NJ in Ireland: Cork

This past Friday, Christina, Courtney, and I said goodbye to Amy as she headed back to France and then we caught an early morning train down to County Cork, which is where my Irish ancestors were from, the Flynn's and the McCarthy's. We probably have third cousins in the area, but unfortunately, those two names are the number one and two most common names in the region.

Upon arriving in Cork, we sat out on a quay of the River Lee and got coffee while we waiting for the bus to take us to Blarney Castle. As we sat there, we saw hundreds of garda and a navy patrol boat, preparing Cork for the arrival of the Queen, who followed us down the Irish countryside. We didn't get to see her again, and by the time we arrived back in town from the castle, she ad already departed for London.

Blarney was really cool. We saw the castle (which was originally built by Cormac MacCarthy, the leader of the McCarthy clan), and of course, kissed the Blarney Stone, toured the gardens and the Rock Close, and took a tour of the Blarney House, which is still the private residence of the Baron of Blarney. We got lunch at a pub in Blarney town, and then headed back into the city, where we walked around the city center, visited St. Finnbarr's Cathedral, walked around the campus of UCC, and went to the English Market in the heart of Cork city. It was a really enjoyable day and I was really glad to finally make it down to Cork to see where my family had come from.