Day 18 Kenmare Ireland Tuesday 17th July 2012

Yesterday was a day spent mostly in the car passing through six counties on our way to beautiful Kenmare in County Kerry. We left Dublin at 9.00 am and arrived in Kenmare around 4.00pm. We saw Bunratty Castle built in Medieval times and stopped off at the historic town of Adare for lunch. This town has been lovingly restored to its original state with thatched cottages everywhere and the main street has such a lovely feel about it. We ate at this cute little restaurant called The Blue Door and it was delicious.


The drive was mostly in the rain until we reached Killarney famous for its horse racing when the sun started to peep through the clouds to reveal a stunning landscape. OMG travelling on part of the Ring of Kerry road was the most wonderful drive you could ever imagine and we loved it!

Thank you Mother O'Hagan for coming to Kenmare all those years ago as I probably would never have seen this place otherwise. We are so looking forward to discovering all about Mother O'Hagan's life and achievements in this beautiful place today.

 We are staying at the amazing 5 star Sheen Falls Lodge and Spa in one of their thatched cottages. Our views across the inlet are to die for and we were all so excited when we saw how beautiful the location is. No wonder so many visitors come to this small oasis of peace almost on the most southern tip of Ireland.

This patio area is off the main chateau and with the river flowing through the grounds it was heaven.

This photo is of the sitting area in the main chateau with its open fire and grand piano!

This is the common lounge area in our thatched cottage - check out the view!

Today we are heading to Kenmare Lace in the town of Kenmare to learn more about the lace making. Then we hope to find Mother O'Hagan's final resting place and a visit to the Poor Clare Sisters convent as they still have some artefacts that belonged to Mother O'Hagan.