COUNTY TIPPERARY - The Rock of Cashel, Where Legends and History Converge

The Rock of Cashel is truly a magical sight. Perched high on a rocky limestone hill, it looms over the town of Cashel and is steeped in the legends and history of ancient Ireland. Also known as St Patrick’s Rock, it is said to be the place where St. Patrick converted the King of Munster to Christianity in the 5th century. The site features a collection of remarkable buildings, including a round tower, a high cross, Cormac's Chapel, and the imposing cathedral.

We visited The Rock of Cashel on our way down to stay in Cork for 2 nights. It’s set on the edge of the small town of Cashel and it is popular with tour groups. We didn’t book in advance but we had no problems arriving and paying the admission fee, which is about 8 euro for adults but children under 12 are free. We didn’t do the free tour that is available, however in hindsight I wish we did.

The cathedral, constructed in the 13th century, is so vast and cavernous, it exemplifies Gothic architecture with its towering arches and expansive nave.

The round tower is even older, dating back to the 12th century. It stands 28 meters tall and is remarkably well-preserved, previously having served as a lookout and refuge.

For an additional cost you can enter Cormac's Chapel, which was built between 1127 and 1134. It is a masterpiece of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture, featuring intricate stone carvings and the remnants of vibrant frescoes.

The Rock of Cashel offers a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside and just down below is the ruins of Hore Abbey. Hore Abbey was founded in 1272 and inhabited for the next 300 years, The ruins today make for an added bonus when visiting The Rock of Cashel and offers a great vantage point of The Rock, high in the hill in the distance. It is only a short walk from The Rock; its open to the public and is free to enter. Hore Abbey sits in the middle a field with cattle so you may need to walk past some cows to get there.

I would say that The Rock of Cashel is a must see place to visit in Ireland. It offers a captivating glimpse into Ireland's architectural and religious heritage, attracting visitors with its impressive ruins and panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We also enjoyed wandered around the quaint little town of Cashel too.

If you have more time in Cashel, there is the Cashel Folk Village, which is a museum covering various periods of Irish history, including the famine and the War of Independence.

COUNTY WICKLOW - Glendalough, Ireland's Ancient Monastic City

Glendalough is one of Ireland’s most important ancient sites and it was the first place we visited in Ireland that actually felt touristy. There were a number of tour buses, a large carpark and a state of the art visitor center. Being only an hour from Dublin, it features heavily on the typical tourist itineraries. And for good reason! Not only is there the ruins of an enchanting ancient monastic site with one fo the best round towers in Ireland, it’s set in the stunning landscapes of the Wicklow Mountains, surrounded by lakes and breathtaking hiking opportunities.

Glendalough is a monastic city founded by St Kevin in the 6th century but destroyed and abandoned in the 13th Century by the Normans. A number of the building, including the cathedral and various churches still stand in amongst the ancient grave stones. The round tower is the most iconic of the buildings, it would have once been used a bell tower but round towers were also used for defence against any attacker, including the vikings.

The girls, especially Hallie were impressed by the round tower. It does look like something out of Rapunzel.

Glendalough sites at the end of a glacial valley with two lakes, There are a number of trails throughout the mountains that start at Glendalough and head up into the towering moutains on either side. We opted to do a short, flat walk around the lower lake to the edge of the upper lake, which us through some magical looking forests and streams.

The day we went was very windy, one minute the skies were blue but then the wind would blow misty rain down the valley. On the edge of the upper lake, it wind felt like it was gale force! But we still managed to take in the views and watch a family ducks swimming in the waves.

Visiting Glendalough was surprisingly free of charge to enter, however there is a small fee for the main carpark and you can pay to go into the information centre to learn more about the site. There was a restaurant at the hotel that was right next to the visiter centre, which was were we had lunch. But there were a number of restaurant options in the nearby town, like the Wicklow Heather.

