Lismore

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

We awoke refreshed, the beds at the B & B were very comfy and the girls were tired enough to stay in their own room all night. The breakfast was wonderful, and Breeda made Genevieve a soft boiled egg with soldiers that she really liked. Then they got to go outside and play with the kittens and the nephew of one of the workers, Jake. Breeda packed us tea and scones to go (because apparently we could not be out all day without tea!) and we set out for Lismore (another Tidy Town, of course) and the Cahir castle. The Lismore Castle is rented out to rich guests, but the grounds are open to the public. It was a nice day, and the girls had a blast running around. Then we went to the nice new playground there and then to lunch at a nearby restaurant. After lunch, we drove to The Towers, which are the gate lodge and bridge that were constructed by landlord Arthur Kiely Ussher at the request of his demanding wife who wanted a large house. He was a very bad landlord who evicted his tennants during the potato famine so he could bring in cattle to earn enough money to finish his house, which he never did. We only made it as far as the gate lodge because Charlotte didn’t want to walk but once she got their she was happy because it looked like “Sleeping Beauty’s Castle”. Next we drove to Cahir, past a dramatic overlook, and went to the Cahir Castle using our Heritage Cards. It was a very interesting castle, pretty well restored but still rustic. Some castles they later turned into fancy residences and others remained mostly for defense, and the Cahir Castle is one of the latter. Then we tried to walk to the Swiss Cottage but it was too far and closed anyway, so we turned back and had a late tea in the park. We drove straight to Dungarven for dinner at the Moorings, which is apparently a favorite of the guests of Sliabh gCua. The food was good and service was quick (we have never had meals served so quickly as they were in Ireland!) but then we had to wait and wait and wait for the bill. The kids were really really tired when we got home so we declined the invitation for tea and chat when we got back to the farmhouse. We couldn’t take another late night!