Stamps in My Passport

Hi friends, I’m glad you’re joining me while I share my recommendations, tips, insights and memories from my Irish journey last spring. If you’re following along on our Irish road trip adventure you’ll have previously read “An Irish Dream Part I & II”, if you missed them you can find them at these links here: https://stampsinmypassport.com/2024/07/15/an-irish-dream/ & https://stampsinmypassport.com/2024/08/16/an-irish-dream-part-ii/ to learn about all the adventures of Days 3 & 4 please continue reading below.

Day 3 Today we packed everything up in our rental car and left NewCastle West to head inland towards our next overnight stay at Kinnitty Castle Hotel located in Birr, county Offolay. We broke up the 3 hour drive with a few stops along the way. The first was at Cahir Castle. A mighty fortress that stands as a well preserved reminder of the past. We were able to use our gifted heritage passes (* See previous post for more information: ) for free entry. When we arrived there were only a small handful of other people at the castle so we were able to wander around on a self guided tour and enjoy exploring the castle without crowds for over an hour and a half. Some noteworthy things about this castle are that it sits on the river Suir, it was built in 1142 , and is one of the best preserved and largest castles in Ireland! They have retained their keep, tower and much of it’s original defensive structure. I found it fascinating to wander through the corridors, walk the narrow passageways to the tower and observe the creepy holding cells.

Cahir has been used in multiple productions including Excalibur & The Tudors. If you have the time to visit this unique defensive stronghold. Their hours of operation change seasonally so I recommend looking online to confirm that they’re open and to inquire about their audio-visual shows. The city of Cahir is charming and there are many beautiful areas to enjoy a picnic or just relax while listening to the refreshing sounds of the Suir river nearby.

Our next stop was about a 45 minute drive to the magnificent Rock of Cashel, the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. The King of Munster donated his fortress on the Rock to the church in 1101. Prior to that it’s origin of power goes back to the 4th or 5th centuries AD. According to tradition St. Patrick baptised the grandsons of Conall Corq at Cashel. Cormac’s Chapel
is one of the earliest, and finest churches in Ireland built in the Romanesque style. The building consists of a nave and chancel with projecting towers on the north and south walls of the nave. The nave has doorways in its north and south walls and both nave and chancel have connecting attic chambers (crofts) above their vaulted ceilings. You must aquire a special ticket for a tour of Cormac’s Chapel, it is recommended to book this upon arrival at Cashel (especially during busy summer season) as it is limited and only available by guided tour. Entry fees range from $6-8 euros per person for a guided tour & is free with the Heritage pass (*this was another amazing site we were able to visit for free with our gifted passes!). I highly recommend planning to visit earlier in the day or in the off season to avoid crowds. I also recommend requesting David as your guide, he is extremely knowledgable & adds a lot of history, humor and great insight to his guided tour 🙂

Sadly right after we arrived an incident occured that we now refer to as “Cashel smashel”… when Peach reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone in attempts to snap a few photos unfortunately she didn’t have a good grip on it and it slipped through her fingers and landed face down.. directly onto a metal grate (near the parking area down below Cashel) which promptly cracked her screen rendering her phone useless unless we could find an apple store to replace the glass. Peach was understandably, pretty upset about the loss of her phone & phone camera. She quickly became the “director” of our photos for the rest of the day, ensuring we didn’t miss a photo op and angle of the beautiful ancient ruins or historic sites. Thankfully Chico had come prepared with an extra phone (incase we needed an extra for a hotspot etc.) and lent it to Peach for the remainder of the day. It may have put a slight damper on the begining of our tour of Cashel, but we all thoroughly enjoyed our tours and learning all the history about the Rock of Cashel.

Our next stop was a 5 minute drive down to the hill to see the ruins of Hore Abbey which lies just beneath the Rock of Cashel and is nestled between miles of golden & emerald fields stretched as far as the eye can see! We parked on a side road and walked through a little creaky gate and followed a path up to the ruins. Keep an eye out for geese droppings while you’re walking on the path, it was a bit of a challenge to see who could make it all the way without stepping on the droppings but once you reach the ruins you’re met with a massive stone structure to explore. We spent about 45 minutes wandering through each section, snapping photos and finding unique viewpoints of the Rock of Cashel off in the distance, up on the hill towering above the ruins of the Abbey. This is free to visit and often overlooked by tourists, making it a unique location to visit and a great place for a quick stop and excellent views.

