Becks and the Cities

Today we landed in Dublin, Ireland around 7:30 am. We picked up our suitcases from baggage claim, grabbed our rental car, and started on our journey. I was incredibly groggy since I didn’t sleep more than 30 minutes on the flight. I’m the worst at dozing! Luckily, I was past the point of tired and oddly alert. I must have been stuck between the physically fatigued but mentally awake phase before you crash. Regardless, I was happy to just have the energy.

First stop: Swords castle. However, it was closed for construction AND it was “Bank Day” so most businesses were closed for the holiday. As an American, I don’t really know what this holiday entails. Staff at the rental car company weren’t helpful when explaining, but Google was.  Apparently May 6^th is “Lá Bealtaine” or Labor Day. It is held the first Monday of May. On this day, traditional Celtic festivals occur and campaigns for worker’s rights take place.  Luckily, 9 miles north-east of Dublin, Malahide Castle in Fingal, Ireland was open. It was gorgeous! This fortress was a private home for almost 800 years!

The Talbot family lived in the residence between 1185 and 1973.  When the last male heir died in 1973, the property was passed on to the next kin, his sister.  Unfortunately, she had to sell the property to pay off death duties. The property was then purchased by the Irish Government and opened to the public.

My favorite part of the castle was learning about the ghosts that loomed the halls. Puck, the castle’s jester, was unlucky in love and still resides in his turret mending a broken heart.  It is said that his ghost still stalks the grounds and if you put your finger through the turret door hole, you can tell where he currently is. If it feels cool, he’s inside and if it’s warm, he’s exploring the castle grounds. There was also a dark room with black walls, which they called the “Oak Room.” Back in the day, the floor was considered “living,” which meant several creepy crawlers would shuffle about. The walls and ceiling, however, were beautiful representations of the Virgin Mary.

We stopped in Avoca Malahide to have brunch. We had a nice view of the castle gardens and a friendly peacock made himself present just outside our window. After we ate, we hopped into the castle’s botanical garden to warm up from the colder temperatures.

We made our way to the Newgrange Hotel, our residence for the night, just 40 min north of the castle.  I’m not much of a napper, but I took advantage of the down time before we ate to rest.  For dinner, we attempted to eat at a nearby castle. But they had already closed down around 6 pm so their employees could celebrate Bank Day. We stopped at a few more places before we realized there weren’t many places open! They really do close down! SOOOO we found the only place in the small town open: KFC. Yes. A Kentucky Fried Chicken was open and fed us. Despite our efforts to eat locally, we were happy to see some food.  We stopped in an Aldi (surprisingly open) and grabbed the goods: sweets, sweets, and more sweets. Car snacks essentials- right?

Whether it was my urge to see a new city or good luck, I managed to make it the entire day without feeling too tired. Day one in Ireland was a success.