we walked around this little village for a couple of minutes we found the information booth and they directed us to the castle. The Kilkenny Castle was built in the 12th century. It was remodeled in Victorian times with extended rooms and parklands for the Butler family, Marquises and Dukes of Ormande. It stayed in the Butler family until 1935 and then was sold to the city of Kilkenny in 1965 for $62 Euros. Our tour took us through the library, drawing room, bedrooms, dining, and long gallery. The grounds were really extensive and beautiful, and all this sat beside a winding river. It was quite impressive, even though it is still going through renovations. Back 500 years ago, the Butler family was able to acquire a huge fortune. Prior to receiving his title of Duke of Ormande, he had another name (I can’t remember what is was), and his job for the King and his court, was to sample the wine before any large event…coronation, marriage, etc… His title at that time was something-something butler…soo, he decided that he was so recognized more by his title name than his real name, he should just make a name change. So he did, to “Butler” and it stayed that way for generations now. Getting back to how he got his money, he did such a good job for the king, he was granted a royalty of 10% on every keg of wine that was shipped into England and Ireland for 500 years. Now, I think that might just do it…that is make a fortune… We had a good time in Kilkenny, but we had to get back on the road. The Waterford Crystal Company in Waterford was our next stop. On our way to Waterford, we found this wonderful little church, sitting beside a river, and a yard filled with grave stones. Now you know you’ve got to stop for this…It looked so inviting...It was also a perfect place to have lunch, so we did. Then on to Waterford. We got there just in time for the last tour. After we had paid for our entrance, I mentioned that we used to sell Waterford lamps and chandeliers, and she looked up and said, “well in that case, you should be able to have this tour on us…”, so she gave us back our $10 Euros and gave us passes…not too bad… It was a tour that was to last about 45 minutes, but it seemed more like 10 minutes. It was very interesting and amazing. These people are talented. In order to become a “craftsman”, it can take as long as 15 years before you get to go on your own. The tour ended at the “gift shoppe”, and even though we know that we CAN’T buy anything (because of room in “Bumble Bee”), it was tough not to. They were closing the plant right behind us, so we found our way out and headed down the road to Dungarvan, on the coast for the night. Tomorrow…The Rock of Cashel, and then on to Cork
Finding our way out of Dublin was a snap. This as you know, hasn’t always been the case. Our drive today took us south by southwest and our first stop at Kilkenny. The castle was very evident as we pulled into town, but the closer we got, it just seemed to disappear. Now that was something that we could find, but what we had trouble finding was parking. It seemed like every tourist in Ireland thought today would be the perfect day to see the Kilkenny Castle. I almost pulled into a line, that wasn’t moving, that was “queing” for the next available spot. Fortunately, I dodged around them and made a turn at the next corner and found another gate that lead into the same parking lot. We had to wait at the gate for a minute, but then it opened and we had a parking place. As we walked around this little village for a couple of minutes we found the information booth and they directed us to the castle. The Kilkenny Castle was built in the 12th century. It was remodeled in Victorian times with extended rooms and parklands for the Butler family, Marquises and Dukes of Ormande. It stayed in the Butler family until 1935 and then was sold to the city of Kilkenny in 1965 for $62 Euros. Our tour took us through the library, drawing room, bedrooms, dining, and long gallery. The grounds were really extensive and beautiful, and all this sat beside a winding river. It was quite impressive, even though it is still going through renovations. Back 500 years ago, the Butler family was able to acquire a huge fortune. Prior to receiving his title of Duke of Ormande, he had another name (I can’t remember what is was), and his job for the King and his court, was to sample the wine before any large event…coronation, marriage, etc… His title at that time was something-something butler…soo, he decided that he was so recognized more by his title name than his real name, he should just make a name change. So he did, to “Butler” and it stayed that way for generations now. Getting back to how he got his money, he did such a good job for the king, he was granted a royalty of 10% on every keg of wine that was shipped into England and Ireland for 500 years. Now, I think that might just do it…that is make a fortune… We had a good time in Kilkenny, but we had to get back on the road. The Waterford Crystal Company in Waterford was our next stop. On our way to Waterford, we found this wonderful little church, sitting beside a river, and a yard filled with grave stones. Now you know you’ve got to stop for this…It looked so inviting...It was also a perfect place to have lunch, so we did. Then on to Waterford. We got there just in time for the last tour. After we had paid for our entrance, I mentioned that we used to sell Waterford lamps and chandeliers, and she looked up and said, “well in that case, you should be able to have this tour on us…”, so she gave us back our $10 Euros and gave us passes…not too bad… It was a tour that was to last about 45 minutes, but it seemed more like 10 minutes. It was very interesting and amazing. These people are talented. In order to become a “craftsman”, it can take as long as 15 years before you get to go on your own. The tour ended at the “gift shoppe”, and even though we know that we CAN’T buy anything (because of room in “Bumble Bee”), it was tough not to. They were closing the plant right behind us, so we found our way out and headed down the road to Dungarvan, on the coast for the night. Tomorrow…The Rock of Cashel, and then on to Cork