Castles!

After Easter I went for a few days down to Waterford area. As discussed in a previous post, I stopped in Carlow town for lunch and afterwards paid a visit to the beautiful Carlow Castle. Believe it or not, this is very close to the centre of the town! I am happy to re-post this picture of the castle.

 After a morning in Waterford the following day, we took a drive in search of some dolmens, named in my monuments book (Guide to National & Historic Monuments of Ireland by Peter Harbison). It was yet another gorgeous day and while stretching our legs at a walk by a series of man-made ponds near Dunhill, Co. Waterford, we thought we could see a casle silhouette in the distance. My husband asked in the local pub if there was a castle nearby, and we got directions to Dún Aoill.

The three storey castle was at the top of a low hill but very accessible. There were a few families picnic-ing at its base and lots of children enjoying the ruin,

The view from the castle was lovely too.

Though not as large as my favourite castle what I loved about Dún Aoill was that you could climb up several floors, and be within the ruins, not just look at it from the outside. Ballycarbery Castle is definitely my favourite castle in Ireland. It is near Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry near to where I lived for three years in the mid-1990s, so I visited it regularly. I never really think of it as being so huge, until I see pictures of it, but the remains are only of one corner so the castle in its day must have really been gigantic. This castle is on a farmer's field and is only accessible from the road at low tide,

Waterford - sculptures

I spent last Wednesday morning in Waterford city, having a meander around the quays and Viking Triangle historic area. I stopped to have a look at this bronze memorial to the youngest soldier (aged 14) killed in WW1 created by Pat Cunningham.

The John Condon Memorial has a beautiful contrast between a textured & patinated exterior and a highly polished interior.

Also bronze, this amusing sculpture, "The Marriage of Strongbow & Aoife". was created by Eithne Ring.

At the roundabout to the quay parking lot, was this sculpture of a tall ship by Cork artist Denis O'Connor. The ship is on stilts so is raised above the roundabout and can be easily seen by traffic and pedestrians alike.

At the quayside, abstract concrete sails tower over the Millenium Plaza, designed by William Vincent Wallace.