Day 7 - Cobh, Cork and the Blarney Stone

Jeanne, John, Linda, Alan and Bob the Dog

I'll start with a couple of observations about the Irish and life in Ireland. The Irish are without exception very open and friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. From Yvonne at Butler Court in Kilkenny who insisted on taking a picture of us with her dog as we were leaving to everyone we met on the street to those who waited on us. No one treats you as a stranger and they all want to joke around with you and just have fun.

Rock of Cashel

My second observation is that early bird menu at most restaurants is until 7pm. Not sure why. I have never seen a restaurant in the US have it last so late, but here it works as a part-time fixed price menu. Two or three courses at a great price and so we have been sampling a lot of desserts. Lastly the Irish drop a lot “h’s” when they speak. 3 is pronounced “tree” and 30 is pronounced “tirty.” They change other thing as well but still it’s still understandable. For example, “I’ll point that thing out” is likely to be said as “I’ll pint dat ting out.”

Queenstown Heritage Museum

Stop one today was at the Rock of Cashel for a photo (no time to tour and too much history to explain here) and then on to the Queenstown Heritage Museum in Cobh, which is pronounced Cove. The town name has an interesting story. Originally it was named Cove but in honor of a visit from Queen Victoria in 1849, the town was renamed Queenstown. When the Irish gained independence from England, it was renamed Cobh using the Irish spelling for Cove to further signify their freedom.

It was from Cobh that 2.5 million Irish migrants left to find a new home, mostly in the US and Canada. Cobh also has the notoriety of being the last port of call for the Titanic in 1912 before it began its fateful transatlantic maiden voyage. And again in 1915 Cobh played a role in another sea tragedy when the Lusitania, on route from New York to Liverpool, was sunk in the waters off Cobh and a flotilla of boats from Cobh rescued over 700 people from the ocean liner.

The museum was very interesting and we all really liked it. It did a good job showing you what sea travel was like in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Really not very pleasant.

Old Fashion Irish Butter Churn

Our next stop was in Cork to visit the Butter Museum. Ireland is famous today for their butter which is exported throughout Europe, the US and the rest of the world. The museum itself is small and really was just okay for a brief stop.

Blarney Castle

The next stop was in Blarney to visit Blarney Castle and to kiss the Blarney Stone. Jeanne, Alan and Linda hung around the small town center while I waited in line for my turn. It took 35 minutes and a difficult climb up 5 or 6 flights of an extremely narrow spiral staircase to get your opportunity. You then lie on your back, grab two bars and lean over backward into an open abyss to kiss the stone. You can't really fall, or at least I don't think you can. It only got a light kiss from me because who knows what germs the thousands of visitors left on the stone before me. Yuck when you think about it but worth it to get the gift of gab! In case you don't know, the gift of gab is "great eloquence or skill at flattery" but I think it also means being able to BS your way through things.

Then on to Killarney for the night.