An afternoon with the Royal Cork Yacht Club, Ireland

The Royal Cork Club, Ireland, is the oldest club in the world. Following the newly found hobby of sailing, when he was presented with a yacht,by King Charles 11 in 1600, it is believed that Murrough O’Brien, the 6th Lord Inchiquin (Murrough of the Burnings) took the interest of sailing to Cork.

The pastime became so popular that the Lords great grandson and his friends created the ” The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork,“ now known as the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The club became the pinnacle of local society with many membership applicants being disappointed.

Notable members included Prince Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria, later to be Emperor of Mexico and Sir Thomas Lipton. Today, after occupying a variety of buildings The Royal Cork Club can be found at Crosshaven, not far from Cork, from where it organizes many famous yachting events, including the Admiral’s Cup and the popular Cork week.

Our group was most privileged to be visitors at The Royal Cork Yacht Club, and our sailing adventure will be on the next blog.

A tantilizing glimpse of Cork, Ireland

Ahhhh!!! So much to see in Cork, so little time!! The only perception I had of Cork was that locals partook in lots of sailing, including the biannual Cork Week Sailing Festival, a racing event that many New Zealand sailors aspire to go sailing in. Cork, a major Irish seaport, is the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city. Literally meaning,“swamp,” Cork is often referred to as the “real capital of Ireland” by its residents. There is much rivalry between Cork and Dublin. Cork people consider themselves ‘different’ to the rest of Ireland, often referring to themselves as ‘rebels.’ Indeed they have their own accent, very musical and pleasant to listen to, which is great, because they tend to love talking! On Saturday morning, after a pleasant evening relaxing in the Collins Bar at comfortable Carrigaline Court Hotel, we visited the English Market in the Cork City Centre. Established in 1788, many stallholders, often run by families, have been there for over 100 years. The current market buildings were constructed in the mid 19th century until they destroyed by fire in 1980 and had to be extensively refurbished by Cork City Council. Today the Cork English Markets is very multicultural, selling a huge variety of food and fresh produce, all beautifully displayed, and attract local visitors and international travellers alike. Even Queen Elizabeth visited during her recent trip to Ireland in June.

The shopping precinct of Cork has changed much over the past 15 years, and is perfect for to go shopping along its traditional streets,

to admire the eclectic array of old and new buildings, and indulge in a tad of shopping followed b a delicious coffee in the eclectic Bookshop Coffee house – as we did. Oops! Lunch time and that means time to go sailing with the Royal Cork Yacht club……

The Jamiesons Adventure at Midleton, Ireland

Well worth visiting is the Jameson Heritage Centre in Midleton, Cork, in the South of Ireland.

The heritage buildings, perfectly restored, relate the way whiskey was produced in the past, including the secrets which made Jamieson’s Whiskey so renowned today. After touring, visitors arrive at the pub where one is expected to drink whiskey, not beer - and where they can have a whiskey tasting or sample one of the many ways that Jamieson’s whiskey can be enjoyed.

An ideal way to commence our Cork adventure before travelling to the Carrigaline Court Hotel.

A glimpse of Waterford, Ireland and its Layers of History

Waterford, the oldest city in Ireland has a fascinating history, and thanks to the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, which has its own stories since its inception 225 years ago, we were treated to a tantalizing glimpse of its layers. The Vikings first settled near Waterford in 853 and after an exchange of various raiders, resettled at Waterford in 914. Over the centuries various visitors, including invaders and even royalty have influenced and shaped the city to what it is today. One of the oldest and most distinctive buildings in Waterford is the circular Reginald’s Tower, reported to be built at the beginning the 13th century. Nearby, and of great interest to we visitors from New Zealand, was a round blue plaque on one of the old buildings which stated that this was where William Hobson, the first Governor of New Zealand was born.

These days most people relate to Waterford because of the Waterford Crystal brand, so it was natural that we should visit this factory. Founded in 1783, the mission of Waterford Crystal was to have crystal ‘as fine a quality as anywhere in Europe.’ Along the way there was a financial downfall and Waterford Crystal and its crystal making techniques were dormant for around a century until, in the 1940’s and 1950’s a group of businessmen revived the industry. In 2009 the business was forced into receivership and after much negotiation the current Waterford Crystal factory visitor center was opened in Waterford. It is most interesting for visitors to view the beechwood molds, named after people such as Justin Timberlake, the crystal craft exhibitions, crystal blowers and the dramatic crystal trophies and artifacts they were producing. After visiting Waterford Crystal we then explored the Viking Triangle and other historical buildings in Waterford, feeling most grateful to have the opportunity to capture a mere glimpse of the history and architecture of this most intriguing city, before moving on to our next adventure in Ireland.

