(Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland)

Today’s main activity was visiting the famous Rock of Cashel.   The Rock is a relatively large limestone outcrop in the otherwise mostly flat plain of Tipperary.  Of course, this meant that the Rock had strategic value…way back in the 5th Century, “the” St. Patrick was in this very place and facilitated the conversion of Irish kings to Christianity here.

Over the centuries, there was much building and re-building on the Rock.  Much of what is left today dates back to the 12th century.  Alas, the complex gradually fell into disrepair and it is now best described as a series of (impressively situated) walled ruins.  I spent a few hours at the site; I started with a guided tour, followed by a movie and some general wandering.  The legendarily rainy Irish climate has played a very large role on the Rock and continues to affect restoration efforts today.  It was sunny all day today but I’ve been told not to get my hopes up.

I also visited the nearby Hoar Abbey.  It too is a ruin and is currently home to a lot of cattle.   It is very peaceful there, although you do have to watch your step.

Dining in Ireland continues to generate surprises.  For lunch, I ordered the daily special of “Bacon and Cabbage with Parsley Sauce”.  I’ve now learned that “bacon” is really more like “baked ham” back home.  I’ve also learned that one should expect (a lot of) mashed potatoes with your meal even if they aren’t listed on the menu.

I decided to try Irish Chinese food for dinner.  In Canada, I often get Lemon Chicken, so I thought it would be interesting to eat it here.   The price seemed high, but I realized why when my plate arrived:  chicken, rather than batter, is the main ingredient.  It was almost like a Wienerschnitzel, so fine was the breading in relation to the meat.  So far, Chinese, Indian and Italian seem to be the main ethnic food options in Ireland.  It will be interesting to see how the Indian food in Ireland compares with the excellent Indian food we had a few years ago in Chester, England.  We liked it so much that we ate it at almost every meal.

Speaking of ethnicity…like a number of Western European countries, Ireland now has a substantial Polish population.  I saw a Polish grocery store today and read in my guidebook that native speakers of Polish in Ireland actually outnumber native speakers of (Irish) Gaelic.  As Ireland is actively supporting the renaissance of Gaelic (all road signs here are printed in both English and Gaelic), the extent of Polish is rather unexpected.  I haven’t seen much in the way of Polish restaurants yet, although it probably is only a matter of time before they start to appear.  I have fond memories of the perogies I ate in Vienna; maybe I will be able to have some here too.

I’ve now moving on from Cashel to the west coast of Ireland.  I am looking forward to what appears to be very dramatic scenery .  Even though it is quite close, as the crow flies, I need to take a complicated bus odyssey of nearly 6 hours to reach my next destination.  Given my experience on Irish buses so far, however, it won’t be anything like the crazy bus ride to Trebinje!  I’ll be able to enjoy the ride as well as my brief stopovers in Cahir and Limerick.