April 4 – 7

Joanna and I hit the breakfast buffet again as it would be a longish day of travel, first for Kris and Marty needing to fetch their individual rental cars (Marty’s included in his tour fee) and then by late morning, loading both vehicles with passengers and luggage (small cars required strategic packing) and hitting the road for lunch in Wicklow, a bit out of the way but worth the stop.  Joanna and I would ride with Kim and Marty, and it would be all of ours first introduction to driving here. 

Ireland is a small country, only 171 miles at its widest point and 300 miles north to south, meaning its road system has just a few motorways (M-Roads that are similar to our freeways) and many, many more smaller National (N-Roads) and Rural (R-Roads), which are generally two lanes of varying width, often one lane for the smaller ones.  N-Roads are main arterial routes connecting primary towns and usually feature one or two lanes in each direction, and speed limits are typically set to 60 MPH while R-Roads connect smaller towns and villages and can be highly scenic but are often narrow, winding, and bounded by old stone walls or thick hedgerows.  Speed limits are usually 50 MPH, though safe speeds are frequently much lower, but seemingly ignored by local drivers.

We will cover the challenges of driving in Ireland once we pick up our rental car in Limerick, but or now, we arrived in Wicklow midafternoon, parked, and walked to Mickey Finn’s Pub and Restaurant at the Wicklow Brewery.  As we’ve mentioned in a prior post, pubs here are usually crowded and this being a Saturday afternoon even more so.  We were seated, a round of drinks plunked down and our food arrived shortly thereafter, Joanna and I splitting the Helles Fish & Chips (Fresh Atlantic Cod, Light Wicklow Brewery Helles Beer Batter, Skinny Chips & Brewery Tartar Sauce) and then what would turn out to be quite possibly the best version of it on the trip, the Sticky Toffee Pudding (Brewery Sticky Toffee Pudding, Homemade toffee sauce, and cream). 

We arrived in Limerick and checked into Greenhills Hotel Limerick, a family run fairly large complex at the edge of town that would run us 608 Euros ($702) or $176 a night for our four-night stay.  It was included in Kim and Marty’s package, but the kids opted to stay closer to the center of town at the Absolute Hotel as the family room rate they got there was less than at the Greenhills, although that may have been a seasonal thing as it appears to be a bit pricier generally. 

Not long after arriving, unpacking and grabbing a drink from the bar downstairs, we drove to the Absolute to meet the kids for dinner at Harrys on the River, the inhouse restaurant there.  For drinks Joanna ordered a whiskey sour while I went for an Old Fashioned, good but not great as most Irish whiskey’s have a lower proof (often 80) than the bourbons we drink at home.  She would order the Goats Cheese and Beetroot Salad (honey and thyme goat cheese, roast beet root, croutes, picked vegetable, candied walnuts and house dressing) and I had the Caesar Salad (baby gem lettuce, bacon lardons, ciabatta croutons, parmesan and house Caesar dressing).  Mine was just OK, the baby gem not the same as the typical Romaine that one finds, and the dressing was not even close to your usual Caesar. 

The next morning Joanna and I hit the hotel restaurant for some breakfast which was not included in our room rate, joining Marty who had breakfast covered in his because of the tour he was participating in.  As he doesn’t normally eat that early, we would enjoy his free meals the next couple of days, a bonus as they were large and nicely prepared.  Soon, we jumped in Kim and Marty’s rental car and drove into the center of town and parked nearby King John’s Castle, where we met the kids for a tour.  This visit would begin our immersion into Irish history, and I will attempt over the course of these posts to convey it in a meaningful way without it being too boring. 

Also known as Limerick Castle, it dates to the 13th-century castle and is located on King’s Island next to the River Shannon.  Although the site dates to 922 when the Vikings lived on the Island, the castle itself was built on the orders of King John of England in 1200.  Some of the external walls, towers and fortifications remain.  The Viking sea-king, Tomrair mac Ailchi, built the first permanent Viking stronghold on Inis Sibhtonn (King’s Island) in 922. He used the base to raid the length of the River Shannon from Lough Derg to Lough Ree, pillaging ecclesiastical settlements.  In 937 the Limerick Vikings clashed with those of Dublin on Lough Ree and were defeated.  After 943 Viking power was reduced to the level of a minor clan and the Anglo-Normans captured the area in 1195 under John, Lord of Ireland.  The remains of a Viking settlement were uncovered during archaeological excavations at the site in 1900.

Ongoing tension between Irish Catholics and protestants led to the 1642 Siege of Limerick, the first of five sieges of the city in the 17th century.  Then, the castle was occupied by Protestants fleeing the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and was besieged by an Irish Confederate force under Garret Barry.  Barry had no siege artillery, so he undermined the walls of King John’s Castle by digging away their foundations.  Those inside surrendered just before Barry collapsed the walls.  However, such was the damage done to the wall’s foundations that a section of them had to be pulled down afterward. 

It was a windy blustery day, the breeze enhancing the cold against any exposed skin.  We walked the grounds, climbed the walls and when finished stopped in the gift shop where Joanna and I enjoyed a scone and coffee apiece while waiting for the others to join us.  Once all were ready, we left the castle grounds and begin walking down the adjoining streets with further refreshment on our minds.  We’ll continue with Limerick in the next post. 

Links

Wicklow Brewery: https://wicklowbrewery.ie/

Greenhills Hotel Limerick: https://www.greenhillsgroup.com/

Absolute: https://www.absolutehotel.com/

Harrys on the River: https://www.absolutehotel.com/harrys.html

King John’s Castle: https://kingjohnscastle.ie/