Saint Mary's Cathedral and Bunratty Castle & Folk Park

23 September 2011


We began our morning with a visit to Saint Mary's Cathedral.  

Our tour guide claimed that the two trees in front of the Cathedral were the only two giant Sequoias outside of California.

I looked at the trees and could not tell for sure.  I have been to Sequoia National Park and am not a botanist, but the trees do appear to be similar. 

From a distance they appear to be almost as tall as the cathedral.  The giant sequoias are much much taller.  

However, our guide said they were planted by priests that had visited North America during the 6th century.  Hum???

These stained glass windows were added during the 1800's

 The interior of the cathedral is awe inspiring.  While we visited, there was an early morning mass in progress.

 Our next stop was Bunratty Castle and Folk park.  
As we entered the complex it appeared as if we had time traveled into the middle ages.
The houses, this is only one example, had thatched roofs and small walled gardens.

 The cobblestone roads, were narrow and designed for horse traffic rather than automobiles.

 A lovely road leading to the castle

Although the entrance to the castle appears large, the actual entrance door can be seen at the center bottom of this picture.
The door itself, was only about 5' tall.

 The courtyard to the castle was fortified.  Although these cannons are currently pointing inwards, on display, when the castle was occupied, they were the castle's primary defense.

On the ground floor was the guard quarters.  They lived, slept, cooked and ate in this room.  
Guests would be admitted here and escorted up a spiral staircase to the great-room upstairs.
The great hall is on the uppermost floor (4th floor).  

 The intervening floors had bedrooms, guest rooms, store rooms, work rooms, etc.  
This is a typical guest room.  The bed is quite small by modern standards.  It is approximately 4 feet wide by 5 feet long.

 This artwork hangs in the great-room.  The tour guide indicated that it was from the Renaissance period.  There was a fire-pit in the center of the room with a spit where an entire animal, sheep or hog, would be roasted.

 Exiting the castle from the right side led to a terrace and a walled garden.  My daughter is sitting on the steps to the garden.

 This is a view of the castle from the garden.


The spire in the center of the roof is a chimney with a cap that allows the smoke from the fire pit to escape but rain cannot enter.

Leaving the castle meant going through a gate and over a bridge across the moat.
Since the gate was so low, visitors would have to dismount their horses and/or carriages on the other side of the moat to enter and could not remount until after crossing the moat again.  The gate itself, was made from 4" by 4' lumber and swung on heavy hinges.