In 1984, my brother Tim came to Ireland with Dad. During their epic journey, they stopped in Killarney at Great Southern Hotel. It was built in 1854 “to takes guest’s breath away”. Tim and Dad had a beer together in Brownes bar (our featured pic for this post), and Tim reports it as a truly memorable experience. So… Stacey and I went to Killarney to have breakfast in the Garden Room at Great Southern. Brownes was not yet open, or we’d have had a drink in their honor. What a magnificent Hotel! GRAND in the old, beautiful, coveted sort of way. After breakfast, we walked the immaculate grounds before heading in to Killarney National Park for our first stop at Ross Castle. We were blown away by the engineering and work put into that solid fortress. While I understand the King of the Castle lived “well”, everything is relative. I say no thank you. Muckross Abbey was next, and if I had to choose between Castle and Abbey, I choose Abbey. It was FASCINATING! Killarney National Park offered a beautiful drive through the mountains with far less livestock than we have seen as we’ve crossed the Emerald Isle. Ladies’ View is a scenic vista well worth a stop for the panorama of the lake and the valley below. From there we went to Kenmare for some shopping and a late lunch at Foley’s. Lamb Stew and a Harp pleased my palate while Stacey thoroughly enjoyed her Shepherd’s Pie! Kenmare is a colorful and pretty town, but honestly a bit more touristy than we expected. We drove straight from there across some welcome highways, and some winding side roads that were narrow and full of potholes – not quite as welcoming. I’d say I gained a few grey hairs, but I’m admittedly maxed out on those at this point in life.
Kinsale is a really, really quaint seaside town. It reminded us of the South Shore of Boston, where we were both lucky enough to grow up. After checking in, we did a self-guided walking tour of this historic town. Kinsale has seen quite a past. It is off the coast of this pretty seaside town that the Germans sank the Lusitania. This was the deciding factor in the US joining the Great War, thus changing world history. Anyway, Kinsale is quite a nice place to visit. Put it on your list! 🇮🇪
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