Limerick Rake
I am a young fellow that’s easy and bold,
In Castletown Conners I’m very well known;
In Newcastle West I spent many a note
With Kitty and Molly and Mary. – The Wolf Tones
Woolly says – We’d spent the night in a small hamlet on the outskirts of Limerick, which always makes me think of things that started with, ‘there was a young lady from….’ But this was the actual place.
Limerick is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster it is the third-most populous urban area in Ireland, and the fourth-most populous city. Founded by Scandinavian settlers in 812, during the Viking Age, the city straddles the River Shannon, with the historic core of the city located on King’s Island, which is bounded by the Shannon and Abbey Rivers. It was also the birthplace of actor Richard Harris, broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan, author Frank McCourt, singer Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, and composer Bill Whelan.
The morning was grey and overcast which was worrying as it was going to be a mainly outside type of day, I crossed my paws and hoped that the weather would hold for us. Our starting point for the day was in the centre of the city and having navigated the road systems and squeezed into a parking space we arrived outside the castle.
King John’s Castle, which is also known as Limerick Castle is a 13th-century castle located on King’s Island, although the site dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived on the Island, the castle itself was built on the orders of King John of England in 1200. King John however never actually went to the castle which is a bit bonkers but then it was his kingly right.
The castle experienced five sieges during the 17th century. The walls were severely damaged during the 1642 siege when the castle was occupied by Protestants fleeing the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and was besieged by an Irish Confederate force under Garret Barry. Between 2011 and 2013, the castle underwent a €5.7 million redevelopment to improve the visitor facilities of the castle. Among the improvements were a modern visitor centre, interactive exhibitions with computer generated animations, and a cafe.
A we stood outside I was a little concerned due to its lack of actual castle, keeping the faith we headed into the ticket office and were directed onto the tour route.
The first floor we arrived had had hundreds of information boards giving us details about the castles history, the involvement of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and how it was built, there was a lot to take in, I found it a bit much and having found a video area I sat down and watched it whilst I waited for the women to catch up.
There was a lot to read and by the time Zoe and I located the mammoth we were glad to sit down and watch the video as well, which then proceeded to give us all the information we had tried to read about on the boards.
Woolly says – On the floor below we all headed straight through the exhibition area and to the video corner for information on the sieges and later years of the castle’s history, so much easier.
The tour then took us down into the basement area where we walked amongst some of the original foundations of the castle, the lighting made it difficult to see much of the brickwork and I was seriously worrying if there was going to be a castle at all.
Luckily as we arrived back in daylight my prayers were answered, and we found ourselves looking at a lovely set of rounded towers with a small area between them.
Behind us were a number of sheds housing mock ups of how the castle grounds would have looked at during the medieval times which was interesting.
Having inspected these we headed down some steps to look at what had once been the gatehouse before falling into disrepair, the slit windows allowed us to peek through to the river which set alongside the castle.
Our focus then turned to the castle proper where we entered one of the doors finding ourselves in a Norman armoury. Looking up I could see a round wooden ceiling which was interesting.
Down some steps and we found a kitchen area with incredibly deep window recesses.
Next came a climb up some very narrow stairs to the top of the tower and the views across the river and city, Jo was looking a little green at this point so we back down and trotted towards the second tower which contained a variety of items enabling an officer of the army to live in.
There was the option to go to the top of this tower, but Jo didn’t feel that she would enjoy it and Zoe, and I had already seen the view so didn’t feel the need to. Heading through the huge glass reception/café/shop area we found ourselves back outside and on the hunt for the car.
With one castle done we headed off to our second destination of the day. A twenty minute drive took us into the car park of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. This is when the rebellion broke out with the ladies telling me that they would do the park but didn’t fancy another castle, not a problem to an independent mammoth I could do the castle on my own. Having paid for the park, which included the castle they both conceded that as it was all on one ticket, they might as well have a look, so contrary.
Bunratty Castle is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, located in the centre of Bunratty village, the name Bunratty means “mouth of the Ratty River” in Irish. The first recorded settlement at the site may have been a Norse trading camp reported in the Annals of the Four Masters to have been destroyed by Brian Boru in 977. According to local tradition, such a camp was located on a rise southwest of the current castle. Since no remains of this settlement have been found, its exact location is unknown, and its existence is not proven.
