Day 6 Limerick

Today was a brilliant day that most visitors to Ireland would ever get to experience!

It started out with rain but we were ready for it and after breakfast headed to Lough Gur for a hike. The scenery, like all of Ireland, was beautiful but the area also contained ancient treasures. The pictures will tell the tale. 

After our leg stretch we traveled through the countyside stopping in at the sites that held the Murphy's roots. It was beautiful Irish county to be sure, but it was so cool to travel to the places we had heard about from their stories of growing up in Ireland. The highlight was a visit to Patrick's brother's farm. We knew the farm held a castle remnant that was never allowed to be touched. The Irish historical trust insists on the preservation of castle ruins, thankfully! This remnant has continued to hold feed and farm equipment but remains standing in all its glory since 1306!! Incredible! Dennis, Patrick's brother, was a delight! He's 80, and although he has officially passed on the farm to his son, he continues to work alongside him. He seemed only too happy, or at least abundantly gracious, in taking a break to show us around.

Today was the day of the Barry family reunion and we were invited to join in! Now being a Horan, I have had my fair share of fabulous family reunions. The Barry's are expert at reuniting and are absolutely brilliant at welcoming guests and making them feel like one of the family. The group of 50 gathered at the home of one of Margaret's nephews was a raucous crowd, full of food and drink, fun and laughter, and a whole lots of love generously shared with the 'blow-ins'!

Lough Gur
Found where the fairies live!
Amazed at the thickness of the thatch.
Coming down the ancient stones to the excavated village ruins it's not hard to imagine why the Vikings settled here.
Castle ruins
Pigeon house as part of the castle
Lough Gur
Castle ruins on the farm
The arch in the castle doorway. Incredibly thick walls. 
75 feet high, build without any modern convenience, and yet the massive cornerstones are straight, all the way to the top. Incredible! Not the first time I've seen this but it continues to amaze me.
For perspective
...and God decorated - beautiful!
The farm
Flowers growing wild around the castle 
Margaret and her nephews 

The gang! Beautiful people.

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