Beyond the Pale

I think Laurie may still be taping her toes after last nights play as we wake up and say goodbye to Dublin. We have our last breakfast at Trinity Townhomes and take a “My Taxi” (its like Uber but with taxi cabs) to the Hertz Rental car and pick up our VW Polo. We have rented many a Polo before while travelling in Europe. Laurie drives, I navigate - we’re both happy.

We are heading “beyond the pale”, past the safe confines of Dublin and over the Wicklow mountains to Kinsale - we will stop twice along the way; first in Glendalough and then in Cashel.

An hour out of Dublin, Glendalough is in the heart of the “mountains”, the tallest of which is an ear popping 800m above sea level. Nonetheless the area is lovely and was the home to one of the first monasteries in the world - founded in the 6th century by St Kevin (I find it anti climactic to even type St. Kevin, it sounds like a dude from California). The monastery continued for eleven hundred years, surviving Viking raids, plagues, Norman conquest until.... you guessed it.... Oliver Cromwell and the British came. There are still lots of ruins and being in the mountains some lovely hiking trails, lakes and waterfalls. It is one of six national parks in Ireland and well worth the stop and hike.

Our second stop is ninety minutes further south and takes in even more winding and back roads. We were lucky to have good weather in Glendalough but our luck does not hold on the drive to Cashel.

When you arrive on the outskirts of Cashel you are immediately struck by the fortified cathedral dominating the landscape. It is built on an escarpment on one half and fortified everywhere. It was destroyed by.... wait for it..... Oliver Cromwell and the British and stands in partial ruin. We take a guided tour and learn about the history of the castle/cathedral. When Cromwell and his parliamentarian gang conquered the castle they slaughtered all nine hundred people inside. Recent excavations have proven a baby was thrown down a well during that time period and records speak to the atrocities committed. It is said to be haunted but that has not been recorded or proven, but if ever a place.....

We get back to our car and drive a final ninety minutes to Kinsale. We are staying at Jo’s Cafe and Rooms. It is Camino esque. Clean, simple, small. It is over a bakery. The smells in our room are incredible, is it chocolate chip cookies or maybe brownies, we will have to just wait until morning!

Dinner tonight is at Fishy Fishy, the highly acclaimed restaurant of celebrity chef Martin Shanahan. A restaurant where the menu mentions both the fish and the fisherman. I have Sean Murphy’s monkfish, caught this morning; Laurie has steak. My fish is paired with a Chardonnay, Laurie’s steak a Malbec. The food is delicious, the atmosphere unpretentious, the service lacking. We wander 400 feet to our little B&B.Read more