There Once Was a Woman Called Bridget ...

Something, something, something ... (I'm not good at making up Limericks on the spot).

When I last forced you to look at shared my Ireland pictures, we were visiting the Jameson distillery and the little town where it is located.  Our next stop was Limerick, County Limerick, where we would be for three days.  We had been there briefly (as in, we drove there, ate dinner, and drove back to our hotel) on our first visit, but this was our chance to really poke around and take our time.

On our way, though, we decided to stop at the Rock of Cashel, in County Tipperary, since we had read about it, known someone from the town of Cashel, and figured it would be fun to see.  And we were going to be driving right past the exit for Cashel, so it seemed like a no-brainer. However, after we arrived, and parked in the small lot nearby, we found out that it was closed for the day (it was about 4:00 in the afternoon - the last tours were at 3:00).  Oh well, such is life.  We did get some nice photos, though, and then we made our way to Limerick, where we were in a gorgeous hotel, and within very easy walking distance of all the things we wanted to see.  So here are some of the sights we saw during our time there.

Path leading to the Rock of Cashel

A totem-like monument on the side of the hill

Near the top (getting the "artsy" shot of the bird in flight was just luck)

 Our hotel room in Limerick

View of the River Shannon from the window seat in our room

Medieval wall, dating from the 1100s (right behind is a neighborhood street)

St. Mary's Cathedral, also dating from medieval times, with the churchyard cemetery

King John's Castle (King John of Magna Carta fame; he never actually was here, but this was where the government administration was in Ireland during his reign.)

Castle yard, viewed from one of the battlements

Another view of the River Shannon, and one of the many bridges, 

also viewed from one of the battlements

Yours truly on the dock next to the Visitors Center

Limerick is a great city for walking around, and I think while we were there, we must have walked the entire city at least once or twice.  Every night we would go to a pub in the medieval part of town, not far from our hotel, and have dinner and a pint, and just relax and people watch.  Everyone was very friendly (as they are everywhere in Ireland, truly), and there was usually a rugby or soccer match on that we would watch (well, actually we spent most of our time watching everyone else watch the matches).

I gave The Tim a hard time the one day, when in only an hour's time, we came across the following:

The Arthur family (my family name) has a long and storied history in Limerick 

Whereas, it would appear that things have been tough for the Clancys 

(The Tim's family name).

And that's today's travelogue.  I'm having fun sharing these with you, but I have to admit, it's making me really itchy to return sometime soon ...

Have a good weekend!