Monday @ Limerick, Ireland

Friday Sarah and I decided to go to Limerick, Ireland which was only about a 2 hour bus ride from Galway. Sarah and I failed to do much research about Limerick so when we arrived we found a tourist station and mapped out our day accordingly. Outside the station Sarah realized the hard way that her glasses had broken on the bus ride.

First stop St. Marys Cathedral



Second Stop...King John's Castle King John never visited the Castle despite its popular name. He did, however, send his representative, Godfrey de Rupe, in 1216. The uses of the building were many. It was a strategic stronghold, an administrative headquarters, a barracks, and a prison. There was a revolt of prosoners in 1332. Around 40 years later it was captured by the O'Brien and MacNamara clans. Limerick City was granted custody of King John's Castle in 1427, but it was handed back by the end of the following century because the upkeep was so costly. The Castle's defences were improved prior to a major siege in 1642.






This is a reconstruction of a medieveal mint, similar to one that may have stood within this castle during the reign of King John, in the early 13th century. During the period when john was Lord of Ireland (1177 to 1216) he granted the right to mint coins to Dublin, Waterford, Carrickfergus, Downpatrick and Limerick. This was the first time in Ireland's history that coins were used on a national level. In the early days the process of minting was entrusted to the King's moneyer, Willem. The moneyer marked his Christian name and that of the town on one side of the coin and the head of the king on the other.

...of course I had to mint a coin in the castle. It turned out perfecto :)


***A kiss for the King***

Following the Castle we went to the Hunt Museum which was full of thousands of artifacts, some dating all the way back to B.C!!! The concept of time is hard to fathom. The easiest way for me to grasp the concept of timed pasted is according to generations. An artifact that was B.C would be over 200 generations old!!! WOW-ZA.
When we were leaving the Museum the rain started to come down so we decided to stop for lunch in a little pub by the river. I had a tuna sandwich, side of mashed potatoes and some hot water. yum-yum



The table next to us looked a little something like this...

No, gentlemen your eyes are not playing tricks on you. This IS actually a table built with a keg inside. No need for a waitress or menu. A one stop shop to heaven :)
After a lovely meal and seeing beautiful sights we decided to shop for a bit before catching the bus and heading back to Galway.