Rock of Cashel & Irish Knights

Over the last few weeks I've travelled around Munster (the southwest region of Ireland, 4 regions total in the country) and gone hiking and learning about Irish history. School still hasn't felt like school, which is just fine. Little homework has allowed a head start on a few essays due later in the month and plenty of time for working out and spending money. I've explored most of Cork (that's accessible by walking anyway) and now the streets and traffic seem less intimating and it feels less like a vacation and more like a home. The city of Cork reminds me somewhat of St.Paul. The population is similar with a mediocre sized city centre (downtown), the roads are slightly more confusing to navigate, and there are areas that take on an extra historical/ethnic atmosphere. Obviously Cork has much more history to it than St.Paul as I noticed one day when walking to the Mardyke Arena (gym). The night before in history class, the professor showed a painting of the original arena circa 1870. There was a similar sized building for the arena and the street, grass, and scenery look identical. Walking down the narrow street that came directly from the painting, I attempted and failed to comprehend all of the history and many memories that people have experienced in the same spot over hundreds of years.  

On the 25th of January, Joe, Carson, Matt, and I went hiking with the mountaineering club at Mahon Falls (about 1.5 hours east of Cork). It was cold, wet, and a blast! The rain/sleet/snow subsided for most of the hike, making the venture tolerable, but the wind was vicious on top of the falls and visibility was poor. Here’s a website that explains the place we went hiking:

http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/ie/waterford_county.htm
Unlike the photos on that site, there was 3 inches of snow at the top and overcast skies when we went through. We also stopped at the town called Dungarvan which looked exactly like the picture on that website. There were 3 vans of hikers and apparently we needed to stop at a pub for a hour before returning. Despite being wet and cold, it was a nice way to top off an accomplished day.

Last Saturday Megan and I went with the archaeology class to visit several different sites around and to the north of Cork. The first site we visited was one of the largest wedge-tombs in Ireland, dating from 1500 BC. The site is called Labbacallee which means old/wise lady. Our professor pointed out that local legend says a woman used to rule the local kingdom and when the tomb was excavated in 1934, the remains of a woman were found inside. This indicates that folklore, along with the ancient name and tomb, could hold more truth to it than people realize.

The second site was called Glenworth, and featured an Anglo-Norman Keep (stone castle). Apparently there used to be several hundred kings in Ireland, each ruling very small regions/towns, like a mayor today except much more authoritatively. Anyways, this was a typical castle for the king and his family, built on a hill with plenty of defense features. Check out the pictures on my flickr account. My review won't do justice, but a visit with an archaeology professor explaining everything would. 

Flickr Photos

After a stop for lunch in the town of Cashel, we visited the Rock of Cashel. This was the biggest site of the day and served as the main seat for the Kings of Munster and was built between the 10th-13th centuries. During this time, different families had power and tried to one-up each other by means of building more impressive structures then the family before. First, one family constructed a keep and living quarters, the next had a round (bell) tower and church built. Converting it to a religious site ensured that those structures would always remain intact. Later, a much larger gothic chapel was built right next to the old chapel (literally 4 feet in front of the entrance from the old chapel). Anyways, the day was great, a little misty in the morning but full of great Irish history and archaeology. 

The following day, most of the csb/sju crew got together to watch the Superbowl. Unfortunately, it didn't start until midnight and because Irish television has much fewer commercials (zero during rugby and soccer matches), none of the American advertiser's excessive amount of spending was witnessed. About one third of the game was just a panoramic view of the stadium which aired when American tv went to commercials. Though I left after Bruce Springsteen's halftime show/crotch shot, it was still a great way to wrap up another week in the green paradise.