Limerick, Tipperary, Cashel

Yesterday we stayed at Ashford Castle as long as we possibly could. We enjoyed a nice tea in the afternoon before heading out on a boat cruise of the lake. I had thought it was just a sight-seeing tour, but it turned out that it took us to an island in the middle of Lough Corrib where St. Patrick had been sent/banished. While there, he built a small church so we were able to explore the ruins that are still on the island. It's a small uninhabited island but he somehow managed (with his navigator) to build this church. As well, it is now a famous spot because the grave marker of the navigator is the oldest known relic/monument in the world with a Gaelic inscription.
We couldn't delay our departure any longer after the cruise. :(
We had a nice drive down to Killaloe which is just north of Limerick, on the Shannon River. We are staying in this B&B for 3 nights so it is nice to be able to unpack a few things.
The skies have cleared a bit, so we are stealing the internet signal from the neighbours. (There won't be any pictures today because the signal goes in and out - just like the rainy weather.)
We enjoyed a relaxing night in last night. Today we took the scenic route through Limerick and Tipperary down to Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel.
We started in the Bru Boru Cultural Centre where we got some information on Irish dance and music. (Unfortunately, the show is at 9 p.m. and we weren't willing to wait around for it.)
Then, on to the Rock. These are more ruins of a church/castle. Some of the most intricately carved celtic crosses are there (that I've seen anyway). We also trekked down the sheep path through a field to the remains of Hoare Abbey (so named because the monks wore tunics the colour of hoare frost - Eric was disappointed with that explanation!)
It was quite funny that the abbey is a national monument but to get to it, we had to walk through a sheep pasture, cross the road, go down a street without sidewalks and then tread lightly through a cow pasture to get to it. The ruins are in the middle of this farmer's field. I guess when you live in a country with so many ancient ruins, there is no way that the government can own them all and take care of them all.
On the way back to Killaloe we took the backroads. This is always even more exciting because you never know what is around the corner - literally - it could be a cow, a car, a person, it's always a surprise to see what awaits you as you careen around the corner. (More on driving in Ireland later.) This allowed us the opportunity to see lots of random ruins in the middle of nowhere. They mostly looked like churches and old houses but that is just our guess because they weren't marked. However, there is still something intriguing about going through the ruins. I think Eric may have seen enough of them, but I could keep looking.
We had a nice supper in a pub tonight but Eric was actually too tired to hang around for the music to start. (I'm leaving him at home tomorrow night if he isn't willing to suck it up! Mind you if he keeps singing to himself in the bathroom, he may not live to see tomorrow anyway.)