The Wicklow Mountains are really stunning, I can understand why many people prioritise this area when travelling to Ireland. i would like to come back one day and tackle some of the hikes up through the valley.

COUNTY WEXFORD: Secret Valley Wildlife Park

Earlier into our stay in County Carlow, we took advantage of a very sunny day and visited the Secret Valley Wildlife Park. The highlight were the Capybaras, the girls were very excited to see the worlds largest rodent in person.

Secret Valley Wildlife Park is a privately owned nature reserve. It has some of the typical farm animals like ponies, donkeys and rabbits but it’s also home to a lot of rescued primates like lemurs, macaques and tamarins. (which I surprisingly didn’t take any photos of.) We really enjoyed the animals talks that the zookeepers did for the primates. It’s eye opening to hear about the awful conditions some monkeys end up in due to the exotic pet trade in Europe. It’s not really an issue in Australia due to our strict animal quarantine laws but many people in Europe buy small primates as pets and quickly realises how inappropriate they are and then abandoned them. So it’s nice to see a place like Secret Valley Wildlife Park providing a home and caring for them.

We also enjoyed hearing about the otters, meerkats and porcupine. And of course petting the bunnies and seeing the prairie dogs. There is a great cafe onsite with a big indoor inflatable jumping castle / obstacle course that the girls loves.

The grounds were really, large with a big kids playground and we were also given a scavenger hunt worksheet were the kids had to locate various different types of trees.

The girls really love animals, so any experience like this is always a great day out. We did skip the London Zoo and the Dublin Zoo due to the prices and the fact that major zoos can features very similar animals. But Secret Valley Wildlife Park was a great smaller location were we are able to see and learn a lot about the animals. We’d totally recommend visiting, especially if you have a day with lovely sunny weather.

COUNTY KILKENNY - Jerpoint Abbey, Remnants of a Sacred Past

Jerpoint Abbey, located near Thomastown in County Kilkenny, Ireland, is a magnificent Cistercian monastery founded in the second half of the 12th century. I found this whole site to be so enchanting, with the evocative stone carvings, cloister arcade and greenery growing across parts of the ruins. I went a bit crazy with all the photos but there were so many beautiful angles and vantage points… enjoy!

Jerpoint Abbey offers a captivating glimpse into Ireland's medieval monastic heritage. Monasticism in Ireland began in the 4th and 5th Century with the arrival of St. Patrick and other missionaries who established early Christian communities . Prior to this, the Celtic tribes of ancient Ireland held pagan beliefs, with elements of Celtic spiritualism being incorporated into Christian beliefs over time.

Monasteries, like Jerpoint Abbey, became centres of learning, art, and spirituality, playing a crucial role in preserving knowledge and fostering education during the so-called "Dark Ages" in Europe. Monastic settlements often included churches, round towers, and high crosses, and they were influential in spreading Christianity throughout Ireland and beyond. Other notable monastic settlements include Clonmacnoise and Glendalough. (We’ve actually visited Glendalough since visiting Jerpoint Abbey, which I will share soon too, but I found Jerpoint Abbey to be slightly more impressive in size to the ruins at Glendalough, Glendalough is in an amazing location though… stay tuned)

Jerpoint Abbey was a thriving religious centre until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century under Henry VIII, after which it fell into ruin. Today, the abbey is managed by the Office of Public Works and is open to the public. There is a visitor centre onsite and the staff were able to provide the girls with a fantastic scavenger hunt style worksheet where they had to find different carvings and different features around the abbey. These types of worksheets are such a fun way to keep them engaged and that the end, they all received a free postcard as a reward.

Sites like Jerpoint Abbey, that are managed by the Office of Public Work, do charge a small admission fee - usually 5 - 8 Euros per adult, but children under 12 are free.

I’ve always found ancient ruins and abandon structures to be so magical and mysterious. Its’ somewhat of an otherworldly experience to have a place like this all to yourself; to just wander around and take in the remnants of its spiritual past. There were a few other people that arrived while we are there but it didn’t feel crowded in the slightest.

