Day 5: Touring West Cork

At the Muster Arms Hotel, Kristy had our first Irish breakfast. I ordered the "full breakfast" and Kristy had an over-easy egg. The full breakfast consisted of Irish bacon, Irish sausage, a fried tomato half, fried eggs and black and white pudding. For both of us to share, the hostess brought us out 10 pieces of toast in a rack. In the back of the dining room was a counter with cold cereals, oatmeal, orange juice, yogurt and milk. Kristy drank Irish tea, while I had orange juice and coffee. We sat there and talked about the day ahead and waited for our food and wondering about the massive amount of toast in front of us.

When the food came, my plate was heaping and all of it tasted delicious, save the puddings which were puzzling and complex. Here is what the Irish breakfast looks like:


All of the food was flavorful and hearty, and also the same everywhere we had breakfast in Ireland. At the Muster Arms, the black pudding was the famous "Clonakilty Black Pudding." I tried them both and thought they were grain-based, however I was pretty sure the black pudding had blood in it. So, I offered a taste of the white pudding to Kristy and she ate a crumbs worth and diagnosed it as meat. And yes, after a second taste, there was definitely some kind of meat along with the grains in the pudding. Touche Kristy!

After finishing our first Irish breakfast, we went back to our room and began to pack for our departure. On the docket for the day were many West Cork Michael Collins sites. We hoped to end near the Ring of Kerry. I carried our suitcases down the stairs and we asked the kind receptionist for directions to Béal na mBláth, where Michael Collins was ambushed after leaving the hotel. She gave us great directions out of town and headed us off in the right direction.

As we drove out of Bandon, Kristy yelled out: "Pull over! Did you see that!?!" I questioned her but found the nearest spot and pulled in. We walked back a block and I saw it: the Chaplin Bar. It was a bright pink building and seemed to be dedicated to Charlie Chaplin. Kristy took pictures and I thanked her for the shout out. We pondered what relation Chaplin may have had to Bandon or Ireland at all as we walked back to the car.

Kristy and I drove for less than 20-minutes before we suddenly turned a corner and saw the Michael Collins memorial. It was situated along the road and sat stately above ground level. We pulled over, walked up to it and began reading the information and taking pictures all around. The site was dedicated on August 22, 1924- exactly two years after he was killed at the spot. Here is a photo of that day:

Kristy and I were the only people there for quite a while. We made a donation for upkeep of the monument and as we began to drive off, an Irish couple pulled over and paid their respects at the monument.

After leaving Béal na mBláth, we headed towards Clonakilty, where Michael Collins grew up and made many political speeches later in life. On our way, somehow we got lost and ended up in a small town called Ballineen. As we pulled onto the main street, Kristy called out to an older gentleman walking on the sidewalk and politely asked him which direction Clonakilty was in. Kristy repeated the question after he turned towards us, but he then signaled that he did not understand us. This was our first experience with someone who only spoke Irish and no English.

We drove a few blocks down the street and found a parking spot outside of a baby store. We went in hoping that the owner could at least give us some directions. The store was empty, but behind the counter was a staircase that apparently went up to an apartment where the owner lived. A kindly woman came down after a few seconds and gave us directions and chatted with us about America, politics and her favorite Irish destinations. After our conversation, Kristy found so many "adorable" things to buy. As we left, Kristy took some pictures of the outside of the store and we got back on the road... in the right direction.

In Clonakilty, a somewhat larger town, we drove down a few streets until we found a parking spot. And, we learned quickly that when you find a parking spot, take it and walk- it reduces stress. So, we walked and headed down a street towards a park. It turns out that the Michael Collins statue was on this street- a very lucky break. The statue is not too old as it was dedicated on the 80th Anniversary of his death in 2002 by Liam Neeson, who portrayed Michael Collins in the famous movie.

We took some pictures of the statue and the oldest Post Office Kristy had ever seen. It appeared to be a converted church. Continuing up the road, we entered a square that included the building where Michael Collins lived as a child. Another lucky break.

The other place in Clonakilty that we wanted to see was O'Donovan's Hotel. It was a favorite of Michael Collins and where he gave many political rallies. Here is a picture taken on June 15, 1922 as he rallied support for the treaty:


O'Donovan's Hotel was pretty hard to find, well, at least compared to the other sites. We found it a few blocks on the other side of the car. As usual, we took some pictures and discussed the history of the Hotel.

Kristy and I left Clonakilty and headed for Skibbereen. We thought about seeking out Michael Collins' birthplace, but as it is in a very small village and not on any of our maps, we decided to save that for a return trip... some day. Anyway, the drive from Clonakilty to Skibbereen was along the southern coast of Ireland. It was really amazing to see.

In Skibbereen, we parked immediately and began the hunt for either a lunch spot or the Eldon Hotel which is where Michael Collins spent his final night. Here is his convoy leaving the hotel:


We found J. J. Fields Grocery and Bakery first and had a small lunch and drink. We were both still pretty full from our first Irish breakfast. We watched the people, talked about our plans and relaxed for a long time in what must have been the place to be in Skibbereen on a Saturday.

After lunch, we strolled throughout the town. This was our last Michael Collins stop and basically our last stop in County Cork.

As we left the County, we took note that it had almost four times the number of deaths on its roads than County Kerry. This information is posted as you enter and exit each of the Counties. We thought nothing of it driving into Cork, without a reference point, but by the end of the trip, we came to realize that it was the "deadliest" County we had been in. It was not hard to see why as the roads were the narrowest and the drivers were the fastest. Anyway, we made it out alive and witnessed our first sheep near the road just at the County Kerry border. We stopped and took some pictures and headed deeper into County Kerry.