Ireland: Day Two

Welcome to the second installment of my recent trip to Ireland. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click here to read my first post. Otherwise, read on for Day 2’s adventures covering the Rock of Cashel and Kilkenny Castle. Afterwards, if you want, continue on to my personal observations on the ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Irish Language and Lingo. 

As I said in the first installment, I want to remember everything so these posts are going to be long. So don't feel bad if you just want to view the photos. If you want to learn some cool facts, though, read on...

DAY 2:

The Rock of Cashel

Confession: This isn't one of my pics. When I was there, there was some scaffolding around the chapel so I was all, "Boo hoo! My picture won't be pretty now!" So I was a brat and didn't take one. This is from Wikimedia Commons.

The Rock of Cashel in Tipperary is composed of medieval buildings set atop a limestone outcrop in the Golden Vale. The kings of Munster sat there until the Norman invasion then, in 1101, the current king donated his fortress to the church. The site was chosen due to its foreboding weather – high winds, lots of rain, etc. -- which is why it was sunny and warm on the day we visited. Buildings include a 15th century castle, 13th century cathedral, 12th century round tower, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel – all in ruins – and a restored Hall of the Vicars Choral. Here are some photos I snapped just for you:

I’ve got to say, though, if you go you really have to take the tour. If you don't  you’ll miss out on a lot of information, like these tidbits below…

The castle is where the arch bishop lived and it was very much a fortress. It had double walls with passages in between so the Arch Bishop could run to safety should the castle be attacked. The spiral staircases went clockwise going up so that attackers, who were normally right-handed, when swiping their swords would hit the stone walls while the defenders going down could swing freely. Many attackers knew this, so they’d send their left-handed swordsmen first. Yay for them? There were also breaks in the walls called “murdering holes” which allowed defenders to pour boiling oil or water on the attackers below. 

As for the chapel, there are stone faces everywhere. Some a scary, meant to scare evil forces away. Others were placed there to commemorate the people of the world which the church served. But in the mix there would always be a face with the likeness of the stone masons that built the structure. It was the way they left their mark.

The Hall of the Vicars Choral is where the church’s choir lived and is the one building that has been restored. It has a beautiful tapestry of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba that is strangely flawed. I showed it to you above, in the slidewho. What you probably didn't notice is the following: 

These things were done on purpose. Artists worked on the notion that the only one who can create perfect things is God. So they made "mistakes." Another cool story revolves around this wooden thing above the fireplace:

That’s the choral's crest. Small ones were also made for the choral members. so they could use it as a sort of credit card when they went into local shops. They’d flash the crest, get what they need, then the owner of the store would bill the church. It worked well for a while. Then the church noticed that the choir was spending a lot more money than they should have. Why? Because some of them had made copies of the crest for their extended families. Yep. The first case of credit card fraud took place hundreds of years ago.

A lot more was learned but I don’t want to steal all of the docent’s thunder, plus it will give you incentive to go there. Instead I’m going to move on to the next place we’ll move on to the next place, Kilkenny Castle, a place I may have purposely lead you to mistakenly believe to be one of South Park  fans’ favorite locations.

Kilkenny Castle

Kilkenny Castle sits on the River Nore. The original castle was built for William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke in 1195. Many additionas and alterations were made to it over the years. In 1391, James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond, purchased it and it stayed in the Butler family for nearly 600 years.

The castle has three wings, as shown in Exhibit A: 

There will be no Exhibit B.

It wasn’t always that way. It used to have four, forming a square. Then Oliver Cromwell came in 1650 as part of his conquest of Ireland. The east wall and northeast tower were badly damaged and later torn down. In 1661, the Butler family remodeled the castle, eliminating what was left of the fourth wall. 

Fun fact: You know Julian Fellowes, the writer/creator of Downton Abbey? His great aunt lived in Kilkenny Castle. Her name was Sybil Inna Mildred Fellowes. Ring a bell? She married James George Anson Butler in 1915 and they lived there for a good, long time. 

