Gunternation

Here is a travelogue by Mom about their trip to Cork:

October 29 – October 31, 2009

Charles and I took the train from Dublin to Cork on Thursday, Oct 29th. It was a rainy day in Cork. When we checked in to our B&B, Garnish House, we were served a lovely tea with fresh baked scones, fruit cake, chocolate cake and brown bread, butter and jam — delightful on a rainy afternoon. After tea we walked over to Cork University and went to the Glucksman Gallery which had an exhibit of modern works by Irish artists (see the chair with the cow’s udder seat). Later we walked to the city center and strolled around in the English Market (“There’s nothing English about it, apart from the fact that it’s covered with a roof which was a radical innovation from across the sea when it was built in the eighteenth century.” Pete McCarthy).

The next day we got on a city tour bus and got off at the Irish Butter Museum (Cork led the world in butter exports back then). It was interesting but we thought the 3 euro entry fee a bit high. The rain finally stopped and we walked to a nice café for dinner.

Saturday we walked to the quay area of Cork City. We found the Crawford Art Museum and enjoyed the beautiful paintings of Irish life. There were several paintings there by a man named Charles Lamb and we were particularly interested in them.

After a late lunch in the Crawford Café, we walked around the quay area. Lots of people were out on the Saturday afternoon and many of them were in costume. Halloween is celebrated in a huge way in Ireland. We left Cork on the late train and got back to Dublin after midnight and everything was closed down in Hueston Station. Thankfully a taxi came by and we flagged it down and got safely back to Bill and Sharon’s apartment. We did lots of walking in Cork and were glad we were somewhat “in shape” from the time spent at the gym in El Dorado.

On the October Bank Holiday Monday, we set out from Graignamanagh and drove a few miles to St. Mullins, a monastical site on the River Barrow founded in the 7th century by St. Moling. The lovely site includes a medieval church ruin, the base of a round tower, a former Church of Ireland church built in 1811 and a graveyard with both Protestant and Catholic graves.

From St. Mullins, we drove to Jerpoint Abbey. Bill and I visited this terrific site last summer and wanted to bring Mom and Dad to see the excellent carvings and lovely courtyard. After roaming the Abbey grounds we stopped by Jerpoint Glass Studio and saw a bit of glass blowing in action. All Jerpoint glass is handmade and I own several pieces, including a vase with red and orange flame licks of color that called to me during this visit.

Our favorite stop of the day was Kells Priory, an Augustine priory founded on the King’s River in the 12th Century. There’s no visitor center here, and we even had to
climb a fence to enter the three acre site. Kells Priory includes both fortification features, including a wall of tower houses, and monastic ruins. Parts of the site are closed off by scaffolding, but there were plenty of places to explore in the misty dusk.

If you’re wondering about the difference between a monastery, convent, abbey and priory, I have the answer: either a monastery or convent would be an abbey if lead by an abbot/abbess and likewise, a priory lead by a prior/prioress.