Living The Irish Dream - Part 9

             Humming the catchy World War I song “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary”, we drove 170 km from County Wicklow to County Tipperary. We were not headed for the town of Tipperary, but for the town of Cashel. The imposing Rock of Cashel, or more formally known as St. Patrick’s Rock, is the main reason for our visit.

Rock of Cashel at dusk

Truly captivated by the awe-inspiring Rock of Cashel

       

       The Rock of Cashel dates back to the 9th or 10th century and part of the original church still stands today. Rising from a beautiful meadow, perched on a prominent green hill and surrounded with ancient fortifications, the remains of the church is like a beacon that draws visitors.

        Besides the Rock of Cashel, the nearby Hore Abbey is also worth a visit.

Weaving my way around the ruins of Hore Abbey

Hore Abbey, all for our exploration

Hore Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in ruins but is picturesque nonetheless. It is also surrounded by green pastures, making it a delightful capture for the camera lens, especially when some Irish cows decide to grace your picture with their presence.

"Come, brothers, follow me!"

Now who's watching who?

        Driving back to our B&B in Dualla, a 10-minute drive from Cashel, we caught sight of little flashes of lightning. No, it was not a brewing storm, but we had stumbled upon a community park where kids were being trained for the national game of Ireland — hurling. Resembling hockey but played with a shorter stick and broader oval blade, the Irish of all ages and both sexes take the game very seriously. It has been dubbed as the fastest game on grass and it was such joy watching these little flashes of lightning, who may well turn out to be hurling giants one day.

A hurling game at play

Keen kids

        We also dropped by at Cahir, another town in County Tipperary. This small heritage town is best known for its castle and the Swiss Cottage. From the car park beside Cahir Castle, we took a leisurely 2km walk through the woods to reach the entrance of Swiss Cottage. 

A lovely morning walk through the woods

Our walk rewarded us with sights like this.

        As we left County Tipperary for another part of Ireland, we also drove through The Vee, a gap in the Knockmealdown mountains which rewarded us with panoramic views of the Irish landscape. This was not in our planned itinerary but had come strongly recommended by the host of our B&B. Indeed, like the rest of Ireland, it was another jewel waiting to be discovered and savoured.

Savouring the landscape at The Vee