Chris' Getting Lost Adventure, in Waterford, Ireland

After a wonderful day exploring Kildaire, the Kildagan Stud, and Kilkenny we travelled to the historical Waterford, Ireland. While the name ‘Waterford’ means ‘windy fiord’ it was calm and raining when we arrived. After depositing our luggage at the Waterford Marina Hotel we set out to walk, in the gently falling rain, along the waters edge to visit the Waterford Chamber of Commerce. After quite a long time of walking, it seemed, we decided to grab a taxi to the venue. However there was not enough room for us all so husband Chris, being the gentleman that he is, and also the only person with a hat, said that he would continue walking. We arrived at the Waterford Chamber of Commerce buildings, walked up the beautiful and unique oval stairwell to their offices, to be warmly welcomed by local members.

After quite some time we noticed that Chris had not arrived. Oh dear! And he did not have his iphone with him! So out with the search party….. where might he be?? Was he wandering up and down the Waterford Streets in the rain, still looking for us? Would he have given up on finding us and repaired to the warm hospitality of a local pub to enjoy a beer? And which pub would he have visited? Maybe he returned to the Waterford Marina Hotel? A phone call to the hotel revealed that there was a kiwi in the hotel pub – no, that was not Chris.

But wait, who is that at reception, waiting for a taxi? There he is! Much to our relief, Chris joined us all at the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, in time to meet our guests, enjoy a whisky tasting,then repair with us all to dinner in the beautiful restaurant at the historic Granville Hotel and pub, on the water’s edge of Waterford.

Kilkenny, Castle, National Craft Gallery and Pub, Kilkenny Ireland

Kilkenny, Ireland is a very tidy traditional town, overseen by the large historical Kilkenny Castle, a U shaped series of buildings, surrounding one end of Green Park land stretching ‘into the future’ it seemed. Across the road in the Kilkenny castle yard, originally the buildings of the stables and coach houses of Kilkenny Castle, is National Craft Gallery, opened on 2000. All the buildings, beautifully restored, feature static and working exhibitions of modern and traditional Irish Art and Craft. The National Craft Gallery is a beautiful area to stroll around, indulge in shopping and appreciate the creativity of Irelands best crafts people.

As one tends to do towards as the end of a busy shopping and touring day, we all visited in interesting looking Irish pub, The Left Bank, situated in the former Bank of Ireland Building. As with several pubs we visited in Ireland, the 4 floors inside the pub as well as outside area, were stunningly and eclectically decorated and we spent much time admiring the different areas of the pub.

Kilkenny, even though we only had a glimpse of the historical houses and buildings looked a very interesting town, ideal for visitors to spend more time there and indulge in a local Irish adventure.

Kildagan Stud Kildare, Ireland - a glimpse into the world of Horse Breeding

I guess we realized we were in for something special when we were greeted by security staff at what looked like an entrance to a country manor estate, for our tour or Kildagan Stud. We drove along an asphalted driveway surrounded by immaculately groomed green borders, passing a very old cemetery and pulled up outside a red brick elegant office building. Formerly the land was known as O’Rielly Farm and covered over 4 and a half thousand acres – today it is a modest 1600 acres of beautifully kept farm and pasturelands bordered by luscious hedgerows, ideal for nesting birds. Since its creation as a stud farm in 1927, Kildagan Stud has bred many famous racing winners around the world. Kildagan Stud has the facilities to hotel 400 horses, and its studs are kept very busy in the specially designed mating buildings during the mating season. Mares may come just for the coupling, or stay until the birth in most luxurious surroundings. We were introduced to some of the most valuable horses at Kildagan Stud, valued at around $20million each.

These are very much in demand and command very high stud fees. Kildagan Stud is very environment conscious and we were very impressed with the recycling and compost plant and machinery which ensures that nothing goes to waste. Tours at Kildagan Stud have become so popular a visitor information, exhibition centre and cafe are to be constructed.