Ireland Day 6

     We had a good night's sleep in The Old Presbytery, which dates back to pre-1750 and is said to have been built by a Spanish merchant.  What was known simply as the Presbytery by generations of Kinsale people (the Presbytery being the Catholic priests’ house) became the Old Presbytery when the priests moved to a new house close by.   We could not find an explanation as to why the Presbyterians were not allowed to stay in the Presbytery.   Perhaps they had taken over the Catholic parsonage.  There is an old butter churn in the hallway which dates back to the great dairy age when Cork (Kahrk)was the butter capital of the world.   I tell you this only to emphasize that everywhere you go in Ireland, you are reminded of historical events and structures.

     Kinsale, where we awoke,  was a very important naval town in the 17th & 18th centuries, visited by traders from all over Europe.   There are the ruins of two star-shaped forts, built in the 17th century to guard the harbor.  The Battle of Kinsale, fought between Spanish and Irish forces on one side and the English on the other, was a turning point in Irish history, according to the local chamber.  But as Ireland did not obtain total independence from the British until the 20th century, the point didn't turn quite as far as many of the Irish would have liked.

      We did a walking tour with Dermot Ryan, the founder of the Kinsale Historical Society and a living encyclopedia of information on the town and the area.  He put out more information than we could possibly remember, keeping us entertained all the while with such information as the local witticism, "Are you happily married, or do you live in Kinsale?"  We stood in front of busts of two well known McCarthys from Kinsale--Timothy was aboard the Endeavor with Shackelton and survived the ordeal in Antarctica.  You would think that experience would have kept him away from the sea forever, but he went right back out and was promptly lost at sea.  His older brother, Mortimer, spent 70 years at sea and was among the last survivors of Captain Scott’s expedition to the South Pole.

 Dermot Ryan and busts of the McCarthy brothers

     Dermot regaled us with story after story of local events and people.  I wish we could put him together with our friend Ivan Kronenfeld, so we could sit and listen to the two of them trade stories.  One of the wealthy local residents here once built a house and gardens especially for his Italian fiance, who had never been to Kinsale.  It even had a mother-in-law suite, to please the prospective bride's mother.  Unfortunately, the young lady arrived in town when the tide was out.  The tides here are quite dramatic, and at low tide, miles of mud flats are exposed and the resulting odor is quite discernible.  She took one look--and one sniff--and immediately turned around and headed back to Italy, never to be seen again.

     We even heard a conspiracy theory story about the sinking of the Lusitania, and how it brought America into World War I.  It seems the ship was hit by a German torpedo when it was only 8 miles offshore, when it was supposed to be 100 miles out.  The captain was not traveling in a zigzag fashion and was going at much slower than normal speed, etc.  There were two explosions, and the Germans claimed the second one was caused by the fact (not proven) that the ship was carrying a huge load of British munitions for the war effort.  In any event, the loss of 128 U.S. citizens enraged our country and brought us into the war.  Dermot was careful to make the point that for 100 years the Americans had stayed away from wars outside the Americas.  He was also careful to point out that times have certainly changed for the Americans . . .

     There were a couple of Brits in the tour group, and in response to my inquiry as to whether there was still resentment of the British by the Irish, he claimed there was very little.  But not long thereafter he was speaking of the cruelties of Cromwell's invasions of Ireland.  And he mentioned that there were many sympathizers of Germany in World War I just across the bay from Kinsale.  Now, why would the Irish be rooting for a country attacking England?  Actually, we all know they sided with both Spain and France in earlier wars with England.  But it's good to know there's no lingering resentment here.

 Main drag in Kenmare

      After a huge bowl of seafood chowder at Fishy Fishy restaurant (thanks to the Lewans for the recommendation), we headed for Kenmare, where there is reputed to be great shopping.  While Tricia cruised the shops, something pulled me into a shop called Kenmare Ice Cream.  I limited myself to only one scoop of the hazelnut rocher flavor.  The next time you are in Kenmare, you really should try a bowl of the hazelnut rocher ice cream.

On the road to Killarney

     By late afternoon, we saw a bit of blue in the sky (more on that tomorrow--you did notice the umbrellas, didn't you?) and drove through part of the Killarney National Park to a place just south of Killarney town, where we are spending the night at Friar's Glen Country House.  We split a meal at the nearby pub; the pubs here are  for families and not just for drinkers.  But nearly everyone in the place had a pint of beer at their plates.


     Tomorrow, the Ring of Kerry.


Charlie and Tricia


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