Ireland Day 8: Cork May 9, 2017

 Day 8 in Ireland was mostly about Cork, Blarney Castle, and geneaology. 

Blarney Castle is such a tourist attraction that we didn't really want to go, but I felt oddly obligated as part of my Irish heritage.

I wonder how many humans have stepped on these stones. So worn!

Do not let the obligator and staged picture of us in Blarney Castle fool you, we were in a constant stream of visitors herded single file through the tourist route. 

Just to kiss the Blarney Stone - or more correctly, just to let Jean Luc kiss the Blarney Stone.

If I remember correctly, the Blarney Stone is behind the window with the grates over it.

The grounds were nice too.

Tough morning with shopping ahead so time for a coffee break.

And peek into The English Market in Cork.

Genealogy:

My last name can be spelled Lucy or Lucey. We saw these trucks all over the country but especially in the south.

We are the same family. I have not been able to trace my great great grandparents back to Ireland. One record has a man by my gg father's name in a birth registry at the Saint Mary and Saint Anne's Cathedral in Cork, so I went there. 

It is just weird to stand in a church where your great great grandfather may have been christened in 1844 at the start of the Irish potato famine. What did this family think was in store for them at that time? A normal Irish existence? They along with a million others would immigrate to the USA to avoid starvation and persecution.

Another possible church they may have used was St. Mary's Dominican Church 

Both were impressive and left me wondering about my ancestors. 

Although it was getting late and we still had to drive to Dublin for an early flight home the next day, we made a quick pit stop to walk around the Rock of Cashel.  Originally the seat of the kings of Munster, according to legend St. Patrick himself came here to convert King Aenghus to Christianity. Brian Boru was crowned High King at Cashel in 978 and made it his capital. In 1101 the site was granted to the church and Cashel swiftly rose to prominence as one of the most significant centres of ecclesiastical power in the country.

It was truly impressive and a nice break to stretch out legs.

Our last night in Ireland, at least for this trip, was at a hotel near the Dublin airport.

The next day, we returned out trusty rental car - no accidents were had - and boarded the long flight home. Goodbye for now, Ireland.