Trip number 2!

So are you guys ready to hear about my awesome day and trip?? Today I went to Killarney to see Ross Castle, then I went on a Lake Cruise/Tour thing, went to Torc Waterfall and then we got to walk around Killarney and see whatever we wanted to see, so I did a little shopping and went to see the National Park and the St. Mary's Cathedral :)

Ross Castle/Tower

So I have some information for you guys: 

The north tower:

At the top of the north wall is a heavy wooden ‘shutter’ hung from stone brackets. This hinged outwards, protecting defenders on the roof while they fired on attackers at the door below. This is a unique feature in Ireland, though known from castles in Europe.

The larger windows in this wall were inserted in the 1500s 

Top Floor: From here you can see into the pantry, underneath the musician’s gallery. This was used for food storage and preparation, though all the cooking would have been done in the fireplace of the hall itself.

Second Floor: The small room on the same floor as the main bedroom was a Justice room; there the lord could conduct everyday business in private.

First Floor: The small room here was used as sleeping quarters for the servants. They had no fireplace. A narrow passage behind it led to the ‘garderobe’ or toilet, which can be seen on the right.

Intermediate Floor: There is a small room between the ground and first floors, with a ‘murder hole’ above the entrance.

Ground Floor: The walls at this level are extremely thick. On the right of the entrance is a small guardroom, on the left is the foot of the spiral stairs. 

Top Floor: The hall was located at the top of the castle. This was the safest place, high above ground and at the top of the narrow spiral staircase. This room would be used for all grand occasions.

Second Floor: This was the main bedroom. There was little privacy in a tower house. Not only the lord would have slept here but most of his family and many of their servants.

First Floor: The main room on this floor was a parlour for domestic use.

Ground Floor: The ground floor was often used for storage, but the large fireplace here shows that it was also used for living in. The guards and servants probably cooked their food on this fire. 

The South Wall

The Barracks building you are now in was attached to this wall in the 1700s. You can see an artist’s impression on the wall behind you.

The window at the bottom of this wall was converted into a door, linking the barracks to the castle, which is still in use. 

The West Wall

A Machicolation overhangs the top left corner of this wall, allowing deferenders to fire down on attacksers from the roof level wall walk. The two machicolations, at oppostite corners, were added about fifty years after the castle was built. As well as protecting the base of these walls, they were fitted with gun loops, providing wider cover.

AT the top of this wall is the largest window in the castle, lighting the hall. That is so high up, that it was safe to insert a large window here, allowing in more light. Lower down, the windows are reduced to narrow arrow loops.

At the bottom left of the wall is the end of the garderobe (toilet) chute, which runs down the inside of the wall from the first floor. 

An Irish Tower House

Ross Castle was built by the O’Donoguhes in the mid 1400s. It reflects the troubled times when it was built. As you travel through the Irish Countryside you will see the ruins of many of these ‘Tower House.’ Up to 3,500 were built the 1400s and 1500s.

For 250 years, the history of Ross Castle closely reflected the wider current of Ireland history. It is a story of England’s struggle for control over the lordships of Ireland.

What are Tower houses?

They are rectangular defense towers with stepped battlements. The windows on the lower floors are narrow defensive slits or ‘arrow loops.’ Tower Houses of have projecting ‘Machicolations’ overhanging the corners or the doors allowing defenders to fire straight down. The photograph shows the two Machicolations on opposite corners. These were added fifty years after the castle was first built.

On the inside, stone vaults over the basement and under the upper floor protected against fire. The main hall, or room, was located on the top floor, where it was safe to have larger windows.

Many tower houses were surrounded by an outer defensive wall.  This enclosure or ‘hawn’ probably protected livestock as well as outbuildings. In the photograph you can see the sections of wall that survives here and the two corner towers.

Where and Why were they built?

Most are found in areas where central authority was weak during the 1400s and 1500s. Constant skirmishing between the great lords often took the form of castle raiding. The lesser Chieftains took the brute of this and built tower houses to protect themselves. They in turn raided their neighbors when they could. The O’Donoguhes of Ross Castle were no exception. A document from 1567 tells us this:

                “Lord Roche complained to the MarCarthy Mor that the O’Donoguhe Mors and others had with 6 or 7 banners displayed had taken 1500 castle 7000 sheep.”

What is the main difference between Tower Houses and Castles?

Tower House are quite varied

So as you can see there is supposed to be a lot more information under the question between differences, but my picture didn't turn out so well, and most of it was extremely blury, and it was quite hard to get this much information. I even had 5 other information things like this one, but they were also way too blurry. The tower I know went through renovations- but they tried to keep the same medieval look. I also know it changed hands a couple of times before the time period ended and eventually the country took and made renovations and things, but I don't know too much. I didn't have time to read all the information which is why I took pictures, but I got the most important info on here :)

Here a some more photos of the Tower: 

Me in the entry way of the Tower

Then we went on a Lake Cruise and it was so gorgeous! 

 This is the ruins of a monastery. Can you believe monks used to live on this particular Island?

 This is my favorite picture. I love how it turned out. I know these hills have a name but I can't remember them.... lol

 So the guide said they call this honeymoon Island because it's so small and can really only hold two people. I'm not sure if he was serious, because he joked around a lot so I don't know what was fact and was fiction! Guess it's just part of the mystery. lol

the guide said they used to put prisoners on this island to serve out their sentence, and that they got a loaf of bread everyday, but again I'm not sure if this was true or not. He sounded serious, but I'm not sure. lol

So after the lake cruise we went to Torc waterfall, and I'm going to be honest after seeing the waterfalls in Costa Rica I wasn't really expecting much since the waterfalls in Costa Rica were beautiful  but when we got to this waterfall it may have been more beautiful than the one's in Costa Rica, because the ones in Costa Rica didn't cascade down rocks the way this one did. So here are some pictures of the path to the waterfall and then the waterfall itself :)

See what I mean? I was in awe. I could have stared at it all day. 

 LOVE THIS PICTURE. lol

So then we went into the city and got to walk around and do whatever we want. So first I passed the St. Mary's Cathedral: 

And then I went to the national park, I didn't travel alone. I met a French and Chinese student and we walked together so that was pretty cool.  The national park was absolutely beautiful: 

I also bought some souvenirs. One for my sister, one for my aunt and one for me. I got a key-chain that has my last name, the origin/what it means and the coat of arms. 

So all in all today was awesome. I got to see some amazing things! 

Which reminds me I want to say something. I can't believe all the amazing things I've gotten to see in my lifetime. I'm only 20 and I've been to 3 different countries. How many people let alone 20 year olds get to say they've done that? 

So I've got a huge thanks to give to my parents, because if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't be here right now. I know you guys sometimes wish you could help out more financially but you've helped me in ways much more important than that. You taught me to dream, and not only dream, but to make that dream into a reality, and I can't thank you enough for that. 

So that was my day hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did :)