Isle of Eire Rallye 2015 , cuz that’s how we roll…
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Let’s start with decoding the roads – forget the guidebook, here’s the scoop: Motorway (M): 2+ lanes each way, 120 km/h Signage: marginal, though it seems much worse the closer you get to the actual site/location you’re trying to find. We looped around twice to find Kells Prioiry which was signed on the Motorway, then at the first roundabout, then not again until the car park. |
First up, Baltinglass Abbey – a completely random stop off the N81. How can you pass up Gothic arches? The site was used by Cistercian monks from the mid-1100s through the 16th century. |
Next stop, the Brownshill Dolmen, a megalithic portal tomb. There’s a small path along a farmer’s field and into the site which is separated from the crops by a small fence. The capstone is the noteworthy feature, weighing an estimated 100 metric tonnes. The tomb it marks has never been excavated. |
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Kells Priory is noted as the largest and most impressive medieval monument in Ireland. Once you find the place, you’re welcome to trek around with the sheep and shoot pictures wherever you like. Win!
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A few kilometers south of the Priory is the Kilree Monastic Site featuring a round tower and 9th century High Cross. |
Note the warning sign where you access the site: “Caution: Bull In Field” You’re welcome to muck around, just, you know, use caution. |
| Which brings us to our next stop, the Rock of Cashel; except it was crawling with tour busses and shrouded in scaffolding. While walking an exteriror trail trying to get a good picture of the structure that hid the scaffolding, we spotted this little gem in a nearby field. Wandering down to the site, we confirmed that if you are willing to walk the bovine gauntlet, you can have the spot to yourself. So we did. The caretaker mowing the lawn inside the structure said we could wander wherever we wanted. So we did. |
This is Hore Abbey. I’ll wait while you process that. The original structure is from the 13th century; later additions from the 15th century. The cows, 21st century. |
Randomness on the roadside – remains of Mt. Melleray Monestary. |
The finish line: Dungarvan, on Ireland’s central south coast … 10 hours and about 250 km later. |
Pleepleus reminds you to drink local. |
| And finally, some infrared shots from today:
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