To Kinsale



From Kilkenny it is a short drive on the motorway to Kinsale, less than 200 km, about two and a half hours, unless you are us. Than all sorts of things are possible along back roads.

In fact, we were no more than a few kilometers from Kilkenny when around a corner there was this tower and ruins with a warning to stay off the farm property. Not an historic site, just another abandoned tower. The landscape is littered with them. If we had stopped for each we would still be out there.

 
Another few kilometers down the road we came across our new home and my new ride. We'll b e moving in as soon as we can, like the Butlers, depose the current inhabitants.
But we did have to stop in Carrick, to see Ormond Castle. We were first acquainted with the Butlers, who built Ormand, as well as earlier taking over Kilkenny Castle, between the 14thand 16thcenturies, in Kilkenny. It seems that from the 13thto the 18thcenturies they were all over this part of Ireland, and indeed, Thomas Butler, the 10thEarl of Ormond was a cousin to and great favorite of Queen Elizabeth having been raised with her in England and supposedly built this house for her to visit, which she never did. Throughout the Tudor and Stuart years the Ormonds were able to deftly straddle political divides until, of course the armies of Cromwell despoiled Ireland as they had England.

From the front this is a Tudor house, but behind it are the ruins of an earlier castle on the River Suir acquired by the Butlers in the early 14thcentury. No images permitted in the house, but my camera and I got to play in the ruins, before taking a tour through the 16thcentury Tudor castle.








By the time we were done there and were presented with this offprint from Archeology Ireland, we headed more or less directly to Kinsale and our unexpectedly grand accommodations at the Perryville House and our best dinner so far on this trip at Fishy Fishy in Kinsale.

This house was built in 1820 by the Perry's, a family of wealthy ship fitters 

A room . . .

with a view

This was just the bread, but we were ready
.


Most of the time, honestly, we have been eating in pubs and the food has been fine, not great but not bad. We had an almost great meal in Dublin at The Church (where the preparation was superb, but the provisions not up to the same standard) in Dublin and another good meal at Rintucci’s in Kilkenny. The meal at Fishy Fishy would have been extraordinary at any time and in any place. It was that good. Sharon’s Kinsale fish stew eclipsed any other such stew we have ever had, and my monkfish was very nearly as superb.

Saturday will see us out and about in Kinsale.

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