It’s wild to think that places like this just sat abandon for centuries as society changed around them. There is such a haunting beauty to them;.and I’m grateful that they have been preserved and can be appreciated today.

COUNTY CARLOW - Borris Viaduct, A Bridge To The Past

The Borris Viaduct is quite close to where we are staying, we drove past it a number of number of times before I realised that there was actually a short walk across the viaduct and picnic area underneath.

The 16 archway viaduct was built in 1860 as a railway bridge across the River Mountain. It is one of Ireland’s best examples of 19th century railway engineering. It was constructed as a part of the railway line from Bagenalstown to Wexford. The railway was decommissioned in 1967 and left abandoned, but in recent years, the council of the area have restored the area, making it safe for the public to enjoy to views from the viaduct.

There are a number of repurposed railway lines around Ireland, the Waterford Greenway being one of the stand outs. The traffic free paths along old train track are great for exploring the countryside on bicycle.

The Borris Viaduct is only a short distance from the main part of Borris town, making it great for a short leisurly stroll. There are free carparks on either side of the viaduct and picnics tables at one end by the bridge and underneath the viaduct. There is also fencing along the viaduct which makes it safer for children. (no public toilets however)

The views across the county side, to Mount Leinster and The Blackstair Mountains ,are quite spectacular and there is plenty of signage outlining the history of the viaduct. Which is where I read the catchy phase ‘a bridge to the past, a link to the future’

All up its 500m each way across the viaduct and another 500m on the loop track that goes underneath the bridge. The girls enjoyed playing ‘barky boats’ in the little stream that ran through the picnic area and have even asked go back. We’ll definitely aim to go back with a picnic lunch.

COUNTY CARLOW - The Brownshill Dolmen, An Ancient Portal Tomb

The Browneshill Dolmen, located not far from Duckett ‘s Grove, near the town of Carlow, is an impressive megalithic portal tomb dating back to approximately 3000 BCE. Renowned for its massive capstone, estimated to weigh over 100 metric tons, it is considered the largest of its kind in Europe.

I love the mystery that surrounds prehistoric monuments like this. They reflect the advanced engineering skills of Ireland's ancient inhabitants but leave a lot of questions unanswered. Like how did they move that huge capstone into place with out any machinery or even any large beasts? I asked Braino, who works in construction and is often around cranes and other machinery that lift heavy slabs of concrete and he was stumped. Archeologist believe the huge rocks were rolled along the ground on a bed of logs, but that’s just one of the theories.

The Dolmen, also known as the Browneshill Portal Tomb, consists of two large portal stones supporting the capstone, with additional stones forming the burial chamber beneath. They served not only as burial sites but also as ceremonial and ritualistic locations, reflecting the spiritual and social practices of early societies. Interestingly, there has been no excavation undertaken on the Brownshill Dolmen.

The girls wanted to go inside, under the large capstone, but I insisted they didn’t. There weren’t any signs saying not to but it seemed almost irresponsible to let your kids play inside an ancient portal. My friend Kayleen pointed out via instagram that in the show Outlander, the main character is transported back in time by entering a Scottish Portal Tomb. I haven’t seen the show but I guess time travel and teleportation seem to go hand in hand with a portal tomb and I wasn’t going to risk it 🤣.

The Brownshill Dolmen was situated in a farmers field, but there is a small dedicated carpark and signage, with a path leading out to the dolmen. It was free of charge and unattended by any staff. As we were leaving a father and son came to throw a ball around for their dog, so it isn’t a particularly popular tourist attraction, only people with weird niche interests like me would put it in their itinerary. But in saying that I would like to visit other dolmens, standing stones and stone circle while we’re here in Ireland.

