Ireland; New Ross to Skibbereen

{Monday October 6th}

Got up shortly before 8a this morning to have a shower and get ready for the day.  We left the house shortly before 9a and headed into New Ross. Our first stop was at the Dunbrody Emigrant Ship.  Since the first tour was going to be in German, the guy gave us a discounted entrance fee. 

We headed out to the ship and met up with another tour guide and couple doing an English tour, so we joined them and got a tour after all.  The emigrant ship was built in Quebec to carry cargo, but carried many people during the Irish potato famine. 95 percent of passengers were second class and would have spent all day - with the exception of half an hour - below deck with absolutely no light.  25 to 50 percent of passengers died on route, hence why the ships became known as coffin ships. 

They had two actresses playing the parts of a first class passenger and a second class passenger, who did a great job of showing what life on the ship would have been like. 

After exploring the ship, we headed into the visitor centre to take a look at the exhibits. When we were finished, we got in the car and headed toward Waterford. 

Our next stop was the house of Waterford crystal. We got there shortly before 11a and were able to get a tour at ten after eleven. Before our tour we wandered around the showroom which included pieces like a thirty thousand euro crystal harp and a thirty three thousand euro crystal mirror. 

We started our tour on time with only two other guests. The tour starting with a video about the history of Waterford crystal. From there, we went into the blowing room where they mould the crystal. 

Process of creating crystal

After the crystal is moulded, it is heated in a kiln overnight and then cooled to room temperature. The excess is cut off and smoothed, and they are inspected for any flaws. 

Then they go to the marking room for guideline markings for the patterns before the cutting room. Cutters train for seven years to become a master cutter. In the cutting room, men use diamond blades to precisely cut the designs needed into the crystal. Master cutters have over 70 patterns memorized. One of the cutters let me stand right beside him and watch as he cut a rose pattern into the side of a bowl. 

After the cutting room, we saw the sculpting room where they make specially commissioned pieces like the peoples choice awards and American football (NFL) trophy. We finished the tour in the showroom, and headed on towards Cashel. 

Round Tower, Tower House & Cathedral

It was about a one hour drive to the Rock of Cashel. It's a large cathedral which was built in the 1200s. It was abandoned in the 1790s, and has since been preserved. It is set up on a hill, and has quite a view. It was interesting to walk around and see. 

After seeing the Rock of Cashel, we stopped for some lunch at Ladyswell Restaurant in Cashel. I got a pesto chicken salad which was absolutely delicious, and Paul got Roast Sirloin of beef. 

Cork, Ireland

After our lunch it was another hour drive over to Cork. We tried to drive to a church on the top of a hill for a lookout point, but there was quite a lot of traffic and steep hills and we never ended up finding the look out point. We went back down the hill to the downtown and walked around there for a while, seeing the river canal through town and the old English Market. 

Tribute to Henry Ford

We left cork around 6p to head towards Skibbereen. We got into Skibbereen shortly after 7p, however we had a great deal of difficulty finding the B and B where we are staying. After asking half a dozen people and many u-turns, we finally found it around 9p. Not quite the early night we were hoping for, but all the more thankful for a bed. The bed and breakfast is quite nice, with the exception of being difficult to find. 

J. 

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