Day 5: Honeymoon in Killarney

After we had our fill of Michael Collins' sights for the day (just kidding- Chad could never tire of Michael Collins), we started driving toward the Ring of Kerry. Along the way, we stopped in Glengarriff, a beautiful, one main-street town along the water. We found a traditional Irish gift shop and stopped to view the wares.

Ireland is well-known for producing many things, including Irish lace, wool sweaters, crystal, etc. and this shop had everything. Our special interest was centered on the tweed Irish caps that all the Irish gentlemen wear since Chad decided that he wanted one about five minutes after our trip was booked. Chad was fitted by the sales woman to be a size large and then spent at least fifteen minutes pondering which cap to choose. We finally chose a green tweed in the traditional style. From the moment he put it on, people treated Chad like one of their own, a young Irish lad with his cap. I guess that meant I looked like his foreign wife from Italy or Greece because no one confused me with a native (even though I am the one with actual Irish blood!)

Cap in place, we then continued our drive toward the Ring of Kerry. We passed through Bantry, but didn't stop because we were already going to be short on daylight. Although we could have stopped in Kildare for the evening, we decided to drive part of the Ring of Kerry up to Killarney and rest there for the evening. Little did we know that we would be driving the most treacherous part of the entire ring in the wee afternoon hours and into the dark night.

Kildare was an adorable little town that we hit right at busy hour, about 4:30 PM, when everyone gets done with work. The traffic is always ridiculous, as is the pedestrian traffic, and so this slowed us up quite a bit. We contemplated staying for the evening again, but chose to press on despite the darkness that was beginning to descend.

We started driving the Ring of Kerry and were astonished at the beautiful landscape; however, what was even more startling was the high speeds at which people whipped around the sharp corners. Once it got dark enough to use headlights we were at a greater advantage because we were able to see lights around the curves before we could see the car that was about to swerve into our lane as they peeled around the turn. What's more, the Irish mist made it's way down from the mountains just enough to create an additional hazard on the roads and our windshields. Needless to say we were relieved to see the exits for Killarney.

We made our way to the main street in Killarney, expecting to find it as bustling as Kildare had been earlier. Yet by then, the Irish had begun to head home and the roads were relatively empty. We stopped by two bed and breakfasts to inquire about vacancies and both informed us they were closed until March. They both gave us the name of the same bed and breakfast on a different street and so we decided that this would be our best bet. We purchased some souvenirs, including a Guinness poster and some Connemara worry stones, and then got back in our car to find the bed and breakfast.

We were surprised, but pleased to find that the bed and breakfast had a small parking lot in the front and additional parking around back. After making our arrangements with the B & B owner's daughter, we brought our luggage into a small, but neat bedroom with one single and one double bed. Since it was nearly 7 PM and we had not eaten dinner, we made the five minute walk into downtown and found a pub for some grub.

The pub was actually full since we were eating at normal Irish dinner time and we just managed to find seats. After ordering our food (my favorite fish and chips, while Chad ordered sheppards pie), we watched a tense rugby game between Ulster, the Northern Ireland team, and Munster, a team in the Western region of the Republic of Ireland and the defending European champions. Needless to say that our pub vigorously cheered on Munster, but to no avail. To put it in Irish terms, Munster got "walloped" and our pub was seriously disappointed with their performance. It was like watching the Vikings beat the home field Packers in the Krolls bar - not pretty.

After our meal and sport, we headed back to our B & B for a quick nap. We set our alarm (this room had one!) for 10 PM so that we could get up and head back into town for some traditional Irish music. Luckily our alarm worked and we actually woke up. We walked back into town and tried the first pub that advertised music. As soon as we stepped in we knew that we wouldn't be staying. The music was provided by some young pup with his guitar and the bar was filled with hip Irish twenty-somethings. We turned right around and walked out.

The next bar was much improved. The crowd was much older and the music that was about to start was going to be played by one mid-age gentleman and two older gentlemen. The area where the music was going to be played had only about 15 seats, including two couches. Every seat was already filled, except for one couch which had a lone man sitting on it. Chad politely asked if the rest of the couch was taken and the gentleman told him that he was saving his wife a seat. Although Chad was a little puzzled, because we clearly could have fit two more people on, he decided not to push the issue and we found two standing seats near the bar with a good view of the music area. Within a few minutes, bartenders brought out bar chairs for all the ladies who were standing, including myself.

The music started and was just what we had imagined- wonderful traditional music that the crowd knew and could sing along. While viewing the seating arrangement near the music, Chad picked out one clearly foreign couple. The wife was Italian or Spanish and loved the music, tapping along and bobbing her head. Her German husband, however, was not at all a fan and Chad pegged him for being the first to leave. We closely observed them as they finished their drinks and got another; yet, Chad was certain they would leave before 11 PM.

The bar began to get more crowded, with a variety of ages filling in all the standing space. I was on my second Irish Cider when we noticed the foreign couple begin to gather their coats. In a flash, Chad and I were in motion and had already sat down at their spots before anyone else in the room knew what hit them. We congratulated ourselves with a fist pound and celebrated with another Irish Cider and a Bailey's for Chad. We kept both beverages in the middle of the table, though, so no one would have to know whose drink was whose.

After a few minutes of enjoying our new seats, a group from Cork came and stood near us. On the other side of us was a different group of people (next to the rude couch couple), also from West Cork. They were both merry bunches and their energy was contagious. Soon the musicians played a song from West Cork and an older woman from the left group randomly grabbed an older gentleman from the right group and pulled him onto the dancing area in the middle of the room. Without even hesitating, they began to dance together to the fast paced rebel song. Chad and I were truly astonished at their agility and ability to dance with a stranger.

At different points in the evening, the Corkers danced to songs and when they weren't dancing they were belting the words out along with the singer. One fellow in particular was fond of shouting, "yeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaw" at various points during the songs, as you can hear on the video we recorded. The music wrapped up around 12:30 AM and the patrons, including ourselves, headed toward the door. It had been a wonderful evening and we would be humming Irish songs to ourselves for the rest of the trip.

Video: "Rock on Rockall"