Day 7 Limerick

Before we left the party last night, Margaret's brother had invited us for lunch. In Newfoundland our 'feed' is Jiggs Dinner. In Ireland a traditional meal is bacon and cabbage. There's not much difference, but more about that later! We were invited for lunch, so having only the morning free to explore, we went into Limerick to wander King John's Castle and the downtown along the Shannon.

Sounds silly that we haven't yet explored Limerick, but we have been so happily busy we really haven't had a chance. Limerick is another very easy town to navigate. The River Shannon cuts through the city and the imposing ediface of King John's Castle and St. Mary's Cathedral provide markers that can be viewed throughout the city centre. Limerick is a beautiful medieval city with clear indicators of  great restoration efforts.

Beautiful sone walls everywhere. This one happens to be the original convent of the Sisters of Mercy.
Colourful murals throughout
One of the doors to King John's Castle. Built in 1210 to protect Norman power in Limerick and Munster.

Oldest pub in Limerick.

Very colourful!

Sarfield Bridge
Looking up the River Shannon to the County Clare Mountains
They are mad about their sports! You can't walk 10 feet with seeing reference to the Limerick win in hurling last week.
Even King John is on on the action!
Beautiful wild flowers are everywhere. They grow on bridges and in the cracks in castle walls.
The Treaty Stone. Another in a long list of Irish troubles with the English, took place in the 1600s. The war between King James and King William eventual ended in a treaty supposedly signed on this stone.

An ancient wall cleverly hides the courtyard of a local pub.

Among all the ancient ruins is a monument to a local sports hero. I told you you they were mad about their sports.
Swans in front of the castle.

Clever and creative old posts painted. The two sided benches have trees planted in them for shade and they are on wheels, so they're movable.
Some close-ups.
A very interesting art installation along the river. This one is called The Archive of Convenience. It's a collection of "stuff and things", "all consuming, all consumed". A medical mask made the collection!
St. Mary's Cathedral dating back to 1111! Certainly not the first old thing I've seen. I've been to Egypt for heaven sake, but it still messes with my head to even consider all that has happened here. Thy had very interesting timeline boards to help with perspective. This church was here long before Joan of Arc was burned, Leonardo da Vinci was born, or the first Gutenberg bible was printed. It was standing when Colombus discovered America, Napoleon was defeated and Beethoven first performed. It was incredibly beautiful.

The vault for the Sexton family. Edmond Sexton was a confidant of King Henry VIII.

Dublin doors are pretty enough, but the doors in Limerick are every bit as nice.

Scurrying back from downtown (there is never enough time to do everything) we arrived at Tom's and Breda's for the most delicious meal we have had since we arrived. Now I am aware that I say that rather often, but today I really mean it! I have learned the only real difference between a traditional boiled dinner here and a boiled dinner in Newfoundland. In Newfoundland your dinner is thanks to a cow and here you've a pig to thank. The salt cured bacon (what we would call ham) is boiled with fresh vegetables altogether in the same pot. The potatoes were dug fresh from the garden right before we arrived and boiled and served in the skins. The turnip and cabbage were cooked to perfection and I think I have eaten my own body weight in deliciousness!


Tom and Breda's house was a small stone cottage before they added to the one room. The inside wall now in their greatroom is the former outside wall of the original cottage.
The half door was colourful and welcoming 
The blue bowl holds hens & chicks. I have never seen them grow like that before. Such a profusion of blooms!

Following a desperate need to walk off a feed like that, we spent what was left of the afternoon in Adare exploring the picturesque village.

So many thatched roof buildings in Adare.
St. Nicolas Church, relatively new having only been here since 1315! 

Ending the day with a walk along the river.

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