More History

Wednesday

The sun was shining when we arose. Elaine did a walkabout while I breakfasted and showered. We missed the church ruins yesterday because it started raining, so we headed that way again. The object destination was Kilmalkedar Church. It’s nearby one of the most famous sites on the Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle Peninsula), so we decided to stop their first – the Gallarus Oratory. We were the only tourists in sight on site. But there was a professional photographer who was doing some work on new publicity and promotion photos of the site. We had a nice conversation with him, a Kerry native now living in Cork. More history information (which you are permitted to skip):

The Gallarus Oratory resembles the upside-down hull of a boat with two slightly curved sides meeting at the apex of the roof. The inside measures approximately 16 feet long by 10 feet wide, which is why it is more fitting to call the building an oratory (chapel) than a church. It is still possible to walk inside, but expect the interior to be dimly lit. This is because the building has only one small, round window in the east wall and the main door in the west wall, so daylight barely filters inside. Outside the chapel is a three-foot tall stone which reads “COLUM MAC DINET” and is topped with an encircled cross. This slab is often interpreted to be a gravestone. When visiting the chapel, take time to admire the masonry. The rocks, which were all likely brought from cliffs along the sea, have been cut on every side. The large stones fit perfectly together and were clearly shaped and assembled with great care. This sturdy construction is what has allowed the structure to stand over the centuries with very little damage. It also made the building completely waterproof – allowing that Irish rain to run right down the sides.

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On to Kilmalkedar Church? Nope. It started raining so we missed it for the second straight day. Maybe tomorrow. We went back to Dingle and bought some lunch stuff as the fridge is almost empty. (We still have wine and vodka!) Then reading, tv, naps, blog writing, etc.

Dinner tonight was at Ashe’s – our third visit. If it was good enough for Gregory Peck (a distant relative of the Ashe’s), it’s good enough for us, and, in fact, is one of our Dingle Top Four. Their seafood chowder is top notch, so I finally passed on oysters. Elaine had chowder too followed by scallops. My main was fillet of Kerry beef – scrumptious. All accompanied, of course by a Pinot Noir, this time from France. (As an aside, there are no Irish wines – restaurant menus have wines from France, Germany, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile but almost never from the USA.) Elaine had a beautiful looking sticky toffee pudding for dessert while I sipped on a glass of port. Dingle was strangely quiet tonight. We stopped in at O’Flaherty’s not expecting any music. There was none. We sipped one drink and headed home to bed.

Jan Weiler requested interior house photos of our digs. 23 Ard Na Mata has four bedrooms, all en-suite. Three are on the ground floor along with the kitchen/dining area, the living room, and yet another half bath. You could have visited! The second floor is the master bedroom suite with bathroom and walk-in closet. Here are the requested photos. Excuse the clutter in the house.