Today we plan to stay local in Killarney and see what we can see with the time and energy available. Our first visit is to Muckross House. It is relatively new by Europe's standards. Muckross House was built in 1843 for Henry and Mary Balfour.
Herbert was after higher social status and an English title. He invited Queen Victoria to come for a visit and spent a good part of the 1850's and millions of £s updating and renovating Muckross House hoping that she would like the place enough to grant him a title.
Victoria showed up in 1861, loved her accommodations, and had a good time with Herbert and Mary. The Balfoursl thought that a title was theirs. Well, on the way home from the trip, Victoria's beloved husband, Prince Albert died. The Queen was understandably distraught and forgot all about Herbert's title.
He had spent so much on the improvements for Victoria that he had to sell Muckross House to a Guinness heir. A few owners later William Bourn, a California mining magnate, bought the house for his daughter, Maud, who lived there the rest of her life. When she died, she gave the house and grounds to Ireland and, in 1932, the estate became Ireland's first national park.
Nice gardens.
We ate on the Muckross grounds in the cafeteria on the recommendation of our hostess. Bears repeating: "Irish food ain't what it used to be!" Best deal of our trip: Kathy had this enormous plate of very tasty food, cold poached salmon, couscous, beetroot salad, carrot salad and a corn/pineapple salad...for €9.95, about $10...delicious.....
Poor Tom....they closed the cold food section just as he arrived....he had a shepherd's pie. I think he was slow to order, being a bit distracted by the young woman in front of him!
We had planned to walk beside the lake after lunch, but then we remembered that our ticket included a tour of the Muckross Traditional Farms. Farms vs pretty lake walk....oh, how we wanted the lake walk, but the scrooge within decided we best not waste the $$$. We opted for the farms. It turned out to be one of our best decisions! We are walking to the first farm, commenting on how difficult a walk this is....how can some people make this rocky hill. We were completely clueless to the fact there was a shuttle bus...until it passed us!
The first stop is the "small size farm" where there were few, if any, outhouses. The dwelling house and the outhouses were joined together. By the way, outhouse in this context means barns, sheds, etc, not latrines! All of the animals and humans lived under the same roof, separated by a wall. Before you say, I have seen all this, read on....don't skip it....we didn't! Damned turkey scared the ____out of me when it gobbled!
The Laborer's Cottage.....throughout much of rural Ireland, the term "cottage" was applied exclusively to a dwelling house built FOR a farm worker. No other dwellings, no matter how humble or small, were EVER called a cottage. Below is a cottage, characterized by a separate enclosure for the livestock.
The farm worker had enough land to grow his own crops
The "runt" is sleeping on Mummy's nose!
The runt has finally found a vacant teat!!
Now all is well and everyone is sleeping.
The medium size farm was found primarily in western Ireland. It features two totally separate buildings, positioned directly parallel one to the other. One is for the humans and one for the livestock with a farmyard in the middle.
Nora, pictured below, grew up on such a farm. She was one of 7 children. All 7 slept in the bedroom with the two beds: 4 in the big bed and 3 in the smaller one. Her mum lived to be 80ish. The only physical problem she had was arthritis. Nora believes that the arthritis was due to bearing children past the age of 40.
Nora smiled as she recalled the fun evening entertainment with the whole family....and many times, many families....her dad played the fiddle, they all danced, told stories. Only a special occasion allowed for the battery radio. Batteries were very expensive and used very sparingly. There was no electricity in her childhood. She is 65.
The storage on the left is peat and on the right is wood, both sources of heat for warmth and cooking.
Spaces for the livestock
Mixed farming was a trademark of the medium sized farm. Very large vegetable gardens with some livestock as well. These farms were usually 40-50 acres.
As we exit, there is a donkey waiting at the gate....
It's the milkman we just watched milking the cows! He is delivering the milk to each of these farms.....
The milkman reminded me a lot of Tom's father, Marcellus. He was a dear man, very soft-spoken, gentle and kind. We joked a little....at least I think we did. I couldn't understand 80% of what he said. I figured that out when he asked me a question, as he looked down, and I answered "I hate shoes!" (I had on flip flops!) He smiled the biggest grin ever and chuckled. Then he offered me a ride on his cart!!
For real!!!!!
Tom just kept walking on with whomever....never thought to get a picture!!! But I did!! Susie is the donkey's name, but I couldn't understand the name of the milkman. However, when he told me he likes to "Judge Judy", I chastised him!!!
The large farm has not only two bedrooms, but also two fireplaces
Clustered together were the carpenter's workshop,
the saddler/harness-maker
and the blacksmith's forge.
Last stop is the school.
Two, sometimes three, students to a desk. The rows were divided by grade levels, K-7/8 in the one room.
This photo was taken in the 1930s. Note that they are all boys and only one is wearing shoes. The girls had to stay home to help Mum year round with all the other children; the boys only attended school a few months each year. And no one had $ for shoes. The community just celebrated a 50 yr reunion of this small school....and 5 of these boys showed up!!
We had a school lesson on spelling. The teacher terrified the children in the room by slamming his pointer down on the desks in front of them to emphasize how strict was the discipline.
After the farm experience we left for the Muckross Friary. It was founded in 1446 by the MacCarthy clan for the Franciscan order of monks.
It was pounded by the usual suspects of Henry VIII and Cromwell plus a few other marauders --being a friar in those days was not for sissies. It was, however, a remarkable structure.
Its cloister surrounded a courtyard with a yew tree as the centerpiece. Apparently, this was a signature feature of Fransiscan monasteries.
It had a lot of narrow slits for shooting arrows at the enemy. A friary was often used for defense purposes.
The stairs were steep and narrow.
As with most monasteries and churches, it had/has an adjoining cemetery. Tombstone dates range from 1843 to 1999.
A spectacular view....the terrace of a 5* Hotel/Restaurant down the road .6km from ours.
The bathrooms were very unique....lighting behind, rather than above or in front!
Kathy has a seafood soup....just broth, fresh asparagus, peas, scallions and loaded with shrimp, scallops and mussels.....and lotsa bread for "sopping" Would you believe this is a STARTER?
I shared whatever fish there was that wasn't shellfish. This was more than enough to eat
We both had salmon as our main.....
Day is done; gone the sun....sleep well.
