We started this day very slowly. After another hearty Irish breakfast we just relaxed in the room watching the tele until after noon. After we finally decided to bathe, we drove to Blarney to see the castle. It was an easy drive but it gets pretty congested right as you get there. The grounds were quite nice and the castle itself was interesting. The stairways were not meant for heavy people. We did, of course, kiss the Blarney Stone which is more part of the castle than a separate stone. Kissing the stone is a little bit of an adventure. You have to sit on a ledge, lean back and smooch while holding onto a bar. After putting our lips where millions have before us had, we toured the grounds.
Our next goal was to find a pub where we could watch the Gaelic football game. We remembered a pub called Maguire’s that had big screen TVs so we headed there. We found out the hard way that pubs are closed from 2-4 on Sunday so we settled for dinner. On our way to Maguire’s we had walked past a place called Gino’s that smelled good so we gave it a shot. We ordered an extra-large pizza with onions and a side of garlic bread. The bread was good and the pizza wasn’t too bad. The sauce was a little weak but it got the job done.
We decided to make an early night of it and only have a few pints. We gave Maguire’s another shot hoping to catch the replay of the match. Unfortunately we got the British Open instead so we finished our pints and moved on. Pub #2 was An Boohran where we watched Jesper Parnevik blow a three stroke lead with four holes to play. The pub itself was pretty interesting. It looked more like what we expected the pubs to look like, simple with exposed beams and stone walls. Next was Clancy’s which appeared to cater to an older crowd. We found the next place, An Crannog, down an alley. It had tree branches for table supports and attracted a much younger clientele. We finished our Guinnesses, the cheapest yet at 1.75, and moved on. We found a traditional jam session at Haven. They played some enjoyable music until Steve decided to use the toilet. They didn’t continue, however, until I left for the rest room. Things that make you go “hmmm.” We finished our pints while talking to the barman about the U2 tour. Our next stop was An Brog where we pulled up stools next to “The Doctor.” He was an older man with a thick accent who appeared to have had more Guinness than we had. H liked to talk but between the accent and the beer, we couldn’t understand what he was saying. After about 20 minutes of mostly one-sided conversation we came to the conclusion that he doesn’t like blacks, he doesn’t like the English and he’s probably not really a doctor.
Our mini pub crawl outgrew that name as we headed across the river to Union Quay where we found a few more pubs. The first was The Donkey Ear where we were bombarded with reggae music. We declined the offer to go back to Jamaica and instead opted for the pub next door called An Phoenix. Not anything special here as the thing I remember most was that there were wooded kegs in the wall. Our best stop on this side of the river wash Charlie’s where we talked to the barmaid about her upcoming move to the U.S. She is planning on move to San Francisco. We explained that the weather and cost of living are better in San Diego.
Our last stop was going to be the Old Oak because it had been recommended but unfortunately it was closed. We found Mulligans which just fine for last call.