Killarney to Dublin (in purple)

Another long driving day, but we know we can do it so we're not worried. We started out early and decided to alter our route to avoid Limerick. The roads around the cities can get pretty messy.

Early morning brought us to this lovely location. Kanturk Castle was built by a local Irish chieftain in 1601, but it's completion was prevented by English neighbors complaining it was too large for an Irishman! What nerve! That explains why it hasn't been destroyed; since it was never finished, no one ever tried to take it.

The morning was foggy and quiet, with only the birds disturbing the hush.

We just love it when we're the only people here.

This is Cahir Castle, which we were surprised to hear was pronounced "Kerr Castle" by the tour guide.

This castle was built on a rocky island on the River Suir.

From Cahir, it was only a short drive to Cashel, home of the famed Rock of Cashel, which looms above the city as shown in the photo below.

Extremely dramatic, the Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland's most visited sites. The rock itself rises as a giant, circular mound 200 feet above the surrounding plain, and is crowned by a tall cluster of gray monastic remains.

Legend has it that St. Patrick baptized King Aengus, Ireland's first Christian ruler, here around 432 A.D. It is said that St. Patrick plucked a shamrock to explain the mystery of the Trinity, thus giving a new emblem to Christian Ireland.

These photos show the shell of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The 13th-century cathedral was originally built in a flamboyant variation on Romanesque style, but it was destroyed by fire in 1495 and restored in the 16th century.

More buildings on the Rock.

The graveyard (which had recent gravestones).

This picture was taken looking down from the Rock of Cashel to the ruins of an abbey.

We had to walk across a road, jump a fence and walk across a cow field to get there!

But wow, was it worth it!

There were only two other couples here while we were (unlike the fairly crowded Rock of Cashel). One of those couple is laying in the cow field in the picture above (off to the left).

Looking back at the Rock of Cashel.

I love this picture!

For more on the Rock of Cashel: http://www.12travel.ie/ie/South_East/attractions/rock_of_cashel.html

The building below is Emo Court. This large estate was begun in 1790 by James Gandon, a very prominent architect of the time. Unfortunately, it was closed when we arrived, apparently for restoration.

Our hotel this evening is located in the middle of Dublin. We managed to navigate the "almost never marked" streets and arrived around 5:30 p.m. We didn't take any pictures of this hotel, which was a newly renovated townhouse, but they do have a website:

Butler's Town House Hotel: http://www.butlers-hotel.com