Today we said good bye to County Clare and wished them luck at the Hurling championship on Sunday afternoon and moved south to Killarney.
In the morning we spent a bit more time wandering around Ennis as it was so lovely and we needed to run some errands (touthpaste etc).
Ennis decorated for the championships
We then hit the road. As a mid-way stopping point just outside of Limerick we visited Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. I actually had no idea what to expect from this but had heard it was fun from some other travellers at our B&B in Galway. It turns out to be a 15th century castle that was restored in the 1960s. As well, over the years they have saved many traditional dwellings from the region which were slated for destruction to form a type of traditional village (kind of like Upper Canada Village).
Bunratty Castle
Great Hall where they hold medieval banquets every night (if only I’d known!).
Solar, which was the guest parlour in effect.
This is a traditional farmers hut with the thatched roof.
Most of the buildings in the village had peat fires burning. It has a very distinct smell and it more smolders than flames.
Peat bricks
Travellers, a traditional Irish ethnic group, used to travel around the country side in wagons.
After wandering around the park we headed for Killarney where we settled into our B&B. The town is lovely – slightly smaller than Ennis. However it is very well populated with tourists as it is a central location from which to explore the region – which is what we are doing for the next few days.