The first castle at Bunratty was a wattle and daub one constructed in around 1251, the land was later handed back to (or taken back by) King Henry III and granted to Thomas De Clare, a descendant of Strongbow in 1276. De Clare built the first stone structure on the site (the second castle). In 1284, while De Clare was away in England, the site was captured and destroyed. On his return, in 1287, De Clare had the site rebuilt and a 140-yard (130 m) long fosse built around it. The castle was again attacked but it did not fall until 1318. In that year a major battle was fought at Dysert O’Dea as part of the Irish Bruce Wars, in which Richard de Clare was killed. Lady De Clare, on learning this, fled from Bunratty to Limerick after burning castle and town. The De Clare family never returned to the area and the remains of the castle eventually collapsed.
A new castle (the third) was built at Bunratty, but once again, its exact location is unknown, the new structure was hardly finished before it was captured by the Irish. The present castle was built in 1425.
Before the castle we had all number of lovely buildings to look at in the Folk park, at first site it reminded us of places like the Black Country Museum, the Beamish Museum and Blitz Hill in Telford which made it very exciting. Tiny, thatched spaces greeted our eyes. We peeped into to a former farmhouse with its bright yellow settle and covered bed area looked warm and inviting. Next to it was the dairy shed that would have been used for butter and cheese production.
A sweet white house came next which housed an exhibition paying tribute to Bredan O’Regan who had not only created the park but had been a major part of kick starting Irish tourism.
Next came the Blacksmiths with a real live blacksmith battering away on a piece of ironwork.
A rather scruffy looking blue house was just along the path which had once been a fisherman’s home, entering it did still have a slightly fishy tang to it. Next door was a rather strange looking carriage which reminded me of the cage used in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to capture the children, with no information by it I wondered if that really was its purpose, I did hope not.
As I turned, I saw the castle, it looked rather good with its high square structure and huge arch through the middle. Even the women had stopped moaning and climbed up the steps.
The inside was incredible (lots of pictures above) with its banqueting hall, huge fireplaces, leaded windows with small stained glass areas and a minstrel’s gallery.
The next room on the floor above was called the Main Guard and I have to say it was fabulous, with huge tapestries and wooden décor including what looked like angles high up by the beamed ceiling. It was a stunner.
The Earls kitchen was small but workable with a lovely stone fireplace.
Up another set of steep steps, we found the Earls Bedroom with a mammoth four poster bed dominating the room, it obviously hadn’t been moved in centuries.
Across the way was another large hall with big window seats and an impressive fireplace, a light fitting like no other I had every seen. A figure suspended from the ceiling which had space for a single candle suggesting that the room must have been very dark at night if that was all the lighting they had.
On the other side of the large hall in the other two towers, we found a small chapel and another bedroom along with a robing room.
Heading back down the spiral staircase we arrived back outside where Jo and Zoe had to eat their words about another castle because it was actually the best one we had seen on the trip, I tried not to crow too loudly.
We wandered towards the next houses of the park, a long yellow thatched cottage which had been a farmhouse with some smart furnishings for the time greeted us.
Then came a white farmhouse which was even plusher inside especially with its large fireplace painted a catching maroon.
As we continued, we came across two peacocks, a standard one and a white one, then a tiny one room house was next, used by a single labourer I felt that it might suit a single mammoth and wondered at moving in.
Having walked past the tea shop, which was closed, we came to a small village. The village school had the separate entrances for the different genders and was decorated in a fetching green.
Next door was the doctors house with its surgery and it two large bedrooms.
The Pawn brokers shop was open but didn’t have much stock at the moment so we moved into the pub for a quick peek.
Across the road was a printers and a pottery shop, the pots were exquisite but very expensive.
A general stores and a couple of houses came next.
Being Ireland there was also a second pub which was much bigger than the first, although I preferred the post office where I could lick some stamps.
A walk along the footpath led us past goats and a vertical mill with its large outside wheel.
Slightly further down was another wooden mill, this one was a horizontal mill and was very cute.
A short walk led us to a much grander house which had once been owned by the Hughes family who had brought ice cream to Ireland, the five bedrooms showed how much ice cream had done for them.
Having inspected that home, we ambled through a small walled garden finding some wonderful, friendly donkeys in the next field, it took a while to prise the women away from the cuteness.
We paused for a few minutes to admire the small church, which was plain but welcoming, it also has some lovely wooden carved windowsills which I had not seen below.
One last cottage remained which was quite large inside although I didn’t like the look of the ceiling feeling it would be a bit drafty with all the holes in it, this cottage was also home to the pigs who were currently in their sty.
Passing a small haystack complete with chickens we arrived back at the start and headed straight into the café for a much deserved late lunch and a sit down. As we sat enjoying our home made vegetable soup and soda bread we all agree that this had been a brilliant place to visit, even the castle, I glowed with the praise and just hoped I could impress them both as much tomorrow.