The highlight of our day was our last stop, the one we were the most giddy about. Prior to our trip I had been in contact with the manager of Kinnitty Castle Hotel and had arranged a special deal with him for our group. We received a VIP 2 night stay in 2 of their grand state rooms with an Irish breakfast included!! I couldn’t believe we would have the opportunity to stay in a castle, were given the freedom to explore the grounds and castle to our hearts content and would be treated like royalty throughout our entire stay. In exchange for our stay I created a lot of content that you can see on my Instagram page at the links below:

Kinnitty Castle is truly enchanting. From the moment we first arrived and drove the long winding road towards the castle, passed the fairy trail and drove through the large white wrought iron gates we knew we were somewhere special. The castle is nestled in the foothills of the Sleive Bloom mountains and settled on over 60 acres of rolling hills. After we unloaded the car and were greeted by Ashley who helped us get our things settled in our beautiful rooms. Then we took a walk around the property and a lovely stroll on a path along the river. There are several nature trails across the property and numerous places to hike if preferred. For dinner we were seated in the Dungeon Bar and served a delicious meal. I ordered a scrumptious comfort food meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies, and a West coast rose spritzer for my drink (highly recommend both, they are soooo delicious!). For dessert we were greeted by Mahraide & Eamon who surprised Peach by serenading her with the “happy birthday” song, a special delectable dessert and candles to make a wish. It was the perfect way to celebrate her birthday! After dinner we enjoyed drinks and relaxing in the library while we sat around a crackling fire and recounted all the special moments of our trip thus far. Then it was off to bed to unwind and rest before a busy day exploring the sights of Kilkenny.

Day 4 There is nothing quite like waking up in an authentic medieval castle, in a comfortable bed, to the soft rays of sunlight streaming through the window, the faint sounds of birds happily singing, a fresh pot of coffee or tea within reach and knowing you’re living your fairytale dreams!! It really felt like we were living in a fairytale the entire time we were there. I had my princess moments while I sat in oversized windows overlooking the Slieve Bloom Mountains, watching all the woodland creatures, the birds squirrels, and deer in the fields beyond the castle. The beautiful views of the rolling hills that surround the castle property all lent to the overall gothic fairytale vibes at Kinnitty Castle Hotel.

I still can’t get over how magical it felt! Especially one where you’re treated like a VIP guest, served drinks on silver platters, and fed a full Irish breakfast. After we got ready for the day we walked towards the “Downton Abbey-esque” staircase and saw Eamon (one of the servers at Sli Dala & Dungeon Bar onsite restaurants ) carrying drinks on a silver platter as he walked beneath the staircase, it was a real “Carson” on Downton Abbey moment and we were pinching ourselves! We walked down the stairs and were escorted to our table in the award winning Sli Dala restaurant. Eamon was our server who brought us a pot of silky smooth, creamy and delicious coffee & a pot of refreshing, tasty Irish tea for the table. We ordered 2 full Irish breakfasts & 2 of the vegan specials (2 of my travel companions are vegan and we loved that the staff at Kinnitty were able to accommodate their dietary needs seamlessly!). After our hearty breakfasts and savory fresh scones we made our way to our car and drove about 50 minutes to the city of Kilkenny to explore the famed medeival mile.

Our goal was to enjoy a slower paced day and just take our time wandering through town, browsing a few shops, touring the Kilkenny Castle and multiple historic churches on the Medieval Mile. Once we arrived in Kilkenny the first goal was to attempt to find an apple store and hopefully find a new screen for Peaches phone. We walked into a shop and found out that they could replace a screen in a matter of hours, however, sadly European and American screen sizes differ on Iphones. So, Peach would have to make due playing “director Peach” for the rest of the trip and continue directing Po and I to make sure we captured all the best angles of each location & got plenty of photos 😉

Kilkenny is one of the oldest medeival towns in Ireland and is steeped in history. There is a historic church located every few blocks! We loved all the cobblestone streets, the quaint squares, stunning architecture, charming shops and historic buildings everywhere. We had fun browsing in the shops and a few little bookstores. I purchased a celtic knot ring & got my claddagh ring from a cute little shop called Kilkenny Crystal (highly recommend them if you’re on the hunt for your own claddagh ring!), the owner gifted me a few extra goodies for purchasing several items from them as an extra thank you 🙂

**See the end of my post for map of Kilkenny & all the historic sights!

Our first stop was Kilkenny Castle. One of the longest continually occupied castles in Ireland. Nestled between the river Nore on one side and surrounded by beautiful gardens and ample green space on the other, it truly is a lovely castle to visit. Founded soon after the Norman conquest of Ireland, the Castle has been rebuilt, extended and adapted to suit changing circumstances and uses over a period of 800 years. Prior to our arrival we used our Heritage passes to reserve a self guided entry time slot. We chose one of the first slots of the day and we ended up having most of the castle to ourselves during our self guided tour. It was not busy and we were able to wander from room to room at our leisure without crowds and enjoy taking our time reading the signs and had plenty of time to take our photos with just our travel party. One of my favorite spaces was the grand ballroom. The ceilings are massive and covered with intricaltely carved and painted beams that stretch across from one side to the other. It was so impressive and would have been so amazing to attend a ball or party in this stunning room! Another area that was really interesting was the yellow room that would have been the upstairs sitting room. Each room had an aesthetic and were impeccably decorated. I personally loved the exquisite and ornate details and unique carved banisters on the staircases. After spending about 2 hours touring the castle we browsed the gift shop, purchased a few delicious treats from the bakery on site and sat on a bench outside the castle to enjoy our snacks. Then we walked along the beautiful gardens before heading to explore some of the other historic sites in the city.