Later on, in 1967, the then owner, Arthur Butler sold the castle -- which had deteriorated greatly -- to the people of Kilkenny for 50 pounds. (Side note to Chicago peeps: He moved to Oak Brook, Illinois. The Butler family made their mark there, owning polo fields, the Butler National Golf Club – if you see the name “Butler” on anything in Chicagoland, it probably stems from this family.)

Now the castle is back to its former glory, filled with furnishings and artwork – some original to the castle, some not. One thing that caught my attention near a fireplace was something called a fire screen. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside the castle (boo hoo) but I loved the thing so much I'm going to tell you about it anyway.

Another photo from Wikimedia Commons. Sue me.

Have you ever heard of someone “saving face?” Well, that's what the thing above did. Back in the 18th century, pale faces were all the fashion. White makeup was used to achieve the look and it was made of lead and wax. Heat wasn’t the makeup's friend, so when women sat by fireplaces they’d use this screen, raising or lowering the rectangular part along the rod so their faces wouldn't feel the heat of the fire and, subsequently, melt away. It saved their faces.

But that's enough history for today. After we visited the castle we explored the town of Kilkenny, as we had the night before. It was one of my favorite places to stay...and not just because I'm a Simon Pegg fan. I mean, who wouldn't love a town that had a pub called this?

And who wouldn't love a town that has a wonderful sweet shop where you can get Doctor Who's favorite candy, jelly babies?

I ate them all in ten minutes and got quite the sugar rush.

(Side note: At the very same sweet shop I found a box of Lucky Charms cereal imported from the United States. I almost bought it for our guide, Martin, until I saw the price tag: 10 Euros -- almost 14 bucks!)

The town also had a cool mall with awesome shopping. It even had one of my favorite stores from back home. Take a look:

Wait a second....what? T. K. Maxx? Next thing you know, they'll have J.G. Penney's.

Anyway, that was Day 2. You can exit here or stick around for another Irish cultural observation. Today’s topic: Irish Language and Lingo.

In Ireland, almost everyone speaks English. Still, there are a few that don’t. They speak Irish – what we call Gaelic -- instead. It’s Ireland’s original language and a while back, it looked like it might die out. Then there was a cultural re-awakening and the Irish government decided to teach it in the schools. It's also on every government sign – whether it’s a road sign or some sort of directions or explanation. Here's an example:

I checked Ireland’s 2011 census. In it, 41% of respondents said they could speak the native tongue. Thanks to the educational system, two-thirds of people aged 10-19 said they spoke it. Still, Of the 1.77 million people who said they spoke the language, only 77,185 said they speak it daily outside the education system.  Most of them live in the northwest. Martin, our guide taught us to say a few things. If you want to say, “How are you?” you say (I’m using phonetics, people) “Kay kee will too?”

As for those who speak English, they speak it with a super cool accent not unlike what you hear in movies. Only they don't use the sound th. Instead, they just use a "t". If a bunch of Irishmen think they’ll throw away their toothpaste, they “tink tey’ll trow away teir tootpaste.” This is just an example, though. I can’t imagine they’d actually throw away their toothpaste. Gingivitis is no one’s friend.

When it comes to favorite Irish words, I noticed many things are “lovely” and “grand.” If someone’s really tired, they’re “wrecked.” The world “crack” (spelled craic over there) means fun. Like if you had a great time last night, you’d say, “We had great crack at the pub last night.” (Word of caution: Don't use this phrase in the States. It might result in an intervention followed by rehab, and that would be “mental,” the word Irish folk like to use for "crazy.")

Like the English, sweaters are “jumpers” and elevators are “lifts.” French fries are “chips” and chips are knows as “crisps.” “To go” cups are “take away” cups, instead. Older shop-keeping women called me "love," particularly after I bought something expensive from them.

Anyway, I’m sure there are many more words and phrases I missed, but those I did hear made me smile.