Shades of Ireland

Saturday, April 25:

Breakfast at The Old Ground Hotel before we departed for Killarney. Our first stop was the Molanna Dairy Farm. We were greeted by Margaret and Paddy Fenton. They invited us into our home where we had tea or coffee and Guinness Cake or Scone. The guinness cake was wonderful!! After a welcoming reception, we made our way to the Fenton homeplace where Paddy Fenton was born. We all gathered in a room and heard him tell his story. He ended with this wonderful poem, "What is All When All is Told" by Mona Tierney:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUFeWekD9xc

We then met Patrick, son of Margaret and Paddy. He is running the dairy and he told us how he ran the dairy with 150 cows. While he was talking it began to rain and we made our way into the milking shed. The rain was short=lived. Patrick shared wonderful information regarding his work on the farm. The entire visit made us aware of the hospitality of an Irish family and connected us a little closer to what life was like living off the land.

Leaving the Molanna Dairy Farm, we made our way to Killarney. When we arrived we had a little over an hour before our next scheduled event. Some went to eat lunch (fish and chips, etc). I had a guinness and enjoyed sitting and relaxing. When we gathered together, we were treated to a time-honored Irish jaunting car ride. A jaunting car is a light two-wheeled carriage for a single horse, in its most common form with seats for two or four persons placed back to back, with the foot boards projecting over the wheels. The jaunting car ride took us through the Killarney National Park. With the wind, it was freezing cold! Some blankets were provided - but this was not enough. It was a great ride!

After the Jaunting car ride, we had free time. Some shopped. There were a few that sat in the hotel lobby of the Killarney Park Hotel. While they were there a wedding reception was taking place and they were given some champagne from the wedding. Since I had not eaten lunch I went to the Porter House and had a fish 'n' chips. I sat near a window and enjoyed sitting and watching people go by.

Once back on the bus, we made our way to our lodging for the evening. The Europe Hotel and Resort - a wonderful hotel where we would be staying for 2 nights. We had time to go to our rooms and freshen up before dinner. It was a wonderful hotel!