Kilcommons to Killarney June 2019

This morning we left Kinvara as we began our journey to the south west of the country, to County Kerry and the town of Killarney. Our weather today was forecast to be very good, but we did not expect it to be quiet as good as it turned out to be.

Our first stop was in Adare, and the beautiful Trinitarian Abbey in the center of the town. By now the sun was beginning to really feel warm.

Here we have my group, pictured inside this beautiful eight hundred year old church, from the left, Mary Kate, Coleen, Erin, Kathryn, and Mary.

What a beautiful day this was turning out to be as the sun grew hotter by the hour.

Most disappointingly, the Ring of Kerry, on the way to Mols Gap at the top, was closed today, due to a subsidence of the road, and will not reopen until the 5th July. We got to visit Torc Waterfall, but there was no going any further from there, as the barriers were up, and that was that.
Here we are all together pictured at Torc. Even i got into this picture, thanks to some tourist who insisted on taking charge and getting someone else to take the picture with me in the middle.

Now, that we could not proceed on the Ring, we went back to Muckross House, and the farm tour there. This is a lovely tour, if you are interested in viewing a series of old renovated farmhouses, and a great range of farm animals. Our first one, was this really lovely donkey, who was tied the this tree on the roadside. Here we have from the left, Mary Kate, Coleen, and Erin, petting this docile donkey.

This is a picture of the small farmers cottage, one bedroom, four children, and thirty acres of a farm. Barely enough to survive on, but that is the way it was back then for many.

A Mommy goat with her baby.

                                             Mary Kate, enjoying a chat with the baby goat.

Next we had the Irish Wolfhounds.

and then, this massive Clydesdale horse in his stall. The day was really hot now at this stage,well into the higher eighties, and this guy, and his pal, who was also inside the stable, were being sheltered from the sun.

Here we have a lovely calf, one of Kerry's own special breed of the Kerry cow range, a fully black animal.

Now it was the turn of the small animals, and here we have this gorgeous baby collie dog.

                                           Now, Mary Kate was enjoying petting this lamb

Another really lovely donkey, waiting to have her foal.

There was an occurrence, as we made our way around, when a fox attacked  a group of chickens, and ran off with one of them. We discovered that there were actually two foxes and the other one had grabbed the rooster, and made off with him. Miraculously, after a few minutes the rooster reappeared, with feathers flying everywhere, obviously after being in a battle with his fox, but  managed to avoid being the main course on that foxes dinner.

Later we made our way back to Killarney, as the heat was now becoming a little too much. Any body on vacation here right now will know that the fallacy that it always rains in Ireland is a fallacy.