COUNTY CARLOW - Duckett's Grove, A Historic Home In Ruins

Duckett’s Grove was one of the first excursions we did once we arrived in County Carlow and it’s still up there as my favourite place. I think it’s amazing that a location like this, an abandoned, crumbing ruin of a stately home, had been preserved and repurposed into something the whole community can enjoy. We had a fabulous day there, it’s surprising very family friendly.

Duckett’s Grove was built around 1745 by the wealthy Duckett family who originated from England. The estate was originally over 20,000 acres of land. The most notable member of the family, William Duckett, was a landlord and a significant figure in the local community. The Ducketts were known for their contributions to agricultural development and the improvement of local infrastructure. They were also involved in local politics and social affairs, often hosting grand events at Duckett's Grove. The building started as a standard two storey Georgian county home but in the mid 1820’s, John Dawson Duckett employed English architect Thomas Cobden to resigned it into the gothic revival style ‘castle’ that stands in ruins today.

However, like many Anglo-Irish families, the Ducketts' fortunes declined in the early 20th century, exacerbated by changing political and social conditions in Ireland, leading to their eventual departure and the estate's decline. In the early 1920’s Duckett’s Groves was used as a base for the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and was then damaged by a fire in 1933 and left abandoned for many decades. Around the 1970s an eccentric lady by the name of Frances Grady moved in, essentially squatting in a section of the manor. She welcomed in abandoned and neglected animals, creating an animal refuge and enlisted the help of local children who she would teach how to horse ride in exchange for doing chores and helping with the animals.

There is much more to the history of Duckett’s Grove, it’s such a fascinating place full of interesting characters and stories. We learnt so much from our guide Danny, who was absolutely fantastic when telling all the takes of Duckett’s Grove. He was so passionate and engaging. The tour was absolutely free but we did book in advance as Danny only runs the tours twice a day on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We spoke with Danny for close to two hours, while walking around the grounds and the outskirts of the property. The girls were amazingly well behaved during the tour, which Braino and I appreciated because we were so enthralled by what Danny had to say.

Obviously, you can’t go inside the buildings of Duckett’s Grove, as most of it is a state of crumbled, overground ruins. However it is frequented by paranormal investigation groups who do actually go inside as they have specialised liability insurance. There are a number of ghost stories associated with Duckett’s Grove, including a curse, a banshee and the ghost of William Duckett himself.

In a spooky turn of events, after visiting Duckett’s Grove, I was listening to a podcast about it and found out that William Duckett, the last of the Duckett’s to live at the estate, died on the 22nd of June 1908. And guess what day we happened to visit?…. the 22nd of June. Spooky coincedence or just a random occurrence?

In 2005 the Carlow County Council acquired Duckett’s Grove and restore the two walled gardens at the rear of the property. It has been open to the public since 2011 and some of the stables in the rear courtyard have been restored and now house a tourist information booth, a small gift shop, and The Lazy River Cafe. In the surrounding wooded area, there is a lovely obstacle course style playground that the girls enjoyed playing on. As as were there on a Saturday, there was quite a lot of people enjoying the cafe and playground, even a group of girls around the age of 10 having a birthday party.

There are many old historic homes like this across Ireland in varying states of preservation and I love that a place like this has been somewhat preserved for use by the public.

DUBLIN - 2 Days in Ireland's Capital

We loved Dublin! We were there for two full days and we really just enjoyed wandering around and hanging out in the city area. It had a great vibe and we had lovely weather too which helped! After the enormity of Japan, Singapore and London, Dublin felt very chilled and unhurried.

We actually stayed about 40 minutes south of Dublin in an area called Dun Laoghaire, (pronounced Dun Leery ) which is a lovely seaside suburb. We were still relying on public transport at this point but we found a bus stop right next to the accommodation that went straight into the city. We had booked an aiport transfer again from the airport to the hotel, whihc were on opposite sides of Dublin. Airport transfers are so worth it!

