Trip to Ireland Revisited

It was a year ago this month that Mr. Red Molly and I went on our 4th trip to Ireland. Our first was in 1977 the year we were married. It was actually a practice honeymoon. And in 2000 we finally took our kids there after trying to get to Ireland for many years but because work, school, finances could never make it work. Then in 2002 we went in October to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and then we returned again last year in September. I will tell you that we are not rich and we use our American Express card for everything so we can get the skymiles. So that eliminates the expensive airfare that one would have to pay and then we try to budgetize the trip as much as possible so we can go more often. We simply love visiting Ireland. We have almost all of the Ordinance Survey maps and know the country so well it actually makes for an easily planned vacation.

It was exactly a year ago almost to the date that was the highlight of our trip. One being our walk through The Gap of Dunloe and the other the time we spent in Castletownbere. So I have decided with the permission from Mr. Red Molly to post a couple of his travel journal entries from our trip last year. We both kept journals of our trip but I think he did a much better job than I did so I am posting from his journal.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004, Killarney, Co. Kerry

After breakfast we drove to Kate Kearney's cottage at the north end of the Gap of Dunloe. After a little discussion, we decided to walk part of the road through the Gap and then walk back. The day started similar to previous days, alternating rain and then no rain. Sometimes, it even looked like the sun might come out. We agreed that we would walk as far as the head of Gap and then probably turn around but once we got to the head, Bonnie [that's me] had the idea of continuing to Lord Brandon's cottage and continuing by boat to Ross Castle. We weren't sure that the plan was going to work (we had not previously booked a boat) but it was a long walk back to our car. By the time we reached the cottage we were both starting to get tired. When we asked about the boat trip there was some doubt about our being able to get on the boat without a reservation but, in the end, we were able to get on for 13 euro pps. The boat left around 2pm and the trip took was about 1.5 hours. The boat driver was a college student named Rory who lived in Killarney. He said his family had been operating boats for generations there. The boat was on open motorboat with a single outboard. Rory told us some history about the different rivers and lakes that we traveled. We had a little excitement when we passed a small rapids and more excitement when we reached the big lake, Lough Leane. The water was pretty rough and waves were coming over the bough. When we reached Ross Castle, Rory called his uncle, who has a taxi, to take us back to our car. When we got back to the B&B after dinner I calculated that we walked seven miles. On the way into Killarney for dinner we went to Aghadoe Hill to see the old church and round tower stump. The view over the lakes was nice and would have been fantastic on a clear day. We decided to eat at Bricin Restaurant on Hight Street. We both chose the early bird meal for 19 euro. We had carrot and parsnip soup, salad and boxty with a chicken and cream sauce fill, similar to chicken pot pie. It was good, but we couldn’t eat all of it. After dinner we bought a bottle of wine and drove back to the B&B. It should be mentioned that Rory’s uncle gave us an exciting taxi ride. He seemed like a typical Irish driver, driving as fast as he possible could, especially after he got a call to tell him that another fare was waiting on him.

Overall, today was delightful…Almost no driving. Got to see the countryside up close and the boat ride was special. Tomorrow, we’ll see a couple of wonders near Killarney and then start for Beara.

Wednesday, September 15, 2004, Adrigole, Beara, Co. Cork

After breakfast and paying our bill we drove back to Aghadoe, Hill, north of Killarney, because I thought the view would be grand on a sunny day. It was a nice view but not a good time for taking pictures. Many buses had stopped. From there we drove into Killarney to find an ATM. We parked where we parked last night and I walked by myself down High Street and asked someone where to find an ATM. I got 200 euro and walked back to the car. It was a short drive to Ross Castle. We used our Heritage cards for the tour and spend 1.75 euro on post cards and an informational brochure. The tour was ok, not grand. I didn’t like the guide’s voice. Saw another garderobe. At some point in it’s history the owners burned the roof of the great hall because they didn’t want to pay the roof tax. It took us a little while to find the right place to park for Muchross Abbey. Some roads on the Discovery map are not open to cars. Among other points of interest there is an ancient yew tree growing inside one of the abbey buildings. I noticed a couple of underground tombs. The first of those I remember in Ireland. Also saw a couple of deer on or walk to the abbey. Don’t know if they were Irish red or Japanese Sitka deer. From the abbey we drove to Kenmare with a few stops including Tore Waterfall. Other stops were just to admire the view which was much diminished due to bad weather. Arrived in Kenmare and got petrol before finding Henry Street. Ate chicken salad sandwiches at the Purple Heather, just next door to Packies, where Erin, Bonnie and I ate four years ago. After lunch, I asked directions to Resenhagoppul Stone Circle, just a few blocks away. Just like Eric Newby says in The Wonders of Ireland we had to pass a rubbish dump to get there. After the circle we walked back to Henry Street to go the Erin Shop where Bonnie bought a knitted purse for Erin. I was looking for some 200 speed film and found some on Main Street. We picked up a roll of film that we had dropped for developing and both got ice cream next door, 6 euro. We drove from Kenmare to Adrigole, Beara and found Hungry Hill Lodge. They didn’t have a reservation in our name even though I had emailed and they responded with confirmation and I confirmed on August 28. We got the room. Bedroom is very small but shower area is very large. After settling we drove to Castletownbeare and bought a bottle of wine and four glasses since we there weren’t any at the hostel. We found McCarthy’s Bar and had a Guinness. The bartender recommended Niki’s restaurant, two doors down and went down and got menus for us. Bonnie and I both had seafood entrees which came with vegetables. Bonnie ordered a half bottle of wine. I had a little. Food was good. While finishing our meal we decided to extend our stay in Cork City by two nights so I called the B& B to do that. A group of elderly women were celebrating someone’s birthday at a table nearby. Bonnie offered to take their picture and send them prints. After dinner we went back to McCarthy’s and had another drink. Drove back to the hostel and I fought with the GPS, trying to get today’s tracks downloaded to the laptop. Must have spent 90 minutes. Tomorrow, the plan is to spend it on the west end of Beara.

-Mr. Red Molly


I want to thank Mr. Red Molly for letting me use his journal entries from our trip last year. This was just two days of our 21 day trip to Ireland but it is a good example of how things went. We had a grand time.

Here are some photos: Actually here is only one photo. I am having photo downloading problems. I will post some more photos tomorrow. It's late and I have got to get to bed.


Ross Castle