Our first stop was at Cahir Castle, the castle used in the film Excaliber. The castle was built in 1142 and was occupied by a Lord of Cahir until 1961. We had a very good tour guide here and learned a couple interesting facts. First, the spiral staircases have uneven steps on purpose; these are called "stumble steps" and are meant to cause attackers to trip. Second, all the staircases have a clockwise spiral so defenders can swing their sword with their right hand easily, and the attackers' swings are blocked by the central column. The upper room in the castle had a very thorough explanation of the seige by the Earl of Essex in 1599.
Next we visited the Rock of Cashel, the seat of power for the kings of Munster. This is where the King of Munster was converted to Christianity by St. Patrick in the 5th century. During the ceremony St. Patrick accidently stabbed the king in the foot with his crozier. The king thought his was part of the ceremony and remained silent. The Rock is now home to the remains of two churches. We had lunch nearby at Cafe Hans -- very good food.
We spent the night in Kilkenny and went to an open mic night at Ryan's Pub. A few of the acts were very good; in particular, a guitar and cello duo that played early in the night were quite good.
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| Cahir Castle | Cahir Gate | Matt at Cahir | Model of Cahir | Rock of Cashel |
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| St. Patrick's Cross | Grave Stone at Cashel | Cashel Cathedral | Cashel Cathedral | Cashel Graveyard |