One of the days highlights was climbing 30 meters (100 ft!) up rickety ladders inside the leaning, extremely narrow tower at St. Canice Cathedral (it tapers inward from 15 ft to 11 ft in diameter by the time you reach the top). It was literally one of the sketchiest and most creepy climbs to the top of a tower that we could have done. But we hoped that once we reached the top the views would be well worth feeling like we might die while we climbed the leaning tower of doom…. (errr at least that’s what the creepy recorded tape mentions while you begin to ascend the first steep set of vertical stairs!). We were shocked how steep the narrow steps were and the limited space on each platform we had to shimmy around to reach another ladder. Overall, there are 7 floors and a total of 121 steps to reach the top.

But alas, we climbed higher and made our way to the tippity top tier of the tower, found ourselves clamboring up stones and needing to weave our fingers through a thick, metal mesh screen that wrapped around the lookout on top of the tower just to brace & pull ourselves up through the crack between the rocky layers and onto the rocky platform. It was quite nerve wracking and a bit unnerving to stand on the top of the leaning tower, especially after climbing up the stairs of death (as we so lovingly refer to them). Once on top though we were pleased to be greeted by expansive, 360 degree views of all of Kilkenny & surrounding cities. It was quite the sight to behold!!

Our next stop was the famed Black Abbey built in 1225 and known for it’s magnificent stained glass window display. It really is stunning and so beautiful when the light streams through just right and brightens up the whole interior of the building. While we were walking through the church we noticed several locals who were reciting several prayers. I believe they they have mulitple services of Mass weekly and it is free to visit. Next we walked to St. Mary’s church & St. Mary’s Cathedral, and went on a wild goose chase to try and find the “hole in the wall” mentioned on our map (see below for map). Kilkenny really is a city full of olde world charm, plenty of history, cobbled streets, pretty places to pause and enjoy the natural beauty and is an excellent place to hunt for souveniers in one of the many unique shops.

Around 3pm we walked back towards the car and opted to skip Jerpoint Abbey, which was the next stop on our list in order to have some free time exploring the grounds at our castle, Kinnitty Castle Hotel because while we were there it really did feel like it was “our castle”! We arrived back at Kinnitty with plenty of time to relax, take a leisurely stroll along the grounds and follow the path by the river, and read a little before we enjoyed a delicious dinner in the library bar. As the sun sunk beneath the surrounding hillside and gleamed radiant red and orange hues we sat and reflected about our favorite sights of the day and used our “rating system” (I’ll explain in greater detail in an Irish Dream Part IV) to categorize our favorite stained glass window display, the best castle of the day, our favorite activities and sights of the day while we sank into armchairs that flanked a roaring fire in the library.

Before heading to our rooms for the night we decided to explore other portions of the castle a little further. Peach and I decided to walk over towards the oldest parts of the castle and definitely were spooked a little by the creeking floors and odd lighting cast by the shadows. They say this castle is haunted and depending who you ask they might just have some stories to tell….

The next morning, after enjoying a delicious breakfast complete with the creamiest most delicious coffee, Peach and I decided to wander around the castle a little bit more. We decided to walk up to the Attic in the 3rd floor and along the way I could hear crows cawing loudly. While I was walking up the stairs I could hear their wings flapping and see shadows of birds in my peripheral vision. It was a little unnerving when my shoe caught on the carpet on one of the top stairs causing me to stumble just as I saw what looked like a bird flying near my head. I nearly tripped my way up the stairs but thankfully I was able to catch myself before I stumbled to badly. That’s when I realized birds were in fact sitting outside of small windows that lined the stairwell up to the third story and what I had heard & seen was their fluttering of wings and cawing through the window and their shadows being cast against the wall. Might sound like nothing but in the moment it was a bit creepy…especially since the castle is known to be haunted and the 3rd story is said to be the location of several ghost sightings…let’s just say I’m glad it was only birds joining us on the attic floor. 😉 Irish folks definitely love to tell their tales about fairies, ghosts and other folklore. It’s all part of the unique Irish experience 😉

Are you currently planning or considering a trip to Ireland?? If you answered yes you can head over to the Itineraries section for a complete “Irish Holiday” companion guide also the “7 day Authentic Irish Adventure” complete itinerary that incorporates everything we did on our Dream Ireland adventure & includes everything you’ll need to plan your very own amazing trip!

**Check out the “Guide to Ireland” including all the maps shown here in this post, previous posts, country maps and everything you’ll need to find your way around Ireland and ensure you don’t miss any of the spectacular sites while you’re there!

For more on our journey across Ireland and to read about all the adventures of days 5-7 stay tuned for An Irish Dream Part IV coming soon! In the meantime please check out part I & II if you haven’t read them already.

Find all my travel essentials at the link below!

Until next time, happy adventures friends! ~Krista

Other sites for reference:

https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/cahir-castle/, https://heritageireland.ie/places-to-visit/the-rock-of-cashel/, https://www.kinnittycastlehotel.com/, https://www.kilkennycastle.ie/

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