Living the Irish Dream - Part 1

     When hubby and I watched the 2010 romantic comedy film "Leap Year"

starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, we made a promise to ourselves that we would visit the The Emerald Isle, and specifically Ballycarberry Castle. And in June 2013, that promise was fulfilled. We were finally in Ireland, the Land of Leprechauns!
     Although many of the sites where the movie was filmed were either fictional (the Ballycarberry Castle that was said to be at County Tipperary turned out to be the Rock of Dunamase with computer assisted technology) or not in the exact place mentioned (the cliffs that were supposedly Dingle Peninsula were actually cliffs in County Galway), the scenery was so breathtaking that it prompted this visit. And we were not disappointed. We fell head over heels for Ireland, the Land of Celtic Crosses!
     Despite knowing the Ballycarberry Castle that we were visiting was not the one in the movie, we were eager to go there as the images on the Internet had promised castle ruins located at an isolated spot. It was every inch that we had imagined...just perfect. Located about 3 kilometres from Cahersiveen, a small town on the Ring of Kerry, Ballycarberry Castle was built in the 16th century. There was hardly anybody around when we went there so we practically had the entire castle and its grounds to ourselves. We could venture in and out of the castle. There was a staircase in relatively good condition so we were able to access the first floor. Hubby managed to heave himself up to the second floor as well but I was not so adventurous. He spent ages taking photographs there, and I was more than happy to just admire the impressive ruins and let my imagination wander.

Ballycarberry Castle in the late evening

Derrick gets flung out by The Dark Forces

Ballycarberry Castle in the morning

Nothing beats savouring spectacular Ballycarberry Castle with your loved one!

A quiet moment at Ballycarberry Castle

     Ireland is indeed wild, rugged, majestic and magnificent. It would do her a grave injustice if I were to cram all the photos and places visited in one post. So in this inaugural Irish post, it's all about Ballycarberry Castle, once the home of the McCarthy Clan.