Castles.

After reading the last post, you may think all we're doing is work. Quite the contrary, really. We've been having plenty of fun around Drewstown as well as some sightseeing around Ireland.

Last week we took a trip down to Dublin to visit Drimnagh Castle, the only one in Ireland to still have a working moat. It was actually a rather small castle, we almost missed tucked between two elementary schools. The castle and grounds are a renovation project that is still very much ongoing. When we arrived, the only people on the grounds were the gardeners/landscapers. So we were given an impromptu tour by Anne, which was fun since she knew so much about the plants and projects going on at the castle. It was, however, rather a whirlwind tour since she talked so fast and flew through the grounds and rooms at such a pace that I couldn't keep up and take pictures of all we were seeing. I opted for pictures so I confess I missed many of her explanations of the castle itself. Luckily she had given us handouts, which I read later in the car to fill in the blanks. Several movies had been filmed in portions of the castle/grounds like Excalibur and Ella Enchanted. You are also able to rent out the castle for parties and events. Anne told us a man had rented it for his granddaughter's birthday party and decorated it in a Harry Potter theme, complete with Professor Trelawney's Divination classroom. As we wandered through, I could definitely imagine it decorated as Hogwarts. Here's a few snapshots of Drimnagh.

The Moat.

Anne explaining some of the plant life.

Ground floor - kitchens.

Main Hall (clearly I'm already lagging behind).

Main hall looking down.

View of the garden from the top floor.

After Drimnagh, we made an unscheduled detour up to Malahide Castle. Most of the castles and abbeys we'd seen thus far in Ireland have either been ruins or working renovations (like Drimnagh). However, Malahide is a restored castle, grounds and garden, in which the heirs of the family Talbot were in residence up until 1975. That year, Rose Talbot (who inherited the castle upon the death of her brother) sold it to the Irish State and went to "retire" in Tasmania. Our tour guide informed us they'd kept a room in the castle for Rose's occasional visits to Ireland up until her death in 2009. I didn't take too many pictures inside the castle since most were spoiled by fellow tourists. After our tour of the castle, we wandered out into the gardens which, when in full bloom, must be a sight! Even now into the Fall season they were beautiful by my estimation. I love macro shots, so I was a happy camper with so many different and unfamiliar flowers. However, the faithful Irish rain drove us back to the cars so we headed back to Drewstown.

Small Drawing Room.

Dining Room.

Restored bedrooms on display.

Child's room with toys.

Wandering the gardens. 

So many new plants.

Today the last of the Glacier View team flew out, so it's just the Scherrer family and myself now. Tomorrow we're heading over to Western Ireland for a little holiday, doing some touring of Galway and County Clare. I'm sure I'll have pictures to post and memories to share upon our return.
So to you, dear reader, I bid Oíche mhaith.
Good night.