This was perhaps the prettiest part of the summer. On the way to Tralee and the Ballyseede Castle Hotel we stopped at the Rock of Cashel. Unfortunately, Storm Francis was blowing through starting the night before we left Hacketstown and there were still 60+mph winds. The winds were so strong, one of the windmills blew down. To make matters worse, the other drivers on the road were really bad, driving too fast, and right of center.
The Rock of Cashel was closed by Health and Safety because the winds were too high.
The Rock of Cashel is a medieval castle in Tipperary. Originally the seat of the kings of Munster, according to legend St. Patrick himself came here to convert King Aenghus to Christianity. Brian Boru was crowned High King at Cashel in 978 and made it his capital.
In 1101 the site was granted to the church and Cashel swiftly rose to prominence as one of the most significant centres of ecclesiastical power in the country. It was impressive even from the outside.
Ballyseede Castle Hotel has a ghost, but we didn't see her. The Blennerhassett family had lived on the Ballyseede Castle Estate of 30 acres since 1590. The main castle was built in 1721, being extended in the later years of the 1700s, all the time remaining within the family ownership up to the death of Hilda Blennerhassett in 1965.
The ghostly legend of Ballyseede Castle is deeply interwoven with the story of the rose. In the 1500s, the castle ownership lay with Sir Edward Denny who rented the property to the Blennerhassetts, before they built their home on the site. The legend describes that on the feast day of John the Baptist, Midsummers day on the 21st June, the payment of a single red rose would be exchanged as a ground rent for the castle. The castle was known for its rose collection, producing large heady scented blooms from its rich dark soil.
There is some wonderful hiking in the Killarney National Park. On the grounds is Muckross House - The Muckross estate dates back to the 17th Century when the first member of the Herbert family, who were originally from Wales, came to settle in Killarney. The present day Muckross House was built for Henry Arthur Herbert and his family. It was completed in 1843. This area also has "jaunting cars" - horse drawn carriages. I was able to see some deer. After a long day of hiking I was rewarded with a great soft serve ice cream with a really fresh cone - happiness is!
One of the nice walks near the Muckross House is up to Torc Mountain. On the way you pass the Torc Waterfall. The views are great.
On the last day we drove the Ring of Kerry. We had some wonderful softserve icecream - best we'd had - unfortunately the cones were stale.
Along the way we stopped at the cliffs, a Neolithic Fort built without mortar, and stopped to look at the Lady's Walk view of Killarney National Park. We hit rain again and had some wonderful rain cloud views.
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