We stayed at a hotel called Rochestown Lodge Hotel, which was great. We booked it based on the price and included amenities, not necessary for the location, considering it was quite far from the city centre. We had a family room which was very spacious and had a seperate room for the kid’s beds. The hotel had an indoor pool which the girls loved, Braino took them swimming every afternoon! The hotel also had a great restaurant which we had dinner at every night as it was just convenient. The hotel was located in a kind of suburban area so there wasn’t any restaurants within walking distance and we didn’t have kitchen facilities.

Out and about in Dublin

One unique thing we did in Dublin was the National Leprechaun Museum. Well it was just myself and Farley who went, Farley has been very interested in mythological creatures for the last year or so, so it seem like a fitting experience for her. 

However, upon closer inspection, the name National Lepruchaun Museum serves more to attract attention of tourists. The musuem itself is more of a story telling experience, where small groups are treated to various different tales from Irish folklore, including Leprechauns. Oral storytelling is an important part of Irish history, so the museum is dedicated to preserving that, rather than any particular artefacts or evidence of Leprechauns, which I imagine some people would be disappointed by if they hadn’t really research the museum before going. It was a great experience which I think Farley enjoyed, she was certainly brave, as we were lead through a lot of spooky, atmospheric spaces in museum to hear all the different folklore tales. (edit: since writing the first draft of is post, I asked the girls whats one thing we’ve done in Ireland that they enjoyed enough to do it again and Farley’s answer was the Leprechaun Musuem, so she definitely enjoyed it… maybe we will go again, who knows )

Afterwards, we of course went to the Temple Bar area which is the touristy pub area of Dublin. We had a Guinness in the iconic red Temple Bar Pub on the corner, which was actually Braino’s very first Guinness. With kids, we obviously didn’t stay too long in the pub but it had a fun lively atmosphere. 

The other place we loved in Dublin was St Stephen’s Green, which is a lovely park in central Dublin It had a great playground for kids and a pond with swans and ducks. We even saw a baby swan. (photo below)

We also had a look in the Natural History Museum and the Archeology Musuem. Both were free and not far from St Stephen’s Green. The Natural History Musuem was very small and mainly just filled with taxidermy animals, apparently it’s colloquially known as ‘The Dead Zoo’. But the girls actually kind of liked seeing all the animals. I was quite interested in the Archeology Musuem but it didn’t really hold the kids attention for long and we arrived pretty close to closing time. 

We also wandered over to St Patrick’s Cathedral but we found that it was closed during that time (it was a Sunday, so the opening times were sporadic compared to other days ) but there was a great playground and garden right next door so we didn’t mind, it wasn’t a far walk to get there.

On one of the days we spent the afternoon wandering through Dun Laoghaire. We caught the train there from Dublin and enjoyed another playground in the People’s Park and an ice cream from Teddy’s, which is apparently quite iconic to Dun Laoghaire. Fun Fact: in Ireland they call a soft serve ice cream with a flake a ’99’. 

The girls had the best time climbing and playing along the rocks on the shoreline, which was a really peaceful way to spend the afternoon. 

After our two days in Dublin we picked up our hire car, well actually Braino headed off across town to pick up the car and purchase kids car seats while I took the girls back to the playground in Dun Laoghaire. After a whole month of relying on public transport, it was such a welcome change to have a car. We especially needed it in the countryside of Ireland, where public transport is close to non existent. 

A few other musuems and points if interest in Dublib that I had researched were:

Dublinina - a interactive museum that is geared towards kids and focuses on Viking and Mediaval Irish history. It’s right next to Christchurch Cathedral and you can get a ticket that covers both.

14 Henrietta Street, Dublin - This is a museum in an a tradition townhouse that captures over 300 years of what life was like in Dublin - from tenement dwelling to Georgian Townhouse

The Guiness Store House - This is tour of the brewery and museum of sorts aboust the history of Guiness. It looks really interesting but we couldn’t justify the cost with kids our age.