Friday, March 29

Every day here is full but without being hectic. We are managing a delicate balance of keeping everyone rested enough while taking in as many sites and experiences as possible. Today's first site was  Kilmainham Gaol, Ireland's most famous jail. Karen and Anne went early to ensure we got tickets, which put us into a group with an incredible tour guide. She enthusiastically shared the history of the jail, which mirrors the history of Ireland with the many significant figures who were imprisoned and executed there. There's no way to give you all the fun facts we learned, but here are a few:
- The jail is made from limestone which holds the cold in, which explains why it was extremely damp and cold even inside.
- When it first opened, men, women, and children all stayed together with all different degrees of crimes  in the same cell.
- People were jailed for stealing food and later, for begging, so the jail was often full of those committing crimes of hunger.
- It was also a transport jail where criminals were held before being shipped to Australia. It's often said that Australia was built by criminals.
-  Many of the political prisoners were treated pretty well. One was allowed to bring his own furniture and could have guests in a second cell. He was even allowed to leave for his nephew's funeral in another country. As a gentleman, he was expected to return, which he did. Another prisoner, Plunket, was allowed to get married before being executed.

Anyway, you can see we enjoyed our gaol tour. We refueled with a nice lunch back at the McKennas and then headed out for the afternoon to Howth, which is on the coast near Dublin. We made a quick stop on the IBM campus, where Sean is working along with a few thousand others from all over the world.


We were fortunate to have the sun today though temperatures were still pretty frigid as we hiked along the rugged coastline. We walked for about an hour and loved taking in the views of Howth and its port.

 

Next stop- Maldehide, a town with a castle and Avoca shopping and restaurant located on part of the beautiful grounds. We indulged in some incredible treats and then came back to have still another home cooked meal back at the ranch. The cards came back out for what has become an evening tradition, and tonight's Golf winner was Ryan. That brings us to just one more day in Ireland. Better get some quick rest.